Bismark Ampofo
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 August 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Accra, Ghana | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Inter Turku | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2023 | Rumark Football Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023– | Inter Turku | 33 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 July 2024 | |||
Bismark Ampofo, nicknamed Opoku, (born 4 August 2002) is a Ghanaian professional footballer, playing as a central midfielder for Finnish Veikkausliiga club Inter Turku.[1][2]
Early life
[edit]Ampofo grew up in Ghana, in a small village near Kumasi. At the age of four, his parents divorced and he moved to live with his grandmother along with his brothers and cousins. He quitted school aged eight, and eventually joined a football academy in Ivory Coast. Three years later Ampofo moved to another football academy in Mali. He spent eight years in Mali before returning to his native Ghana and joining Rumark Academy.[3]
Club career
[edit]In the Autumn 2022, Ampofo was scouted by a Finnish player agent in a local football tournament in Ghana. Later he made a pre-contract with HJK Helsinki, but after spending three weeks on trial with the club's U19 team, reserve team and the first team, he was released.[3]
Inter Turku
[edit]A few weeks prior to the start of the 2023 Veikkausliiga season, Ampofo signed a professional contract with Inter Turku, on a one-year deal with an option for extension.[4] He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 5 May 2023, in away game against SJK.[5]
After a promising start to the season, Ampofo became a regular in the starting line-up of the team, and in July 2023, his contract was extended until the end of 2025.[6][7] Ampofo scored his first Veikkausliiga goal on 7 August 2023, in a 4–1 away victory against KTP.[8] He also scored the winning goal on 26 August 2023, in a 2–1 home victory against Lahti.[9] After his first professional season, Ampofo was named The Best Player of the Season by the supporters of Inter,[10][11] and the Footballer of the Year of the Southwest Finland in a local sports gala.[12]
Next season Ampofo managed to make 11 appearances in the league, before on 17 July 2024 it was reported that he would be sidelined for the rest of the season due to a surgery-requiring foot injury.[13]
Career statistics
[edit]| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Inter Turku | 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | |
| 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | ||
| Total | 33 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 33 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 3 | ||
- ^ Includes Suomen Cup
- ^ Includes Finnish League Cup
Honours
[edit]Inter Turku
- Finnish Cup runner-up: 2024
- Finnish League Cup: 2024
References
[edit]- ^ Ahola, Harri (3 June 2023). "Puolivahingossa Turkuun päätynyt keskikenttämies on noussut puskista päälliköksi, kun Inter porskuttaa voittojen tiellä". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish).
- ^ "FC Interin Ampofo viihtynyt hyvin Turussa - "Olen todella nauttinut Veikkausliigasta tähän asti"". Veikkausliiga (in Finnish). 30 June 2023.
- ^ a b Kahdeksan vuotta ilman kenkiä, Helsingin Sanomat, Ari Virtanen, 3 July 2024
- ^ "VALENTIN PUROSALO JA BISMARK AMPOFO SOPIMUKSIIN INTERIN KANSSA". Inter Turku (in Finnish). 18 April 2023.
- ^ "SJK VS. INTER TURKU 2 – 1". soccerway. 5 May 2023.
- ^ Jussila, Joonas (5 July 2023). "Interin ghanalaisonnistuja jatkaa turkulaisseurassa pitkään - " Hän on noussut suuresta tuntemattomuudesta hyväksi liigapelaajaksi nopeasti"". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish).
- ^ "BISMARK AMPOFO JATKAA INTERISSÄ". Inter Turku (in Finnish). 5 July 2023.
- ^ Jyrkilä, Jorma (7 August 2023). "Turkulaiset potkivat päähän kunnon kundeja Kotkassa - Inter kukisti KTP:n 4-1". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish).
- ^ "Inter onnistui tiukan paikan edessä". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 26 August 2023.
- ^ TOMMI JYRY PALKITTIIN ANNELIN POKAALILLA – BISMARK AMPOFO ULTRABOYZ-PELAAJAN POKAALILLA, Inter Turku, 31 October 2023
- ^ Interin kausi jätti keskinkertaisen maun, mutta onnistujiakin löytyi, aamuset.fi, 5 November 2023
- ^ Interin Bismark Ampofo valittiin Varsinais-Suomen parhaaksi vuonna 2023, veikkausliiga.com, 31 January 2024
- ^ Turkulaisjoukkueelle karmea takaisku: tähtipelaaja sivuun loppukaudeksi, mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 17 July 2024
- ^ B.AMPOFO, soccerway
- ^ Bismark Ampofo, Finnish FA
External links
[edit]- Bismark Ampofo at Soccerway
- Bismark Ampofo at WorldFootball.net
- Living people
- 2002 births
- Ghanaian men's footballers
- Men's association football midfielders
- Veikkausliiga players
- FC Inter Turku players
- Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers
- Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Finland
- Expatriate men's footballers in Finland
- Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Ivory Coast
- Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Mali
- 21st-century Ghanaian sportsmen