Kareem Omolaja

Kareem Omolaja (born 18 February 1990) is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a defender.

Kareem Omolaja
Kareem playing for Minerva Punjab FC
Personal information
Full name Kareem Omolaja Nurain
Date of birth (1990-02-18) 18 February 1990
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
2002−2007 Spartan Football Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007 Ola Oluwa Asejere FC
2007−2009 Tersanah 17 (2)
2009–2010 J&K Bank FC
2010−2011 JCT Mills Phagwara 24 (2)
2011−2013 Royal Wahingdoh
2013−2015 Southern Samity 21 (2)
2014 → Green Valley (Loan) 5 (0)
2015 Lonestar Kashmir 14 (1)
2015 → Morning Star F.C. (Loan) 15 (0)
2015 Mohammedan 12 (2)
2016−2017 Minerva Punjab FC 26 (8)
2016 → SVF Tollygunge Agragami FC (Loan) 8 (1)
2017–2019 Aizawl F.C. 22 (2)
2019 Minerva Punjab FC 6 (1)
2019 Mohammedan 12 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 April 2019

Personal life

Kareem was born in a sports loving family. His elder brother was also a footballer and Kareem started playing football getting inspired from his brother. Though, Kareem is an ardent follower of Arsenal F.C. but he is a big admirer of former Real Madrid C.F. defender Fernando Hierro. Kareem has a plan to open a football academy in future for the underprivileged children who are interested in football.

Youth career

Kareem joined Spartan Football Academy of Lagos in 2002, at the age of 12. In 2004, he represented Nigeria in All West African Academical Cup which Nigeria won and he adjudged as the best defender of the tournament.

Club career

Early career

Kareem became a professional at the age of 17 by signing with Lagos-based club Ola Oluwa Asejere FC in 2007, from there he moved to Libyan Premier League club Tersanah where he stayed for a couple of seasons.

Jammu & Kashmir Bank FC

In 2009, Kareem moved to India with Jammu & Kashmir Bank FC, on his debut season he won the 2009-10 J&K Premier League where he also awarded the best defender of the league. Kareem's second silverware of the season was G.V. Raja Football Tournament[1] at Kerala, which Jammu & Kashmir Bank won after beating State Bank of Travancore 4-1 on penalties. Kareem was the joint top scorer of the tournament with 4 goals.

JCT FC

In 2010, Kareem moved to JCT Mills Phagwara. Kareem made his debut for JCT on 21 September 2010 against AIFF XI, later renamed as Pailan Arrows, in the 2010 Indian Federation Cup at Cuttack, where JCT failed to make it to the knock-out round after finishing at the bottom of their group. Kareem made his I-League debut on 3 December 2010 against HAL SC in a 0-1 losing effort. Kareem scored his first goal for JCT in a match against Air India on 15 January 2011 which JCT won 2-0 and Kareem adjudged as the Man of the match. His second goal came against Churchill Brothers SC on 16 February 2011, but this time his team lost 3-1. Though, JCT relegated from the I-League at the end of the season but Kareem was praised for a consistent performance.

Royal Wahingdoh FC

In 2011, Kareem joined Shillong based club Royal Wahingdoh. During Kareem's two-year stay at the club, they won back to back Shillong Premier League in 2011-12 & 2012-13 and in both occasions Kareem played a crucial role in his team's triumph. Kareem was adjudged the best defender in the 2012-13 Shillong Premier League. Kareem also lifted Bordoloi Trophy[2] at the club in 2011, he scored twice in the final for his team's 2-1 victory over Langsning F.C.

Southern Samity FC

In 2013 Kareem moved to Southern Samity where he stayed till 2015. From Southern Samity, he was loaned by Green Valley to play I-League 2nd Division 2013-14.

Kareem & Sehijpal Singh during Minerva Academy F.C. training session.

Lonestar Kashmir FC

Kareem joined newly founded Lonestar Kashmir in January 2015 prior to 2014-15 I-League 2nd Division where his team finished runners in its debut season. In May 2015, he was loaned by Assam State Premier League side Karbi Anglong Morning Star F.C. for the inaugural season of ASPL which Morning Star F.C. won after beating Kareem's former club Green Valley F.C. in final.

Mohammedan Sporting Club

In July 2015, Kareem signed for Kolkata giants Mohammedan where he was named Captain[3][4] for 2015-16 season. He made his debut for Mohammedan in Calcutta Football League on 9 August 2015, against Mohun Bagan. However, he got a red card on his debut match for the club. Kareem scored his first goal for Mohammedan on 23 August against East Bengal. In October Mohammedan participated in the 2015 Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup[5] at Bangladesh under Kareem's leadership, where Mohammedan failed to progress beyond the group stages. In November 2015, Mohammedan released him after he suffered an injury.

Minerva Academy FC

On 19 January 2016, Kareem signed for Minerva Academy F.C.[6] prior to the final round of the 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division. Kareem made his debut for Minerva Academy FC on 29 March 2016 against NEROCA F.C. at Imphal. On 3 April 2016, Kareem captained Minerva against Mohammedan in a match which Minerva won 2-1 at Kolkata. On 10 May 2016, Kareem scored a hat-trick[7][8] in his team's 3-2 win over Lonestar Kashmir FC at Srinagar, which was also his first in India, in the match Kareem has also captained the side. Kareem has scored another vital goal[9] for his side on 19 May at Chandigarh, which gave Minerva a crucial win over Neroca FC. Minerva, eventually, failed to make it to the I-League after losing 3-1 to Dempo S.C. in the decider - Kareem did not played the match due to suspension – and settled for second spot. However, Kareem did achieve some personal glory as he finished as the top scorer for Minerva with 4 goals.

Tollygunge Agragami FC

Kareem returned to Kolkata next season, and on 7 June 2016, he signed the contract [10][11][12][13][14] at Tollygunge Agragami to play the Calcutta Football League 2016-17. Kareem made his club debut on 2 August 2016 against George Telegraph S.C. in the Calcutta Premier Division - A 2016/17 coming on as an 89-minute substitute for Joël Sunday. Kareem made his first start for Tollygunge against Mohammedan Sporting on 9 August at Mohammedan Sporting Ground, where he scored one and provided the other to guide his team to a 2-1 victory.[15]

Return to Minerva

Kareem returned to Minerva in November 2016 at DSK Cup in Pune where he scored in the first match against local side Bishops FC in his team's 9-0 victory. Kareem made his I-League debut for Minerva against East Bengal on 29 January 2017 at Guru Nanak Stadium. Kareem scored his first I-League goal for Minerva against Churchill in a 10th Round clash on 18 February at Tilak Maidan in 5-4 winning cause. Kareem scored his second I-League goal for Minerva against Shillong Lajong FC at Guru Nanak Stadium on 7 March 2017.

Aizawl FC

Kareem on 14 July 2017 signed for I-League champions Aizawl FC.[16] Kareem made his debut for Aizawl in a round of 16 game of the 2017 MFA Super Cup which Aizawl lost 3-4 to Mizoram Police FC on 17 July 2017.

Playing Style

Kareem is known for his solid defending and clean tackles on the ball, who can also play as central midfielder and occasional striker. Kareem is a specialist of dead ball and scored many goals from dead ball situations throughout his career.

Honours

Jammu & Kashmir Bank FC
  • J&K Premier League 2009-10
  • G.V. Raja Football Tournament 2010

JCT FC

Royal Wahingdoh FC

Lonestar Kashmir FC

Morning Star FC

Minerva Academy FC

References
  1. "J&K Bank emerge champs in GV Raja tournament". The New Indian Express. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  2. "Royal Wahingdoh win Bordoloi Trophy". The Shillong Times. 4 December 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  3. "Mohammedan ropes new sponsor, unveiled new theme song and jersey". THIF-LIVE.COM. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  4. "Mohd. Sp. ready for challenge". The Telegraph. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  5. "Mohammedan announces 20-man squad for SK. Kamal Int. Club Cup". THIF-LIVE.COM. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  6. "Kareem Omolaja signs on the dotted line for Minerva Academy FC". THIF-LIVE.COM. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  7. "Kareem scores hat-trick as Minerva stay in touch with leaders Dempo after beating Lonestar Kashmir". THIF-LIVE.COM. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  8. "Minerva Beat Kashmir FC; Keep I-League Hope Alive". Feverpitch.in. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  9. "Minerva beat Neroca to take I-League promotiton race to final day". THIF-LIVE.COM. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  10. "Tollygunge FC rope in Nigerian footballer Omolaja". Sportskeeda. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  11. "Tollygunge Agragami signs Omolaja Nurain". Business Standard. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  12. "Tollygunge Agragami sign Nigerian defender Kareem Omolaja Nurain". Arunava Chaudhuri. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  13. "Tollygunge Agragami sign Nigerian defender Kareem Omolaja Nurain". THIF-LIVE.COM. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  14. "India's Tollygunge Agragami FC sign Nigerian defender Kareem Omolaja". naija247news.com. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  15. "Mohammedan SC suffers first loss; go down 1-2 to Tollygunge". THIF-LIVE.COM. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  16. "Aizawl FC sign defender Kareem Omolaja Nurain". THIF-LIVE.COM. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
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