Abdu Lumala

Abdu Lumala
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-07-21) 21 July 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Uganda
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Gokulam Kerala
Youth career
0000–2014 Gualövs GoIF[1]
2014–2015 Mjällby AIF[1]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 Mjällby AIF 24 (3)
2016–2019 Kalmar FF 10 (0)
2017Varbergs BoIS 10 (1)
2017Helsingborgs IF (loan) 10 (1)
2018IFK Värnamo (loan) 22 (0)
2019Syrianska FC (loan) 9 (1)
2019–2022 Pyramids 4 (0)
2022–2024 Vipers SC 16 (2)
2024 Slaven Belupo 4 (0)
2024– Gokulam Kerala 0 (0)
International career
2019– Uganda 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Abdu Lumala (born 21 July 1997) is a Ugandan professional footballer who plays as a forward for I-League club Gokulam Kerala and the Uganda national team.[2]

Club career

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Early years

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Abdu grew up with his grandmother in the village of Kataba since his mother had died when he was just a few months old and since the father was unknown.[3] When he was 10 he was given a Henrik Larsson-shirt as a birthday present by his aunt. In hope of receiving a better life his grandmother sent him away to the capital Kampala when he was 16. Abdu took many jobs, mostly washing cars before he met a few white Europeans who managed to get him on a plane to Sturup Airport.

Sweden

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He was left alone on the streets of Malmö and there he contacted Migrationsverket. They managed to get accommodation for Abdu in the little town of Bromölla. There he started training with the local club Ifö/Bromölla playing in the Swedish 5th tier, but after not managing to find any football shoes he and a friend moved to 9th tier side Gualövs GoIF. He was instantly made captain and after scoring 20 goals in 10 games big local club Mjällby AIF signed him in the summer of 2014. He played the rest of the year with the U17s and U19s. Before the next season Abdu was moved up to the A-Team playing in Swedish second division Superettan. He impressed, scoring 3 goals in 24 games being only 17 when the season started. The rumours of his talent spread and clubs like Malmö FF and Olympiacos wanting to sign him.

Kalmar FF

[edit]

Abdu instead ended up in Swedish top flight club Kalmar FF. In his first season, he played 10 league matches.

Loans

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Ahead of the 2017 season Abdu was loaned out to Superettan club Varbergs BoIS. After half a season with the club, he returned to Kalmar FF just to be loaned out once again, this time to his idol Henrik Larsson's mother club Helsingborgs IF. He made his debut in a game against GAIS. At the back of Abdu's shirt it says "Lumalinho".[4]

Pyramids FC

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In July 2019, Abdu joined Egyptian Premier League club Pyramids FC where he linked up with former Uganda coach Sébastien Desabre.[5]

Slaven Belupo

[edit]

On 27 March 2024, Abdu returned to Europe and signed a contract with the Croatian club Slaven Belupo.[6]

Gokulam Kerala

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In July 2024, Abdu joined Indian I-League club Gokulam Kerala.[7]

International career

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He made his Uganda national team debut as a starter on 9 June 2019, in a 0–0 friendly tie versus Turkmenistan.[8][9]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 16 July 2019[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cups Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Gualövs GoIF 2014 Division 7 Blekinge 10 20 10 20
Mjällby AIF 2015 Superettan 24 3 3 1 2 0 29 4
Kalmar FF 2016 Allsvenskan 10 0 5 2 15 2
Varbergs BoIS (loan) 2017 Superettan 10 1 10 1
Helsingborgs IF (loan) 2017 Superettan 10 1 10 1
IFK Värnamo (loan) 2017 Superettan 22 0 2 0 2 0 26 0
Syrianska FC (loan) 2019 Superettan 9 1 9 1
Career total 95 26 10 3 0 0 4 0 109 29

International

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As of matches played on 16 July 2019[10]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Uganda 2019 6 0
Total 6 0

References

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  1. ^ a b Föräldralös och övergiven nytt superlöfte, svenskelitfotboll.se, 21 May 2015
  2. ^ a b Abdu Lumala at Soccerway
  3. ^ "Föräldralös och övergiven nytt superlöfte". svenskelitfotboll.se. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Det är en saga" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  5. ^ Wagih, Ahmed (31 July 2019). "Pyramids sign Ibrahim Hassan, Lumala Abdu". KingFut. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Abdu Lumala novi je igrač Slaven Belupa" [Abdu Lumala is the new player of Slaven Belup] (in Croatian). Slaven Belupo. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Player profile :: Lumala Abdu :: Transfers". BeSoccer. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Uganda v Turkmenistan game report". National Football Teams. 9 June 2019.
  9. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "National Team & Club Appearances: Abdu Lumala". national-football-teams.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  10. ^ Abdu Lumala at National-Football-Teams.com