Akinbiyi was on the verge of joining Newport County in the Conference National. He had been training with Premier League club Stoke City, and was recommended to Newport by Stoke's Newport-born manager Tony Pulis; Pulis had been Akinbiyi's manager at Stoke between 2003 and 2005. However, Newport subsequently pulled out of the deal. Akinbiyi spent the next two years as a free agent. Colwyn Bay Having been without a club for three years, he was widely assumed to have retired from football by the time of his signing for Conference North side Colwyn Bay, as player-coach on 25 July 2013. He left Colwyn in January 2015. International career Born in Hackney, London to Nigerian parents, Akinbiyi qualified to play internationally for Nigeria, and through his birthplace for England. He was called up on three occasions for Nigeria, playing once in 1999 against Greece in Kilkis, Central Macedonia. Personal life Akinbiyi has worked as a sports academy consultant and largely in both Nigeria and Ghana. Career statistics Club International Honours Burnley Football League Championship play-offs: 2009 Notts County Football League Two: 2009–10 Individual Bristol City Player of the Season: 1998–99 Stoke City Player of the Season: 2003–04 Championship Player of the Month: August 2004 References External links Ade Akinbiyi Flown from the Nest If it's January, it must be time to send for Ade Akinbiyi Times Online, 7 January 2007 1974 births Living people Footballers from Hackney Central Citizens of Nigeria through descent Black British sportsmen Association football forwards Nigerian footballers Nigeria international footballers English footballers English people of Nigerian descent English people of Yoruba descent Expatriate soccer players in the United States Norwich City F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Houston Dynamo FC players Notts County F.C. players English Football League players Yoruba sportspeople Premier League players Major League Soccer players Senrab F.C. players Colwyn Bay F.C. players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate footballers