George Elokobi

At 38 years old, George Elokobi has this physical status:

George Nganyuo Elokobi (born 31 January 1986) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Maidstone United in National League football. Elokobi moved from Cameroon to England at the age of 16, where he began playing non-League football with Dulwich Hamlet.

Colchester United had him signed after a lengthy trial period.

In January 2005, he was loaned to Chester City, where he made his professional debut, before going on to make 46 appearances for Colchester.

In January 2008, Wolverhampton Wanderers signed him, assisting the club in promotion to the Premier League.

He made his name as a regular in the first team between 2009 and 2011, before being loaned to Nottingham Forest for the second half of the 2011–12 season, making twelve league appearances.

On his debut, he was loaned out to Bristol City in September 2012 but he sustained a near-season-ending ankle fracture when he broke his ankle.

He fell out of favour at Wolves, and he was fired at the end of the 2013–14 season, joining Oldham Athletic.

He spent one season with Oldham before returning to Colchester United in 2015.

In 2016, Braintree Town, a National League club, had a stint on loan from Colchester.

He joined Leyton Orient in July 2017 and was released on his 33rd birthday.

Elokobi signed with fellow National League side Aldershot Town on February 12, 2019.

Early years

Elokobi, a boy from Mamfe, Cameroon, was just 11 years old when he lost both his father (to diabetes) and grandfather. The son returned to live with his grandmother the same year, while his mother moved to England to study. She found work and was able to bring her son to "one of Cameroon's finest boarding schools." Elokobi moved to London to join her, where he studied business, IT, and sociology at the University of 16.

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Club career

Elokobi joined the youth program at Dulwich Hamlet, just shy of his arrival in England in 2002. He was spotted by Colchester United scouts here, and it was here that he was discovered. He appeared in court at the end of the 2003–04 season before he signed Phil Parkinson's fourth summer contract on June 29th, 2004.

Elokobi did not play for Colchester's first-team in his first season with the club, but he was loaned to League Two Chester City for a month in January 2005, under Ian Rush. On January 29, 2005, he made his professional debut for Chester, beginning with a 3–0 loss at Vetch Field to Swansea City. During a 5–0 loss away to Shrewsbury Town on Friday, he was sent off for fouling Luke Rodgers in the penalty area.

Despite failing to make a first-team appearance for Colchester during the 2004-05 season, Elokobi was given a new contract to continue at the club after making the replacements bench for a number of games until the season's end. In the League Cup at Layer Road's 2–0 loss to Cardiff City on August 24, 2005, he made his U.S. debut on August 24, 2005. After 78 minutes of play, Pat Baldwin was suspended. Oldham Athletic kept Colchester Colchester Town held to a 0–0 draw. He got off to his first league appearance three days later. He scored his first career goal against Huddersfield Town in a 1-1 draw on September 24th.

After being diagnosed with mumps, Elokobi was ruled out of action for the remainder of October and November 2005. He returned to action in Colchester's 3–2 extra time victory over Northampton Town in the Football League Trophy on Sunday, where he scored the United States' equalizing goal at 1–1 in the 57th minute of the match. He appeared in a total of twelve League One appearances this season, with a further five in cup competitions, as he helped his team win second place in the table and promotion to the Championship.

After starting both first games of Colchester's maiden season in the second division of English football, a suspension was given to Elokobi after being sent off in a reserve game, causing Elokobi to be suspended by Cardiff City loanee Chris Barker, who kept the left-back position for much of the season. Over the course of the season, he made just ten league appearances.

Elokobi's success and three registered assisters had him linked with a move to Scottish side Celtic in September 2008, despite losing competition from Danny Granville and securing the left-back position for himself in the early stages of the 2007–08 season, but Elokobi said it would not impact his football and that he would continue working hard." Elokobi, who made 14 appearances, turned down a transfer request in November 2007, indicating that he had no intention of re-signing for the club until his deal came to an end in the summer of 2008. With the club yet to have an answer, the player got his first game since giving his transfer request on December 1st. In the 2–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, he scored what would be the deciding goal and his final Colchester goal. Following the game, Elokobi said he would "give 100% for the team" despite being in Colchester. He played his last game for the United States in a 3–1 FA Cup home loss to Peterborough United on January 5, 2008, having made 18 appearances in all competitions.

Elokobi's transfer request at Colchester alerted fellow Championship team Wolverham Wanderers that they had been billed for an undisclosed fee on a 2+1 year contract that later revealed to be £500,000. He made his Wolves debut on February 12th, a regular in the starting eleven, making 15 appearances from his debut to the end of the season.

Elokobi started the 2008–09 season as a regular starter under Mick McCarthy's tutee, making three consecutive appearances since the first day of the season. However, Elokobi sustained a serious knee ligament injury in the fourth game of the season on August 23rd, which was expected to keep him out for the remainder of the season. Elokobi was offered a new contract with the club as they returned to the Championship league title and gained promotion to the Premier League during his injury layoff. He recovered from injury quicker than expected, winning the Championship trophy on the final day of the season.

In Wolves' 1–0 loss to Manchester City on August 22, Elokobi made his Premier League debut as a halftime replacement for former Colchester United teammate Greg Halford. He made 26 appearances in the 2009–2010 season, enough to warrant him a new three-year contract in August 2010.

Elokobi scored his first Wolves goal on October 26, 2010, in a 3–2 League Cup loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford. He scored Wolves' first goal on 60 minutes to tie the scoreline at 1–1. He was issued his second-ever red card after 77 minutes of the 2–2 FA Cup draw on Sunday on January 8th. Despite losing, he appeared in 32 games over the season as Wolves barely escaped relegation.

Elokobi's first goal of the season came on September 20th, 2011 after being utilised intermittently throughout Wolves' 2011–12 Premier League campaign, winning 5–0. Elokobi was released on loan in February 2012 after struggling to hold down a regular first team position with just three starts in eight Premier League games.

Nottingham Forest in the Championship signed Elokobi in an emergency loan contract on February 9, 2012, with Wolverhampton Wanderers wishing that the move would give Elokobi a chance to play some games. On April 28, the loan period will extend until the end of the Championship season. In Forest's 1–1 home draw with Watford, he made his debut on February 11th. He continued to make twelve appearances to help Forest avoid relegation to League One, while his parent club was relegated to the Championship. Nottingham Forest were linked with a permanent transfer for Elokobi in July 2012, but no move was made as a result.

Elokobi returned to the Wolves squad for the 2012–13 season as a replacement for David Edwards in their 1–1 draw with Derby County on August 25, 2012. However, Elokobi fell out of favor under new boss Stace Solbakken, who preferred Kevin Foley in reporting the left-back role, and Solbakken's statement that his squad was three to four players too large, Elokobi was not allowed to borrow.

On September 26, 2012, Bristol City signed Elokobi as protection for Greg Cunningham, who had been out of action for two months due to an ankle injury. During City's 3–2 home loss to Leeds United, he suffered what was expected to be another season-ending injury, fractured and dislocated his ankle 43 minutes into his debut, but it wasn't until his debut on September 29. With the player undergoing surgery, his loan was immediately terminated.

He returned to action for Wolves earlier this season, playing in Brighton & Hove Albion's last game of the season, marking his second straight relegation for the club.

Elokobi picked a one-year contract extension in order to continue with Wolves until the end of the season. Kenny Jackett told Elokobi that he would get the player off to a "new beginning," but the club decided not to give him a new deal and made his last appearance in a testimonial match for Jody Craddock at the end of the season.

Elokobi signed a one-year deal with Oldham Athletic following his release from Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 8, 2014. During Oldham's 2–2 draw with Elokobi's former club Colchester United at Colchester Community Stadium, he made his 80th-minute replacement for James Dayton on Saturday. During a 3–2 victory over Scunthorpe United on September 27th, he sustained a thigh injury, effectively ending his involvement in October and almost all of November 2014.

Elokobi was a regular fixture in Lee Johnson's starting lineup on his return, scoring his first goal for the club on December 26th with a header from a corner kick in a 2–1 home loss to Crewe Alexandra. Elokobi fell out of favour with his replacement Dean Holden, who made only one replacement appearance since his departure on February 25th until the season's end. In 27 appearances, he had three goals in his season.

Elokobi's deal came to an end, but the club decided to leave the team after refusing the bid.

After a seven-year absence, Colchester United re-signed Elokobi on a two-year deal on July 3, 2015. Elokobi made his second appearance for Colchester in August's 4–0 home loss to Fleetwood Town after losing much of the pre-season due to injury. Richard Brindley was dismissed after 57 minutes, when his team was 3–0 down. Elokobi scored the equalizing goal in Colchester's 2–2 draw with Scunthorpe United on his first visit to the team on August 29th.

Elokobi received his first red card of his combined Colchester United career on September 15th, when he brought down Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp in the penalty area in the 86th minute, scoring 3–2 to Colchester. Colchester goalkeeper Jamie Jones saved the match, allowing the team to win the match. Elokobi also appeared in 19 games in the 2015–16 season, scoring two goals and 19 appearances.

Elokobi was out of favour under new Colchester manager John McGreal's tenure, and was available for loan in August 2016. On October 4, 2016, he signed Braintree Town, a National League loan contract. Boreham Wood beat Braintree 2–1 on a home run the same day. He made his Braintree debut on the same day. In Braintree's 7-0 FA Cup first round victory over Eastbourne Borough on Friday, he scored twice.

On November 22nd, Elokobi was recalled from his Braintree loan and thrust into Colchester's squad for their match against Cheltenham Town the same day. He made his first appearance of the season and helped the United States win by 3–0, putting an end to their eleven-game winless streak in League Two. In Colchester's 1–0 victory over Wycombe Wanderers on Sunday, he scored his first goal of the season. He remained on the field until the end of the season, playing 29 League Two games. After struggling to find a new one, he left the club at the end of his deal.

On July 14, 2017, Elokobi signed a two-year deal with National League side Leyton Orient. It was revealed on January 31, 2019 that he had left the club by mutual consent despite being spotted on the transfer list ten days earlier.

Elokobi signed for National League side Aldershot Town on a contract until the end of the season on February 12, 2019.

Elokobi left Aldershot at the end of the season and joined Maidstone United on a 1-year deal.

Elokobi's last season with the club saw him earn his fourth promotion in his career as Maidstone defeated the 2021–22 National League South championship in 2021. He played in the last game of his career against Hampton & Richmond Borough on May 7, a 2–1 victory.

On Twitter, Elokobi revealed on May 3rd that he would retire from playing pro football at the end of the season.

International career

Elokobi was first called up to the Cameroon national team in November 2010 for a training camp in France in December 2010, in preparation for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying games. He was called up again for a qualifying game with Senegal in March 2011, swapping the injured Gatan Bong for a viable substitute in the match, but was an unsuitable substitute. He had planned to participate in a friendly against Gabon in France three days later, but the match was postponed due to no official reason given.

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