Ben Folami


Gbenga "Ben" Tai Folami is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ipswich Town.

Club career

Ipswich Town

Born in Sydney, Folami joined Ipswich Town's academy in 2015, having previously played for the Football NSW Institute and the Sutherland Sharks at youth level. After working his way through the youth system at Portman Road, he went on to make his full senior debut in a 2–1 defeat against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup second round on 22 August 2017. He made his league debut for the club on 2 April 2018 in a 2–2 draw against Millwall. On 14 January 2019, Folami tore his achilles tendon during an under-23 match against Cardiff City, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.
Following his recovery from injury Folami appeared for Ipswich’s under-23 side before returning to first-team action on 12 November 2019, starting in a 0–1 away loss to Colchester United in an EFL Trophy group stage match.

Stevenage (loan)

On 31 January 2020, Folami signed for Stevenage on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season. He made his debut on 8 February, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 loss to Exeter City. He made two substitute appearances for Stevenage before the 2019–20 season was suspended due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

International career

Folami is of Nigerian descent. In October 2018, he was called up to the Australia U19 squad to compete in the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship held in Indonesia. He made 4 appearances during the tournament, scoring one goal, as the Young Socceroos exited the U-19 championships at the quarter-final stage. Folami impressed with his performances during the tournament, with Fox Sports describing him as "an absolubte revelation" and stating that he had been "Australia's best player".
Folami made his debut for the Australia U23 team in a 2–1 loss to Iran on 14 October 2019. He scored his first goal for the under-23s while winning his second cap, appearing as a second-half substitute and scoring in a 5–1 victory over China on 15 November 2019.

Career statistics