Paul Kpaka
Encyclopedia
Paul Kpaka is a Sierre Leonean
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

 footballer. He is a striker who last played for Germinal Beerschot in the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 first division
Jupiler League
The Belgian Pro League is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Belgian Second Division...

. His contract with the club ran out on 1 July 2010.

Early life

Paul Kpaka was born into the Sherbro
Sherbro people
The Sherbro people are a native people of Sierra Leone, who speak the Sherbro language; they make up 3% of Sierra Leone's population or about 201,000. They are also known as the Bullom people...

 Rogers family in Kenema
Kenema
Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone and the largest city in the Eastern Province with a population of 128,402 in the 2004 census and a more recent estimate of 169,937...

, the third largest city in Sierra Leone. He is a member of the famous Sherbro Kpaka or Rogers family originally from Bonthe District
Bonthe District
Bonthe District comprises several islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the southwestern coast of Sierra Leone and a mainland area. Its capital is the town of Mattru Jong and the largest town in the district is Bonthe, on Sherbro Island and the town of Masabendu....

. Kpaka grew up in Kenema and Bo. He attended one of Sierra Leone's most prominent secondary school, the Bo Government Secondary School (commonly known as Bo School
Bo School
The Bo Government Secondary School commonly known as Bo School is a secondary school located in Bo, the second largest city in Sierra Leone. The school was founded in 1906 at the behest of Governor Leslie Probyn to educate the sons of Paramount Chiefs in the British manner...

) in Bo
Bo, Sierra Leone
Bo is the second largest city in Sierra Leone and the largest city in the Southern Province. It lies about 164 miles south-east of Freetown and had a population 149,957 in the 2004 census, with a current estimate is 231,494 . The city serve as the capital and administrative center of Bo District...

, Sierra Leone's second largest city. Kpaka who is commonly known by his nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

 Senegal and was considered the best secondary footballer in Sierra Leone . After he completed his secondary school education, his hometown club, Kamboi Eagles
Kamboi Eagles
The Kamboi Eagles of Kenema commonly known as Kamboi Eagles, is a Sierra Leonean football club based in Kenema, Sierra Leone, currently a member of the Sierra Leone National Premier League, the highest division of football league in Sierra Leone...

 of the Sierra Leone National Premier League
Sierra Leone National Premier League
Sierra Leone National Premier League is the top football league in Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1967. The league is sponsored by the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, one of the major Sierra Leonean banks. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpool are the two biggest and most successful clubs. The...

 signed him.

Germinal Beerschot

In 2002, Belgian club Germinal Beerschot signed him from FC Brussels, whom he had joined after playing for various clubs in Sweden and Feyenoord in the Netherlands. During his first season in belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, Kpaka was the top scorer in the Jupiler League
Jupiler League
The Belgian Pro League is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Belgian Second Division...

, hitting 28 league goals in the 2002-03 campaign. He won the Ebony Boot, an award given to the top African footballer in Belgium. He signed for fellow Belgian club Genk
K.R.C. Genk
Koninklijke Racing Club Genk , usually referred to as Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and they have won 3 Belgian champion titles in 1998–99, in 2001–02 and in 2010–11 as...

 for the next season.

Genk

Kpaka was expected to lead Genk to the top two position in the Jupiler League, and take the club to the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

, but he suffered a cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligaments are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee...

 injury during the beginning of the season, which kept him out of football for six months. When he returned from injury, he could no longer secure a place in the starting eleven. He left the club in 2006-2007 season and signed for another Belgian club Roeselare
K.S.V. Roeselare
K.S.V. Roeselare is a Belgian football club, from the city of Roeselare in West Flanders. Its matricule is the n°134. It has last played in the Belgian Pro League from 2005-06 to 2009-10...

.

Return to GBA

After two seasons for Roeselare, Kpaka returned to Germinal Beerschot in summer 2008. However, after two unsuccessful seasons, his contract was not renewed, and he will therefore leave Germinal Beerschot on 1 July 2010.

International career

Kpaka is a regular starter for Sierra Leone. He made his international debut for Sierra Leone in a 2004 African Nations Cup qualifier against Gabon
Gabon national football team
The Gabon national football team, nicknamed Azingo Nationale, is the national team of Gabon and is controlled by the Fédération Gabonaise de Football...

 on October 12, 2002. Sierra Leone won the match 2-0, with Kpaka scoring the first goal. Later on in the match, he got sent off for elbowing an opponent.

External links

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