Ebrima Colley

{{short description|Gambian footballer (born 2000)|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Ebrima Colley

| image = Ebrima Colley (cropped).jpg

| caption = Colley in 2024

| full_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2000|2|1|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Serekunda, The Gambia

| height = 1.79 m

| position = Winger

| currentclub = Young Boys

| clubnumber = 11

| youthyears1 = 2017–2019

| youthclubs1 = Atalanta

| years1 = 2019–2024

| clubs1 = Atalanta

| caps1 = 5

| goals1 = 0

| years2 = 2020–2021

| clubs2 = → Hellas Verona (loan)

| caps2 = 23

| goals2 = 1

| years3 = 2021–2022

| clubs3 = → Spezia (loan)

| caps3 = 11

| goals3 = 0

| years4 = 2022–2023

| clubs4 = → Fatih Karagümrük (loan)

| caps4 = 24

| goals4 = 1

| years5 = 2023–2024

| clubs5 = → Young Boys (loan)

| caps5 = 24

| goals5 = 3

| years6 = 2024–

| clubs6 = Young Boys

| caps6 = 22

| goals6 = 2

| nationalyears1 = 2019–

| nationalteam1 = Gambia

| nationalcaps1 = 28

| nationalgoals1 = 2

| club-update = 18:30, 16 March 2025 (UTC)

| nationalteam-update = 8 September 2024

}}

Ebrima Colley (born 1 February 2000) is a Gambian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Swiss Super League club Young Boys and the Gambia national team.

Club career

Colley started playing for Atalanta's under-19 squad in the 2017–18 season.{{cite web|publisher=TuttoCalciatori|url=https://www.tuttocalciatori.net/Colley_Ebrima|title=Profile by TuttoCalciatori|accessdate=25 March 2019|language=Italian}} He made his professional debut for the senior team in a 1–2 Serie A loss to Bologna on 15 December 2019.{{cite web|url=https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2019/12/15/italy/serie-a/bologna-fc-1909/atalanta-bergamo/3111850/|title=Bologna vs. Atalanta - 15 December 2019|website=Soccerway}}

On 23 September 2020, Colley joined Serie A side Hellas Verona on loan for the remainder of the season.{{cite press release|publisher=Hellas Verona F.C.|url=https://hellasverona.it/it/news/ufficiale-ebrima-colley-e-gialloblu|title=Ufficiale: Ebrima Colley è gialloblu|date=23 September 2020|access-date=23 September 2020|language=it|archive-date=24 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924071635/https://www.hellasverona.it/it/news/ufficiale-ebrima-colley-e-gialloblu|url-status=dead}}

On 7 August 2021, Colley joined fellow top-tier club Spezia on loan until the end of the campaign.{{cite press release|publisher=Spezia Calcio|url=https://www.acspezia.com/it/news/ufficiale-ebrima-colley-un-nuovo-calciatore-dello-spezia.22701.html|title=Ufficiale {{!}} Ebrima Colley è un nuovo calciatore dello Spezia|date=7 August 2021|access-date=7 August 2021|language=it}} On 13 August 2022, Colley was loaned to Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük for the rest of the season.{{cite web|publisher=Fatih Karagümrük|url=https://twitter.com/karagumruk_sk/status/1558453438169714688|title=Ebrima Colley Karagümrük'te.|date=13 August 2022|access-date=15 August 2022|language=tr}}

On 1 September 2023, Colley joined Swiss Super League club Young Boys on loan for the remainder of the season, with the deal including an option-to-buy.{{cite web |date=1 September 2023 |title=YB VERPFLICHTET EBRIMA COLLEY |trans-title=YB SIGNS EBRIMA COLLEY |url=https://www.bscyb.ch/news?nid=13732 |access-date=1 September 2023 |publisher=Young Boys |language=de-CH}}{{Cite web |date=1 September 2023 |title=L'YB rinforza l'attacco con Ebrima Colley |url=https://www.rsi.ch/sport/calcio/LYB-rinforza-lattacco-con-Ebrima-Colley-16510720.html |access-date=2 September 2023 |website=RSI |language=it-CH}} Later that year, on 13 December, he became the first Gambian to score in the UEFA Champions League, by netting a goal in a 2–1 away defeat against RB Leipzig.{{cite web |url=https://fr.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0288-19b02a70c63e-b59fe4b4ba67-1000--group-stage-in-numbers/ |title=UEFA Champions League: 2023/24 group stage in numbers |publisher=UEFA |date=18 December 2023 }}

International career

Colley made his debut for the Gambia national football team on 22 March 2019 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Algeria, as a 81st-minute substitute for Ebrima Sohna.{{cite web|publisher=Confederation of African Football|url=http://www.cafonline.com/en-us/competitions/32ndeditionoftotalafricacupofnations/MatchDetails?MatchId=g%2frBHglM2gmUpnwMk4sVmPznvdnlKiiVHL63dQPPMLu2njrP3t4sWxprnMOTsYMc|title=Algeria v The Gambia game report|date=22 March 2019}}

He played in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, his national team's first continental tournament, where they made a sensational quarter-final.https://www.cafonline.com/total-africa -cup-of-nations/matches/2021/2243295/lineups{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/59746378 | title=The Gambia name squad for first Nations Cup finals | work=BBC Sport }}

Career statistics

=Club=

rowspan="2"\|Club !rowspan="2"\|Season !colspan="3"\|League !colspan="2"\|National Cup !colspan="2"\|Continental !colspan="2"\|Total
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Atalanta \|2019–20 \|Serie A \|5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Hellas Verona (loan) \|2020–21 \|Serie A \|23	1	2	1	colspan="2"\|—	25	2
Spezia (loan) \|2021–22 \|Serie A \|11	0	1	1	colspan="2"\|—	12	1
Fatih Karagümrük (loan) \|2022–23 \|Süper Lig \|27	1	3	1	colspan="2"\|—	30	2
Young Boys (loan) \|2023–24 \|Swiss Super League \|24	3	2	0	3{{efn\|Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League}}	1	29	1
Young Boys \|2024–25 \|Swiss Super League \|22	2	4	1	9{{efn\|name=UCL\|Appearances in UEFA Champions League}}	0	35	3
colspan="3"\|Career total !112	5	12	4	12	1	136	9

=International=

National team	Year	Apps
class=wikitable style=text-align:center \|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year
rowspan="6"\|Gambia \|2019	7	0
2020	2	0
2021	1	0
2022	6	0
2023	6	1
2024	6	1
colspan="2"\|Total\|\|28\|\|2

:Scores and results list Gambia's goal tally first.{{cite web|url=http://www.national-football-teams.com/player/73927/Ebrima_Colley.html|title=Colley, Ebrima|website=National Football Teams|access-date=6 September 2021}}

class="wikitable"

|+ List of international goals scored by Ebrima Colley

! No. !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition

16 November 2023

Benjamini Mkapa National Stadium, Miburani, Tanzania

align="center" |2–3

align=center | 2–3

2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying

23 January 2024

Stade de la Paix, Bouaké, Ivory Coast

align="center"|2–1

align="center"| 2–3