Stephen Payne (soccer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen Oyebolaji Payne | ||
| Date of birth | June 16, 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, Alabama, United States[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Forward Madison FC | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2015 | Chicago Magic | ||
| 2016–2017 | Estoril | ||
| 2017–2018 | Varzim | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015 | UCLA Bruins | 13 | (1) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Varzim B | 27 | (7) |
| 2018–2019 | Varzim | 14 | (1) |
| 2019 | Portimonense | 0 | (0) |
| 2020 | Mafra | ||
| 2020–2021 | Länk FCV | 20 | (0) |
| 2022 | Richmond Kickers | 28 | (1) |
| 2023– | Forward Madison | 32 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 15, 2023 | |||
Stephen Oyebolaji Payne (born June 16, 1997) is an American soccer player who currently plays as a defender for USL League One side Forward Madison FC.
Career[edit]
Born in the Birmingham, Alabama, United States, Payne is of Nigerian descent.[2] His father had a scholarship for college soccer at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, while his mother ran track at Alabama A&M University; he is the middle of three children with two sisters also playing soccer, Nigeria women's national team players Toni and Nicole Payne.[3]
Payne played for four years at Lake Forest Academy and one year at UCLA Bruins in 2015 before traveling to Europe for trials. Passed over by several professional clubs in France and Italy, he was taken on by a fourth-division Portuguese club and eventually earned his way into the under-23 team of G.D. Estoril Praia.[3]
After a season with their reserve team, Payne made his first team debut for Varzim S.C. during the 2018–19 LigaPro season. He played 19 total games, and scored the only goal of the match in the 88th minute at FC Porto B on 23 April 2019.[4]
Payne signed for Portimonense S.C. prior to the 2019–20 Primeira Liga season, alongside teammate Jeferson.[5]
On January 20, 2022, Payne returned to the United States by signing with USL League One club Richmond Kickers.[6]
Payne signed with rival USL League One club Forward Madison FC prior to the 2023 season.[7]
Career statistics[edit]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Varzim B | 2017–18 | Elite Série 1 AF Porto | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 7 |
| Varzim | 2018–19 | LigaPro | 14 | 1 | 5[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Portimonense | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | 41 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 7 | ||
- Notes
- ^ Appearances in the Taça da Liga
References[edit]
- ^ "Profile". UCLA. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ admin. "Stephen Payne continues to impress at Portuguese club Estoril - SCORE NIGERIA". Archived from the original on 2019-02-20. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- ^ a b McIntosh, Loyd (10 January 2017). "Stephen Payne ready to kick off career in Portugal". Upper 90. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Varzim vence FC Porto B, apesar da inferioridade numérica" [Varzim beat Porto B, despite numerical disadvantage]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 23 April 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Varzim vende Payne e Jeferson ao Portimonense" [Varzim sell Payne and Jeferson to Portimonense]. Mais Seminário (in Portuguese). 26 June 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Stephen Payne Brings European Experience to Richmond's Backline". USLLeagueOne.com. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ Warwick, Evan (December 7, 2022). "FMFC Signs Defender Stephen Payne". ForwardMadisonFC.com. Forward Madison FC. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ Stephen Payne at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ Stephen Payne at ForaDeJogo (archived)
External links[edit]
- Stephen Payne at ZeroZero
  | This biographical article related to an American soccer midfielder is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This biographical article related to a football midfielder from Nigeria is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1997 births
- Living people
- American men's soccer players
- American sportspeople of Nigerian descent
- American expatriate men's soccer players
- Men's association football midfielders
- Liga Portugal 2 players
- G.D. Estoril Praia players
- Varzim S.C. players
- Portimonense S.C. players
- Richmond Kickers players
- Forward Madison FC players
- Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
- American expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
- Soccer players from Alabama
- Soccer players from Birmingham, Alabama
- UCLA Bruins men's soccer players
- C.D. Mafra players
- American soccer midfielder stubs
- Nigerian football midfielder stubs