Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 5, 2026

Ben Folami

Gbenga Tai "Ben" Folami is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Adelaide United and the Australia national team.

Last revised
Aug 5, 2026
Read time
≈ 6 min
Length
1,436 w
Citations
43
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Ben Folami
Folami in 2023
Personal information
Full name Gbenga Tai Folami1
Date of birth (1999-06-08) 8 June 1999
Place of birth Sydney, Australia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)2
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Adelaide United
Number 17
Youth career
2012–2014 Football NSW Institute
2014–2015 Sutherland Sharks
2015–2017 Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 Ipswich Town 4 (0)
2020 → Stevenage (loan) 2 (0)
2020–2021 → Melbourne Victory (loan) 17 (3)
2021–2024 Melbourne Victory 82 (6)
2024– Adelaide United 28 (1)
International career‡
2018–2019 Australia U19 4 (1)
2019–2020 Australia U23 5 (1)
2022 Australia 1 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Australia
AFC U-23 Asian Cup
Third place 2020 Thailand U-23 Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 January 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 March 2022 (UTC)

Gbenga Tai "Ben" Folami (Yoruba: [ɡbɛ̀ŋɡa táj fòlámì];3 born 8 June 1999) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Adelaide United and the Australia national team.4

Early life

Folami was born on 8 June 1999 in Sydney, Australia. He grew up in the city and Sutherland Shire, Australia.5

Club career

Ipswich Town

Folami playing for Ipswich Town in 2018 source ↗

Born in Sydney, Folami played for the Football NSW Institute and the Sutherland Sharks at youth level and trained with Australian side Western Sydney Wanderers.6 In 2015, he joined Ipswich Town's academy at the age of fifteen.7 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 2017.8 He made his league debut for the club on 2 April 2018 in a 2–2 draw against Millwall.9 In May 2018, Folami signed a new three-year contract at Ipswich until 2021.10 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.11

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.12

Stevenage (loan)

On 31 January 2020, Folami signed for Stevenage on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season.13 He made his debut on 8 February, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 loss to Exeter City.14 He made two substitute appearances for Stevenage before the 2019–20 season was suspended due to the Coronavirus outbreak.15

Return to Ipswich Town

He scored his first goal for Ipswich in an EFL Trophy tie against Gillingham on 6 October 2020.16

In April 2021, Ipswich announced that Folami would be released at the end of the 2020–21 season following the end of his contract.17

Melbourne Victory

On 28 October 2020, Folami joined Australian A-League side Melbourne Victory on loan until the end of the season.18 He scored his first goal for Melbourne Victory in a 2–2 draw with Thai side Chiangrai United in the AFC Champions League on 30 November.19 In July 2021, after being released by Ipswich Town, Folami signed a permanent two-year contract with Melbourne Victory.20

International career

Folami is of Nigerian descent.21 In October 2018, he was called up to the Australia U19 squad to compete in the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship held in Indonesia.22 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 absolute revelation" and stating that he had been "Australia's best player".23

Folami made his debut for the Australia U23 team in a 2–1 loss to Iran on 14 October 2019.24 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 2019.25

He debuted with the senior Australia national team in a 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification loss to Japan on 24 March 2022.26

Style of play

Folami plays as a winger. He is known for his speed.27

Career statistics

As of match played 11 November 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ipswich Town 2017–1828 Championship 4 0 0 0 1 0 — 5 0
2018–1929 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2019–2015 League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 1a 0 1 0
2020–2130 League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 1a 1 1 1
Total 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 7 1
Stevenage (loan) 2019–2015 League Two 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Melbourne Victory (loan) 2019–2015 A-League 0 0 0 0 — 5b 1 5 1
2020–2130 A-League 17 3 — — — 17 3
Melbourne Victory 2021–2230 A-League 24 3 1 0 — 3c 1 28 4
2022–2330 A-League 26 1 0 0 — — 6 0
Total 47 6 1 0 0 0 8 2 56 8
Career total 53 6 1 0 1 0 10 3 65 9
  1. Appearance in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in AFC Champions League
  3. One appearance and one goal in AFC Champions League, Two appearances in A-League Finals series

International

As of match played 24 March 202231
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Australia 2022 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

Club

Melbourne Victory

International

Australia U23

References

References

  1. "EFL Released and Retained List 2016-17" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  2. "Ben Folami". Melbourne Victory. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  3. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPyDwrxiaCT/?igsh=dXQ0a2R3cjRkem1t
  4. "Ben Folami". Ipswich Town F.C. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  5. "Meet the Aussie striker cracking into the Championship". SBS. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  6. "'This is only the beginning – we'll see how far I can go' - Folami on his journey from Sydney to Suffolk". East Anglian Daily Times. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  7. "Rising star Ben Folami making mark in national colours just months after signing Ipswich contract". The Courier-Mail. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  8. "Crystal Palace v Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  9. Watson, Stuart (2 April 2018). "'I'm not enjoying it' – McCarthy hints he may not see out his contract". East Anglian Daily Times. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  10. "Three Year Deal for Ben". TWTD. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  11. "Chambers to Wear Strapping at Blackburn as Folami Ruled Out for Season". TWTD. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  12. "EFL Trophy Match Report - Colchester United 1-0 Ipswich Town". Soccerway. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  13. "Ben Folami joins Boro".
  14. "Exeter City 2-1 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 8 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  15. "Games played by Ben Folami in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  16. "Ipswich Town 2 Gillingham 0: Goals from Armando Dobra and Ben Folami settle EFL Trophy match". kentonline.co.uk. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  17. "No New Deal for Folami and 'Keepers". Ipswich Town F.C. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  18. "Folami Makes Loan Move". Ipswich Town F.C. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  19. "Folami Nets First Goal For Melbourne Victory". TWTD. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  20. "Melbourne Victory signs Ben Folami". Melbourne Victory. 12 July 2021.
  21. "Nigerian-Australian Striker Ben Folami Making Inroads At The Blues:: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  22. "Update to Young Socceroos squad for AFC U19 Championship". Football Federation Australia. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  23. "Folami Wins Cap But Australia Exit AFC U19 Championship". TWTD. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  24. "Folami in Action for Australian U23s". TWTD. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  25. "Folami Nets as Australia's U23s Hammer China". TWTD. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  26. "WATCH: Socceroos fall short after Japan strike late". Socceroos. 24 March 2022.
  27. "Ipswich's Aussie rookie Folami on Melbourne Victory radar". SBS. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  28. "Games played by Ben Folami in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  29. "Games played by Ben Folami in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  30. "Games played by Ben Folami in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  31. Ben Folami at National-Football-Teams.com
  32. "Melbourne Victory 2–1 Central Coast Mariners". www.keepup.com. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  33. "Australia 1–0 Uzbekistan". www.the-afc.com. 25 January 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
External links