Wikipedia

Akiel Raffie

Akiel Raffie (born 15 February 2003) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Northern Premier League Division One West club Nantwich Town.

Akiel Raffie
Personal information
Full name Akiel Raffie[1]
Date of birth (2003-02-15) 15 February 2003 (age 21)[2]
Place of birth Sydney, Australia
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Nantwich Town
Youth career
2014–2021 Fleetwood Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2023 Fleetwood Town 0 (0)
2021 → Bamber Bridge (loan) 2 (0)
2021–2022 → Kendal Town (loan) 7 (1)
2022 → Nantwich Town (loan) 17 (2)
2023 → Marine (loan) 4 (0)
2023 Espinho 5 (1)
2023– Nantwich Town 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 02:08, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

Early life

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Raffie was born in Sydney and raised in Camden, New South Wales to a South African father, Faghrie Deen, and Australian mother, Nicole Hogg.[3][4] He attended Currans Hill Public School and trained with local side South West Wanderers.[5] He first caught the eye of football scouts when he impressed in a World Football Group tour for under-9's in 2012, scoring two hat-tricks against Manchester United and Leeds United.[5] Members of Preston North End travelled over to Sydney to watch him and Raffie was invited back to Preston to train with the club.[5]

The family moved over permanently to the UK in 2013 and he had spells with the Academies of Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers before joining Fleetwood Town in 2014 after a Lancashire youth tournament and a number of trials elsewhere.[4] In 2018, he extended his youth scholarship with Fleetwood having also trained with the first team on a number of occasions and was also on the radar of Australia U17 coach, Trevor Morgan.[4]

Club career

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Fleetwood Town

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On 29 April 2021, he signed his first professional contract with Fleetwood Town, signing a deal until the end of the 2022–23 season, with the option of a further year in the clubs favour.[6] He had impressed and been an integral part of the title-winning under-18 side in the previous season and even made his first team debut in October 2020 when he came off the bench for Gerard Garner in the 3–0 win over Aston Villa U21 in the EFL Trophy.[6]

2021–2023: Loans in Northern Ireland

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On 29 October 2021, it was confirmed that he would join Northern Premier League Premier Division side Bamber Bridge on a short-term loan deal.[7] The move came after he had made his second appearance for Fleetwood's first team at the start of October and he had been a constant feature in Stephen Crainey's Development Squad.[7] On 29 November 2021, he returned to Fleetwood having completed his loan but did enough to impress Brig manager Jamie Milligan in his short time there making multiple appearances.[8]

On 11 December 2021, he dropped down a division when he signed for Northern Premier League Division One West strugglers Kendal Town on a month's loan, as new Kendal chairman, Michael O'Neill, had strong ties with Fleetwood.[9] He made his debut for the Mintcakes in the league clash away at Bootle.[10]

On 25 January 2022, he was back in the NPL Premier Division when he signed for Nantwich Town on a season-long loan.[11] On 15 February 2022, on his birthday, he managed to get a hat-trick of assists in a 5–1 win over Stalybridge Celtic away from home.[12]

On 24 March 2023, he signed for Marine on loan until the end of the season.[13] He was part of the side which won the Liverpool Senior Cup.[14]

At the end of the 2022–23 season, Raffie was released by Fleetwood Town[15] and subsequently joined Portuguese 5th-tier side Espinho.[16] On 24 September 2023, he scored Espinho's third goal in a 4–0 league victory at home to Águeda.[17]

On 24 November 2023, Raffie returned to Nantwich Town on a permanent deal.[18]

Personal life

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He is the cousin of former New Zealand Rugby international Sonny Bill Williams.[11] He has a younger brother Keyaan who played for the youth team at Manchester City.[4]

Career statistics

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As of match played 22 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Fleetwood Town 2020–21[2] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 1 0
2021–22[2] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 2 0
2022–23[2] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 1 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 0
Bamber Bridge (loan) 2021–22[19] NPL Premier Division 2 0 — — 1[b] 0 3 0
Kendal Town (loan) 2021–22[20] NPL Division One West 7 1 — — — 7 1
Nantwich Town (loan) 2021–22[21] NPL Premier Division 17 2 — — 1[c] 0 18 2
Marine (loan) 2022–23[22] NPL Premier Division 4 0 — — 1[d] 0 5 0
Espinho 2023–24 AF Aveiro 5 1 — — — 5 1
Nantwich Town 2023–24 NPL Division One West 0 0 — — 0 0 0 0
Career total 35 4 0 0 0 0 7 0 42 4
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  3. ^ Appearance in Cheshire Senior Cup
  4. ^ Appearance in Liverpool Senior Cup

References

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  1. ^ "EFL squad list 2021/22 & U21 registered contracted players" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "A. Raffie: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Fleetwood Town teenager wants to play for Bafana Bafana". 27 May 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via Sport24.
  4. ^ a b c d "Player Achievement". 17 February 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via South West Wanderers FC.
  5. ^ a b c Stillitano, Iliana (1 November 2012). "UK hopes for a rising star". Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via Camden Advertiser.
  6. ^ a b "Akiel Raffie pens first professional contract". 29 April 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via Fleetwood Town FC.
  7. ^ a b "Raffie joins Bamber Bridge on short-term loan". 29 October 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2022 – via Fleetwood Town FC.
  8. ^ "Raffie rejoins Town after valuable loan spell at Bamber Bridge". 29 November 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via Fleetwood Town FC.
  9. ^ "Three new signings for Kendal Town". 11 December 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via Cumbria Crack.
  10. ^ "Young trio head to Kendal Town on initial month-long loan deals". 13 December 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via Fleetwood Town FC.
  11. ^ a b Beresford, Jack (25 January 2022). "RAFFIE JOINS THE DABBERS ON SEASON-LONG LOAN". Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via Nantwich Town FC.
  12. ^ "Loan watch: Raffie gets a hat-trick of assists in dominant Nantwich win". 17 February 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via Fleetwood Town FC.
  13. ^ "AKIEL RAFFIE". marinefc.com. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  14. ^ "MARINE 0-0 RUNCORN LINNETS (4-3 PENS) - MATCH REPORT". 19 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Retained list: Development Squad". Fleetwood Town F.C. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  16. ^ "SC Espinho ambicioso num Campeonato SABSEG que será "muito competitivo e bonito de seguir"" [SC Espinho ambitious in a Campeonato SABSEG that will be "very competitive and beautiful to follow"]. AFATV (in European Portuguese). 12 September 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Primeiros três pontos do SC Espinho com goleada" [Espinho's first three points with rout]. Jornal N (in European Portuguese). 27 September 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Akiel Raffie rejoins the Dabbers!". Nantwich Town F.C. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Bamber Bridge – Appearances – Akiel Raffle – 2021-2022". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  20. ^ "Kendal Town – Appearances – Akiel Raffie – 2021-2022". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  21. ^ "Nantwich Town – Appearances – Akiel Raffie – 2021-2022". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  22. ^ "Marine – Appearances – Akiel Raffie". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
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