# Ben Folami

Gbenga Tai "Ben" Folami (born 8 June 1999) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Adelaide United and the Australia national team.

## 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. In May 2018, Folami signed a new three-year contract at Ipswich until 2021. 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.

### Return to Ipswich Town

He scored his first goal for Ipswich in an EFL Trophy tie against Gillingham on 6 October 2020.
In April 2021, Ipswich announced that Folami would be released at the end of the 2020–21 season following the end of his contract.

### Melbourne Victory

On 28 October 2020, Folami joined Australian A-League side Melbourne Victory on loan until the end of the season. 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. In July 2021, after being released by Ipswich Town, Folami signed a permanent two-year contract with Melbourne Victory.

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

## Career statistics

    As of match played 11 November 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | Division | League | League | National Cup | National Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Ipswich Town | 2017–18 | Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| Ipswich Town | 2018–19 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Ipswich Town | 2019–20 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ipswich Town | 2020–21 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ipswich Town | Total | Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Stevenage (loan) | 2019–20 | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Melbourne Victory (loan) | 2019–20 | A-League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Melbourne Victory (loan) | 2020–21 | A-League | 17 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 3 |
| Melbourne Victory | 2021–22 | A-League | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 1 | 28 | 4 |
| Melbourne Victory | 2022–23 | A-League | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| Melbourne Victory | Total | Total | 47 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 56 | 8 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 53 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 65 | 9 |
* 1 2 Appearance in EFL Trophy
* ↑ Appearances in AFC Champions League
* ↑ One appearance and one goal in AFC Champions League, Two appearances in A-League Finals series

### International

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

## Honours
### Club

Melbourne Victory
* FFA Cup: 2021

### International

Australia U23
* AFC U-23 Asian Cup third place: 2020