Super Eagles 2013 AFCON winner joins English side

Former Super Eagles defender Efe Ambrose recently made another move in his career, joining North West Counties League side Bury FC in the lower divisions of the English football pyramid. 

The 35-year-old who was a member of the late Stephen Keshi’s squad that triumphed in the 2013 African Cup of Nations, has been something of a journeyman in his career, and Bury will become the 13th club whose shirt he donned. 

Bury announced this past weekend that they have signed the experienced Efe Ambrose on a free transfer after he left Scottish side Queen of the South following the end of the 2023/24 season. 

Long past his hay days when he won four Scottish Premiership titles with Celtic and earned regular call-ups for the Super Eagles, with whom he amassed 51 caps, the 35-year-old continues to be a useful cog for lower division teams. 

In the last three years, he has played for Dunfermline Athletic and Greenock Morton in the Scottish Championship and most recently Queen of the South in Scotland's League One. 

He played 32 games in his one-year stint at the club, underscoring his importance, and following the end of his contract, Bury snapped him up. 

Excited about completing the deal for the veteran, the Shaker’s manager, Dave McNabb, had the following to say:

“A ball-playing centre-half with an unbelievable pedigree and huge experience with over 50 international caps and over 400 professional appearances,” McNabb said, per the club’s website.

“Efe is a great character and will certainly help some of the younger players in the squad. It’s a brilliant signing for the club and one I hope will excite the fans.”

He signed a one-year contract for the 2024/25 season and although details of his wages were not released, his pay is unlikely to be much different from the reported £25,480 he earned annually at Queen of the South.