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Tolu Arokodare
Nigerian footballer (born 2000) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Toluwalase Emmanuel Arokodare (born 23 November 2000), commonly referred to as Tolu, is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for Belgian club Genk and the Nigeria national team.[1] He is the winner of the 2025 Ebony Shoe, awarded to the best African player in Belgium.[2]
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Career
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During his youth in Nigeria, Arokodare played for Kash Academy and Flying Sports Academy in Festac, as well as the Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy. He later joined the Box2Box FC academy in Surulere, Lagos, and had trials with European clubs SC Freiburg and Toulouse. He then joined Latvian club Valmiera in June 2019.[3] In September 2020, Arokodare was loaned to German club 1. FC Köln for the 2020–21 season.[4] He made his professional debut for Köln in the Bundesliga on 26 September 2020, coming on as a substitute in the 76th minute for Sebastian Andersson in the away match against Arminia Bielefeld, which finished as a 1–0 loss.[5] On 28 June 2021, Arokodare joined Ligue 2 club Amiens on a two-year loan deal with an option to buy.[6]
On 31 January 2023, Arokodare joined Belgian Pro League side Genk on a permanent deal, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal,[7] scoring on his debut as substitute against Gent in a 3–2 away win.
Tolu was involved for the rest of the season in Genk's title challenge, and lying in third place heading into the final day, needed a home win over league leaders Royal Antwerp to clinch the club their first title since 2019, allied with second-placed Union Saint-Gilloise dropping points to Club Brugge. With results going their way going into stoppage time, Toby Alderweireld equalised in the 94th minute for Antwerp for a 2-2 draw, denying Genk the crown.[8][9]
Tolu hit 20 goals in the 2024-25 Belgian Pro League season for Genk, earning him the Ebony Shoe as best player in Belgium of African extraction. Tolu beat teammate Zakaria El Ouahdi, Union players Noah Sadiki and Promise David as well as Club Brugge midfielder Raphael Onyedika to the honour. [10][11]
For that 2024-25 campaign, Genk had led the league from August to April, but a late-season slump of one point in six games during the title play-offs saw them fall form first to third.[12]
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Personal life
Arokodare was born in Festac Town in Lagos, Nigeria.[3]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 27 July 2025
- Includes Latvian Cup, DFB-Pokal, Coupe de France, Belgian Cup
- Appearance in UEFA Europa League
- Two appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, seven appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
- As of match played 31 May 2025
International goals
- Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Arokodare goal.
Honours
Individual
References
External links
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