Fuad Sule
Irish-Nigerian footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fuad Dapo Sule (born 20 January 1997) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for NIFL Premiership club Ballymena United.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fuad Dapo Sule[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 20 January 1997[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Ibadan, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ballymena United | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2013 | Crumlin United | ||
| 2013–2014 | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 2014–2016 | St Patrick's Athletic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016 | St Patrick's Athletic | 1 | (0) |
| 2017 | Bohemians | 24 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Barnet | 1 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Larne (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 2019–2023 | Larne | 130 | (3) |
| 2023–2025 | Glentoran | 71 | (0) |
| 2025–2026 | Persis Solo | 5 | (0) |
| 2026– | Ballymena United | 6 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 7 March 2026 | |||
Early life
Born in Ibadan, Nigeria, Sule moved to the Citywest area of Dublin aged three. He was in the academy at Crumlin United before joining Shamrock Rovers aged 16.[4]
Career
Sule joined St Patrick's Athletic in July 2014. He made his debut for the first team on the final day of the 2016 season against Derry City. This was his only appearance for the Saints before joining Bohemians in December 2016.[2] Sule won the League of Ireland Premier Division player of the month for July 2017. Sule won the Player of the Year award for Bohemians[5] and the League of Ireland Young Player of the Year award for 2017.[6] His transfer to Barnet went through on 1 January 2018 for an undisclosed fee.[7][8] Sule made his debut as a substitute against Crawley Town on 13 January 2018,[9] but made no further appearances for the Bees for the rest of the season and joined NIFL Championship side Larne on loan on 3 September 2018.[10] Sule joined Larne permanently on a two-and-a-half-year deal on 31 January 2019. He received the club's most man of the match awards in the 2018–19 season and established himself as a firm fans favourite with his all action style.[11] Sule left Larne at the end of the 2022–23 season after turning down a new contract. He made 185 appearances in all competitions before departing.[12]
On 8 July 2023, it was announced that Sule had signed for Larne's Irish League rival, Glentoran.
Sule departed Glentoran on the expiry of his contract in the summer of 2025, and signed for Super League club Persis Solo.
In February 2026 he returned to the Irish Premiership to sign for Ballymena United.[13]
Style of play
Sule played as a striker and attacking midfielder as a schoolboy, before switching to a defensive midfield role at St Patrick's Athletic. His style of play been compared to N'Golo Kanté.[4]
Personal life
Sule's brother Ajibola (born 1992) is also a footballer, having played for Shelbourne and Cabinteely, as well as his cousin Ismahil Akinade who has played in the League of Ireland, as well as Vietnam, Egypt, Bangladesh and Malaysia.[4]
Career statistics
- As of 4 January 2026[14]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2016 | League of Ireland Premier Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bohemians | 2017 | League of Ireland Premier Division | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| Barnet | 2017–18 | EFL League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | National League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Larne (loan) | 2018–19[15] | NIFL Championship | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| Larne | 2018–19[15] | NIFL Championship | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2019–20[15] | NIFL Premiership | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21[15] | NIFL Premiership | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22[15] | NIFL Premiership | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| 2022–23[15] | NIFL Premiership | 35 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 1 | |
| Total | 130 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 151 | 2 | ||
| Glentoran | 2023–24 | NIFL Premiership | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| 2024–25 | NIFL Premiership | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| Total | 71 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 0 | ||
| Persis Solo | 2025–26 | Super League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Career total | 251 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 301 | 3 | ||
Honours
Larne
- NIFL Championship: 2018–19[citation needed]
- County Antrim Shield: 2020–21,[16] 2021–22,[17] 2022–23 [18]
- NIFL Premiership: 2022–23[19]
Glentoran
- County Antrim Shield: 2024–25
Individual
- NIFL Championship Team of the Year: 2018–19[citation needed]
- League of Ireland Player of the Month: July 2017