The former Wycombe and Northampton striker, eligible for Nigeria but never capped, joins the ownership group at a phoenix club rebuilding from the ground up in Yorkshire.
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Adebayo Akinfenwa has become a shareholder and part-owner of FC Farsley, joining the project through his close friendship with former Premier League goalkeeper David Stockdale and his wife Katie.
Akinfenwa and Stockdale were teammates for several years at Wycombe Wanderers, a spell that included some of the most successful seasons in the club’s history. That bond carried into this new venture after David and Katie Stockdale took over the club’s holding company in December 2025, following the liquidation of the original semi-professional side Farsley Celtic due to financial trouble.
Since then, the Stockdales have worked to rebuild football in the community by launching FC Farsley from scratch, with David taking on the roles of co-owner, director of football and first team manager.
Explaining his decision to invest, Akinfenwa said the move was about giving back to football after more than two decades as a professional, framing it as an effort to create pathways for young players and build a club rooted in its community rather than chasing quick results.
Starting From Scratch In English Football’s Lower Reaches
FC Farsley will begin life 12 tiers down the English football pyramid in the Yorkshire Amateur League Supreme Division after being denied entry into Step 6 of the National League System. It is a modest starting point for a phoenix club rising from Farsley Celtic’s collapse, but plans are already in motion to modernise the setup, including replacing the grass pitch at Throstle Nest with a 3G artificial surface. The club’s first pre-season friendly is set for this weekend against Shirebrook Town.
A Nigerian Career That Never Was
Akinfenwa retired in 2022 after 794 senior appearances and 233 goals across a career that took him through FK Atlantas in Lithuania, Barry Town in Wales, and a string of English clubs including Doncaster Rovers, Torquay United, Swansea City, Millwall, Gillingham and two spells at Northampton Town.
His profile grew further at AFC Wimbledon between 2014 and 2016, where he scored against boyhood club Liverpool in the FA Cup and helped the Dons win promotion to League One. He then spent his most productive years at Wycombe Wanderers from 2016, becoming the club’s record EFL goalscorer and helping them reach the Championship for the first time in their history in 2020, before playing his final match in the 2022 League One play off final at Wembley.
Despite being eligible to represent Nigeria through his parents and often speaking about his desire to play for the Super Eagles, Akinfenwa never earned a call up. Fierce competition for striking spots during his prime, when Nigeria could call on the likes of Yakubu Ayegbeni, Obafemi Martins, Emmanuel Emenike and Odion Ighalo, made the path difficult, and his time spent mostly in England’s lower divisions did not help his case with national team selectors.
📌 Did You Know?
- Akinfenwa was famously rated the strongest player in the EA Sports FIFA video game franchise for several years running.
- He earned the nickname “The Beast” because of his powerful physique and hold-up play.
- Akinfenwa once revealed informal talks about a Nigeria call-up took place when he was 21, but nothing materialised.
- Wycombe Wanderers reached the Championship for the first time in their history in 2020 during Akinfenwa’s spell there.
- Farsley Celtic’s liquidation in late 2025 left a gap in Yorkshire’s non-league football scene that FC Farsley now aims to fill.
- The Yorkshire Amateur League Supreme Division sits at the 12th tier of the English football pyramid.
- Odion Ighalo and Emmanuel Emenike, two strikers who kept Akinfenwa out of Nigeria contention, both went on to have spells in the Chinese Super League.
