 Touray withStockport County in the 2023–24 season | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ibou Omar Touray[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1994-12-24)24 December 1994 (age 30) | ||
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Stockport County | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011–2014 | Everton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2015 | Chester | 19 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Rhyl | 29 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | Nantwich Town | 38 | (0) |
| 2017–2023 | Salford City | 237 | (8) |
| 2023– | Stockport County | 67 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015– | Gambia | 23 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:44, 23 March 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:07, 17 September 2024 (UTC) | |||
Ibou Omar Touray (born 24 December 1994) is a professionalfootballer who plays as aleft back forEFL League One clubStockport County.[3]
Touray began his career with local teamEverton, but left in 2014 having made no appearances for the first team. He spent successive seasons in the lower leagues withChester,Rhyl, andNantwich Town, before signing forNational League North teamSalford City in 2017. He helped them achieve back to back promotions in his first two seasons, first to theNational League and then to League Two, the first time Salford had reached theEnglish Football League in their history. He is the longest serving player in the clubs' history, and helped the club win the2020 EFL Trophy Final. During hisfinal season, he served as the teamcaptain.
Born in England, Touray representsGambia internationally, qualifying through his father.[4] He made his international debut for Gambia in 2015, and represented his country at the2021 Africa Cup of Nations, their first ever major international tournament, helping them to reach the quarter-finals.
Born inToxteth,[5]Liverpool, Touray started his career atEverton, having joined the club in 2011.[6] He was close of joiningLiverpool before joining Everton instead.[7] After progressing through the Everton's youth system, he signed his first professional contract at the club in July 2013.[6][4] Although he was given a number 40 shirt in the 2013–14 season, he was released by the club in May 2014.[8]
After leaving Everton in the summer, Touray went on a trial atTranmere Rovers.[9] After the trial was unsuccessful, he joinedChester on 13 September 2014,[10] having caught the eye of managerSteve Burr during a pre-season game between Tranmere and Chester.[7]
After appearing as an unused substitute againstWoking, Touray made his Chester debut three days later joining the club, coming on as a first half substitute, in a 2–0 win overSouthport.[11][12] Since making his Chester debut, Touray quickly established himself in the starting eleven at the club, playing in the left-midfield position.[7] His performance attracted attention fromLeague One sideOldham Athletic, which he appeared on the substitute bench on two occasions.[13] After returning, he appeared in every match until he was sent-off for a "wild challenge" on Nicky Clee, in a 4–1 loss toAltrincham on 31 December 2014.[14] Although he served a three match suspension,[15] Touray, however, lost his first team place for the rest of the season and was released by the club.[16]
After leaving Chester, Touray moved to Wales when he joinedRhyl.[17][18]
Touray made his Rhyl debut in the opening game of the season, in a 1–1 draw againstBangor City on 21 August 2015, starting the whole game.[19] Since making his Rhyl debut, he established himself in the starting eleven for the side despite missing out one game through suspension.[20] It wasn't until on 9 April 2016 when Touray scored his first goals, in a 5–0 win overPort Talbot Town.[21] Rhyl had not won in 16 matches and faced accusations ofmatch fixing due to suspicious betting patterns.[22] At the end of the season, Touray went on to make a total of 29 appearances and scoring two times in total.
After one season at Rhyl, Touray was released by Rhyl in May 2016.[23][24]
After being released by Rhyl,[23] he signed forNantwich Town.[25] His move came after at a recommendation from the club's manager Dave Cooke.[26]
Touray made his Nantwich Town debut in the opening game of the season, in a 1–1 draw againstAshton United.[27] Throughout the season, Touray established himself in the starting eleven at Nantwich Town as a left-back.[28] He'a also played a role when the club won 5–3 in the penalty shootout to the final of Cheshire Senior Cup againstWarrington Town.[29] However, the club went on to lose the final after losing toCrewe Alexandra 3–2.[30]
After making 41 appearances in all competitions, Touray was awarded the club's Young Player of the Year.[31][32]
He's resilient, trains every single day to his maximum... He's learning more and more about the game, certainly as a full-back and the many challenges you face. When a player is as fit as he possibly can be, he understands what's required from him in the team and he goes out and commits every day, anything can happen for him in a positive way.
In May 2017, he signed forSalford City.[34] Touray made his Salford City debut in the opening game of the season, in a 2–0 loss againstDarlington.[35] At the conclusion of the2018–19 season as Salford earned back-to-back promotions into the Football League, Touray scored Salford's third goal in the2019 National League play-off final, a 3–0 victory againstAFC Fylde atWembley Stadium on 11 May 2019.[36] In 2021, he played in thedelayed2020 EFL Trophy final againstPortsmouth, helping keep a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw before Salford won the resultingpenalty shoot-out.[37]
Following an impressive2020–21 season, Touray was named in the2020–21 EFL League Two Team of the Season at the league's annual awards ceremony.[38] In June 2021, Touray signed a new two-year contract; Touray and managerGary Bowyer both cited a connection with Salford's supporters as being key to the new deal.[39] He made his 200th appearance forThe Ammies againstBristol Rovers in November 2021, cementing his record as the club's modern-day record appearance holder.[40]
In January 2023, he made his 250th Salford appearance in a 2–0 league win againstSutton United.[41] Along with teammateElliot Watt, Touray was named in theEFL League Two Team of the Season for the2022–23 season.[42]
In June 2023, it was announced that he would sign forStockport County on 1 July 2023.[3][43] Touray scored his first goal forThe Hatters against former club Salford atMoor Lane on 14 March 2024, scoring his teams' first to help overcome a two-goal defiicit.[44]
He made his international debut forGambia in 2015.[17] Touray is eligible for Gambia through his father, who moved to England aged 16,[45][46] and is one of several of the Gambiandiaspora called up who helped the country's results improve.[47] In a 2021 interview, Touray said that his proudest moment in international football was when Gambia drew 1–1 withAlgeria, who at the time were unbeaten in over two years.[46]
Touray played in the2021 Africa Cup of Nations, his national team's first continental tournament, where they made the quarter-final.[48][49] He described representing the country at the tournament, as well as visiting the residency ofAdama Barrow, thePresident of the Gambia, as "surreal".[45] He missed theknockout stage match againstGuinea through illness.[50]
At the2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Touray became the first Stockport County player to feature at a major international tournament.[51]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chester | 2014–15[52][53] | Conference Premier | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 1 | 23 | 1 | |
| Rhyl | 2015–16[52] | Welsh Premier League | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| Nantwich Town | 2016–17[54] | NPL Premier Division | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9[b] | 0 | 53 | 0 |
| Salford City | 2017–18[52] | National League North | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 2018–19[52][55] | National League | 45 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | 52 | 3 | ||
| 2019–20[56] | League Two | 35 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 42 | 5 | |
| 2020–21[57] | League Two | 46 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[d][e] | 0 | 51 | 1 | |
| 2021–22[59] | League Two | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[d] | 1 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2022–23[60] | League Two | 45 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8[f] | 0 | 56 | 0 | |
| Total | 237 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 272 | 10 | ||
| Stockport County | 2023–24[61] | League Two | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 38 | 1 |
| 2024–25 | League One | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| Total | 67 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 78 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 390 | 11 | 21 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 36 | 2 | 455 | 14 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gambia[17] | 2015 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 23 | 0 | |
Salford City
Stockport County
Individual
Toxteth-born former Everton Academy player Ibou Touray
Gambia squads | |||||||||||||
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