Akpo Sodje

Idoro Akpoeyere Ujoma "Akpo" Sodje (born 31 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer.

A journeyman striker, he is usually an instantly recognisable figure on the pitch due to his original – and most of all colourful – hairstyles.

With Queens Park Rangers in 2001, he was loaned out to Stevenage Borough, before beginning a career in non-League football with Margate in 2001.

He was signed to First Division Queens Park Rangers, though never made an appearance, instead was loaned out to Conference National club Stevenage Borough in March 2001.

He scored on his first outing for the club, in a 2–1 win at Morecambe on 31 March, replacing Darran Hay on 36 minutes.

He was still with Stevenage for the start of the 2001–02 season, getting sent off against Doncaster Rovers on 27 August.

He left Broadhall Way the next month for Margate, making 16 appearances before the season's end, scoring goals against Yeovil Town, Woking and Hayes.

He began 2002–03 with Margate, playing in their 2–0 defeat at Leigh Genesis on 31 August.

The next month he joined Gravesend & Northfleet, scoring on his debut on the 7th, in a 4–1 home win over Nuneaton Borough.

Seven days later he scored against Forest Green Rovers, before he made his final appearance on 2 November, getting sent off in a 2–1 defeat at Halifax Town.

He was released later in the month and had spells with virtual unknowns Heybridge Swifts (Isthmian League) and Erith & Belvedere (Southern Football League).

At age 24 (at the time he was often reported as 22 or 23), he got a second chance at a professional career, joining Huddersfield Town of League One.

He moved on to Heybridge Swifts via Gravesend & Northfleet the following year, before joining Erith & Belvedere in 2003.

He rejoined the Football League with Huddersfield Town in 2004, before joining Darlington the next year, after a successful loan spell.

He was handed a three-month deal in September 2004, his foot in the door because his brother Efe was captain of the club.

He replaced Andy Booth 86 minutes into a 3–0 win at Vale Park on 11 September, Pawel Abbott grabbing the headlines with a hat-trick.

In November his contract was extended by six months, allowing him further time to impress boss Peter Jackson.

In all he made nine appearances for the "Terriers" in 2004–05, getting just two starts and impressing only in the reserves.

In March 2005 he was loaned out to League Two Darlington, after impressing on trial, and scored in the final moments of the season in a 3–1 home win over Cheltenham Town.

He was released by Huddersfield in May.

He spent 2005–06 with Darlington.

He made 39 appearances, scoring eight goals, including a hat-trick at Chester City in a 4–4 draw on 27 August.

He spent the 2006–07 season with Port Vale, before becoming a Sheffield Wednesday player.

His performances caught the eye of Port Vale's manager Martin Foyle, who won his signature in May 2006.

He found success and popularity at both clubs, before he joined Charlton Athletic in 2010, after two loan spells.

He moved into Scottish football with Hibernian in 2011, before departing in January 2012.

Two months later he emigrated to China to sign with Tianjin TEDA to become the first English footballer in the Chinese Super League.

He returned to the English game in August 2012, when he joined Preston North End for a brief spell.

He joined Scunthorpe United on a short-term basis in January 2013, before signing with Tranmere Rovers in July 2013.

He was loaned out to Macclesfield Town in February 2014.

After three of his brothers, Efe, Bright and Stephen Sodje, were sentenced to 18, 21 and 30 months in prison respectively for fraud in September 2017 (having siphoned off money from a charity, the Sodje Sports Foundation), a European Arrest Warrant was issued in relation to Akpo.

Born in Greenwich, London, his family originate from Warri, in Delta State, Nigeria.

Sodje has four brothers who also play football; three of them professionally and one semi-professionally.

Sam and Efe have represented Nigeria at international level.

Steve, has never played a Football League game.

Another brother, Bright, used to play rugby league and rugby union.

His cousin Onome Sodje, also played professionally in England.

Akpo is the youngest of the ten Sodje children:

"'I am very proud to come from the Sodje family, which is a very big family. I want to thank our dad and mum for the sacrifices they made in bringing us up. We are all very close, Bright, Sam, Efe, and the rest. I am number 10 among the children, and they all treat me as their pet because I am the youngest member of the family.'" In January 2019 it was reported that Akpo refused to return to Britain for questioning by police in a money laundering investigation into his family's business that saw three of his brothers jailed.

"'When I was playing in Warri, I started as a defender. The coach whom I played under said I was fast and tall, and because of these qualities he saw in me, he converted me to a striker... I started playing in England when I was just about seven years old; and as I was growing up, I started from the lower divisions.'"