{{short description|Gambian footballer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Omar Colley | image = Omar Colley (cropped).jpg | upright = 1.1 | caption = Colley with Beşiktaş in 2023 | full_name = Omar Colley Daniel | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1992|10|24|df=y}} | birth_place = Lamin, The Gambia | height = 1.91 m<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sampdoria.it/en/player/202223-omar-colley/ |title=Omar Colley |work=U.C. Sampdoria |publisher=U.C. Besiktas |accessdate=2 September 2022 |author1=Dnext |archive-date=2 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902184543/https://www.sampdoria.it/en/player/202223-omar-colley/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> | position = Centre-back | currentclub = Al-Diriyah | clubnumber = 15 | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Jattas | years1 = 2010–2011 | clubs1 = Wallidan | caps1 = 15 | goals1 = 0 | years2 = 2012 | clubs2 = Real de Banjul | caps2 = 17 | goals2 = 1 | years3 = 2013–2014 | clubs3 = KuPS | caps3 = 57 | goals3 = 5 | years4 = 2015–2016 | clubs4 = Djurgårdens IF | caps4 = 44 | goals4 = 5 | years5 = 2016–2018 | clubs5 = Genk | caps5 = 54 | goals5 = 3 | years6 = 2018–2023 | clubs6 = Sampdoria | caps6 = 129 | goals6 = 3 | years7 = 2023–2024 | clubs7 = Beşiktaş | caps7 = 34 | goals7 = 7 | years8 = 2024–2025 | clubs8 = PAOK | caps8 = 8 | goals8 = 0 | years9 = 2025– | clubs9 = Al-Diriyah | caps9 = 28 | goals9 = 3 | nationalyears1 = 2009 | nationalteam1 = Gambia U17 | nationalcaps1 = 8 | nationalgoals1 = 2 | nationalyears2 = 2011 | nationalteam2 = Gambia U20 | nationalcaps2 = 10 | nationalgoals2 = 0 | nationalyears3 = 2012– | nationalteam3 = Gambia | nationalcaps3 = 64 | nationalgoals3 = 2 | club-update = 2 May 2026 (UTC) | nationalteam-update = 31 March March 2026 (UTC) }}
'''Omar Colley''' (born 24 October 1992) is a Gambian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saudi First Division League club Al-Diriyah and captains the Gambia national team.
==Club career== ===Gambian clubs=== Colley started out playing youth football with Wallidan FC who are a part of his home country's top flight GFA League First Division.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXDOE02MatY |title= Twitter-kyselytunti: Omar Colley |publisher= KuPS |date= 24 October 2014 |access-date= 15 January 2015}}</ref> After he started playing for the first team he trialed with Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City on two occasions in 2010 and 2011.<ref name="starlet">{{cite web |url= http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/wallidan-starlet-gets-kansas-city-invitation |title= Wallidan starlet gets Kansas City invitation |publisher= The Daily Observer |date= 24 November 2010 |access-date= 15 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150115061257/http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/wallidan-starlet-gets-kansas-city-invitation |archive-date= 15 January 2015 }}</ref> The Americans wanted to sign Colley but refused to pay any form of transfer fee or training compensation to his Gambian club. Wallidans founder called their offer "out of touch with modern football" and "an insult to the local clubs"<ref>{{cite web |url= http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/wallidan-clarify-omar-colley-transfer-talk |title= Wallidan clarify Omar Colley transfer talk |publisher= The Daily Observer |date= 11 April 2011 |access-date= 2 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140819085716/http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/wallidan-clarify-omar-colley-transfer-talk |archive-date= 19 August 2014 }}</ref> so Colley instead moved to Real de Banjul where he helped the team become Gambian champions in 2012.<ref name="FirstProContract">{{cite web |url= http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/defender-omar-colley-signs-first-professional-contract |title= Defender Omar Colley signs first professional contract |publisher= The Daily Observer |date= 28 January 2013 |access-date= 2 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130702163907/http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/defender-omar-colley-signs-first-professional-contract |archive-date= 2 July 2013 }}</ref>
===KuPS=== In January 2013, he signed a two-year contract with Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) in Finnish Veikkausliiga.<ref name="FirstProContract" /> During the time between his two seasons in Finland he trialed with a couple of 2. Bundesliga clubs and Arminia Bielefeld made an offer to buy Colley. An agreement was not reached however as they could not agree on the transfer fee.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://gambiasports.gm/index.php/football/1210-kups-reject-arminia-bielefeld-offer-for-omar-colley |archive-url= https://archive.today/20150118130646/http://gambiasports.gm/index.php/football/1210-kups-reject-arminia-bielefeld-offer-for-omar-colley |url-status=dead |archive-date= 18 January 2015 |title= KuPS reject Arminia Bielefeld offer for Omar Colley |publisher= Gambia Sports |date= 9 January 2014 |access-date= 15 January 2015 }}</ref> As his contract with the Finnish club was nearing the end Colley was described as "perhaps our best foreign signing ever" by the KuPS club president.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.fotbolldirekt.se/2014/09/26/nye-djurgardaren-ett-fysiskt-monster-snabbast-och-uthalligast-nagonsin/ |title= Nye djurgårdaren ett fysiskt monster: "Snabbast och uthålligast – någonsin" |publisher= FotbollDirekt |date= 26 September 2014 |access-date= 15 January 2015}}</ref>
===Djurgårdens IF and Genk=== In August 2014, Colley signed a three-year contract with Swedish side Djurgårdens IF, starting the first of January 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://gambiasports.gm/index.php/football/1458-omar-colley-leaves-kups-for-djurgarden |title= Omar Colley leaves KuPS for Djurgården |publisher= Gambia Sports |date= 13 August 2014 |access-date= 15 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20140815023716/http://gambiasports.gm/index.php/football/1458-omar-colley-leaves-kups-for-djurgarden |archive-date= 15 August 2014 }}</ref> He played his debut game for the club on 22 February 2015 against Ängelholms FF in the Swedish Cup.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://svenskfotboll.se/cuper-och-serier/svenska-cupen-herrar/grupp-7/?scr=result&fmid=2906562 |title= Djurgården - Ängelholms FF |date= 22 February 2015 | language = sv |access-date= 26 February 2015}}</ref> On 12 August 2016, Colley travelled to Belgium to complete a medical with top-tier club K.R.C. Genk and by doing that Colley missed the training session ahead of the match versus IF Elfsborg which was against the will of Djurgården.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dif.se/ingen-omar-colley-mot-elfsborg/ |title= Frågetecken kring Omar Colley inför Elfsborg |date= 12 August 2016 | language = sv |access-date= 12 August 2016}}</ref> Later that day the Director of Sport of Djurgården Bo Andersson told the football site Fotbollskanalen.se that Djurgården were prepared to take the case to FIFA due to the fact that Genk without the permission and knowledge of Djurgården booked a flight and hotel for Colley which violated the contract between Colley and Djurgården. Andersson stated that Djurgården would refuse to sell Colley to Genk after that incident.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fotbollskanalen.se/allsvenskan/djurgarden-vagrar-salja-colley-till-genk-beredda-ta-arendet-till-fifa/|title= Djurgården vägrar sälja Colley till Genk: "Beredda ta ärendet till Fifa" |date= 12 August 2016 | language = sv |access-date= 12 August 2016}}</ref> On 14 August, Colley started the match against IF Elfsborg on the bench due to the recent event.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dif.se/forsta-krysset-mot-elfsborg/|title= Första krysset mot Elfsborg |work= DIF Fotboll |date= 14 August 2016 | language = sv |access-date= 15 August 2016}}</ref> The following day Colley was sold to Genk despite the promise not to sell Colley to Genk. The transfer sum was reported by the Swedish newspaper Expressen to be €2 million and a resale clause which would make Colley the third most expensive defender ever sold by an Allsvenskan team after former Djurgården player Daniel Amartey and IF Elfsborg player Jon Jönsson.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.expressen.se/sport/fotboll/allsvenskan/djurgarden-saljer-nu-omar-colley-till-genk/|title= Djurgården säljer nu Omar Colley till Genk |date= 15 August 2016 | language = sv |access-date= 15 August 2016}}</ref>
=== Sampdoria === On 19 June 2018, he signed for Italian club Sampdoria.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.legaseriea.it/it/sala-stampa/notizie/info/colley-e-blucerchiato-arriva-dal-genk-a-titolo-definitivo|title=COLLEY È BLUCERCHIATO: ARRIVA DAL GENK A TITOLO DEFINITIVO|website=legaseriea.it|language=it|access-date=14 March 2020|archive-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622091115/http://www.legaseriea.it/it/sala-stampa/notizie/info/colley-e-blucerchiato-arriva-dal-genk-a-titolo-definitivo|url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== Beşiktaş === On 9 February 2023, Turkish club Beşiktaş announced the signing of Colley to a contract until the end of the 2024–25 season, with a conditional one-year extension option based on performance. The transfer fee announced was 2.3 million euros.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Beşiktaş J.K.|url=https://bjk.com.tr/tr/haber/85602/omar-colleyin-transfer-sureci-tamamlandi.html|title=Omar Colley'in Transfer Süreci Tamamlandı|date=9 February 2023|access-date=10 February 2023|language=tr}}</ref>
=== Al-Diriyah === On 23 July 2025, Colley joined Saudi First Division League club Al-Diriyah.<ref>{{cite web |title=Omar Colley and a new experience in Saudi Arabia: More details! |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/article/omar-colley-experience-saudi-arabia-113500944.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAE5FcGcyBhq82lfNm0bQSjyk9iyVYUe9x6yHZwFUU9ByqwLZex6ISbDuWwq0S0wWid0RO-_1G2O_NbINoidUDzdywXvzgLsGLZqi0k9In-QXbalxngbt8XlGyMYSURvu73OfD9hJmBTFofYPJ7wMa8XajtnXBsMOvVuD325LLAaJ}}</ref>
==International career== Colley was part of the Gambia national under-17 football team that won the 2009 African U-17 Championship as well as the Gambia national under-20 football team that played in the 2011 African Youth Championship.<ref name="starlet" /> In 2012, he made his debut for the senior Gambia national team in a friendly game against Angola.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.national-football-teams.com/matches/report/9537/Angola_Gambia.html|title=Angola vs. Gambia (1:1)|last=Strack-Zimmermann|first=Benjamin|website=national-football-teams.com|language=en|access-date=14 March 2020}}</ref> He played in the 2021 Africa cup of Nations, his national team's first continental tournament, where they made a sensational quarter-final.<ref>[https://www.cafonline.com/total-africa -cup-of-nations/matches/2021/2243295/lineups Line ups] cafonline.com</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/59746378 | title=The Gambia name squad for first Nations Cup finals | work=BBC Sport }}</ref>
== Career statistics == ===Club=== {{updated|10 April 2025}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition |- !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|Cup{{efn|Includes Suomen Cup, Svenska Cupen, Belgian Cup, Coppa Italia, Turkish Cup}} !colspan="2"|Other{{efn|Includes Finnish League Cup and Turkish Super Cup}} !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |Wallidan |2011 |GFA League First Division |15||0||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||15||0 |- |Real de Banjul |2012 |GFA League First Division |17||1||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||17||1 |- |rowspan=3|KuPS |2013 |Veikkausliiga |26||2||4||0||8||1||colspan=2|–||38||3 |- |2014 |Veikkausliiga |32||4||2||0||2||0||colspan=2|–||36||4 |- !colspan=2|Total !58!!6!!6!!0!!10!!1!!0!!0!!74!!7 |- |rowspan=3|Djurgården |2015 |Allsvenskan |27||3||3||0||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||30||3 |- |2016 |Allsvenskan |17||2||3||0||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||20||2 |- !colspan=2|Total !44!!5!!6!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!50!!5 |- |rowspan=3|Genk |2016–17 |Belgian First Division A |35||3||4||0||colspan=2|–||13{{efn|Appearances in UEFA Europa League|name=uel}}||1||52||4 |- |2017–18 |Belgian First Division A |38||1||5||0||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||43||1 |- !colspan=2|Total !73!!4!!9!!0!!0!!0!!13!!1!!95!!5 |- |rowspan=6|Sampdoria |2018–19 |Serie A |21||0||2||0||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||23||0 |- |2019–20 |Serie A |31||0||1||0||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||32||0 |- |2020–21 |Serie A |29||2||1||0||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||30||2 |- |2021–22 |Serie A |32||0||1||0||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||33||0 |- |2022–23 |Serie A |16||1||2||0||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||18||1 |- !colspan=2|Total !129!!3!!7!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!136!!3 |- |rowspan=4|Beşiktaş |2022–23 |Süper Lig |10||0||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||colspan=2|–||10||0 |- |2023–24 |Süper Lig |22||7||3||0||colspan=2|–||8{{efn|Appearances in UEFA Conference League|name=uecl}}||1||33||8 |- |2024–25 |Süper Lig |2||0||1||0|| colspan="2" |–|| colspan="2" |–||3||0 |- !colspan=2|Total !34!!7!!4!!0!!0!!0!!8!!1!!46!!8 |- |PAOK |2024–25 |Super League Greece |8||0||0||0||colspan=2|–||5{{efn|name=uel}}||0||13||0 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !378!!26!!32!!0!!10!!1!!26!!2!!446!!29 |} {{notelist}}
===International=== {{updated|match played 29 May 2026}}<ref name="NFT">{{NFT player}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Appearances and goals by national team and year !National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="14"|Gambia |2012||1||0 |- |2013||5||0 |- |2015||2||0 |- |2016||3||0 |- |2017||2||0 |- |2018||1||0 |- |2019||8||0 |- |2020||3||0 |- |2021||7||0 |- |2022||10||0 |- |2023||6||1 |- |2024||10||0 |- |2025||5||0 |- |2026||2||2 |- !colspan="2"|Total!!65!!3 |}
:''As of match played 29 May 2026. Gambia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Colley goal.''<ref name="NFT"/>
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ List of international goals scored by Omar Colley !scope=col|No. !scope=col|Date !scope=col|Venue !scope=col|Opponent !scope=col|Score !scope=col|Result !scope=col|Competition |- |align=center|1||28 March 2023||Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca, Morocco||{{fb|MLI}}||align=center|'''1'''–0||align=center|1–0||2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |- |align=center|2||31 March 2026||Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, Diamniadio, Senegal||{{fb|SEN}}||align=center|'''1'''–2||align=center|1–3||Friendly |- |align=center|3 ||29 May 2026||Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey||{{fb|IRI}}||style="text-align:center"|'''1'''–0|| style="text-align:center"|1–3||Friendly |}
==Honours== '''Beşiktaş''' *Turkish Cup: 2023–24 *Turkish Super Cup: 2024<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.turkiyetoday.com/sports/besiktas-claims-turkcell-super-cup-with-5-0-win-over-galatasaray-35863/|title=Besiktas claims Turkcell Super Cup with 5-0 win over Galatasaray|website=Türkiye Today|date=3 August 2024|access-date=3 August 2024}}</ref>
'''Gambia U17''' *African U-17 Championship: 2009
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Soccerway|omar-colley/246644}}
{{Al-Diriyah Club squad}} {{Navboxes | title = Gambia squads | bg = #0C1C8C | fg = white | bordercolor = #CE1126 | list = {{Gambia squad 2021 Africa Cup of Nations}} {{Gambia squad 2023 Africa Cup of Nations}} }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colley, Omar}} Category:1992 births Category:Footballers from Banjul Category:Gambian Muslims Category:Living people Category:Gambian men's footballers Category:The Gambia men's youth international footballers Category:The Gambia men's international footballers Category:Men's association football central defenders Category:Wallidan FC players Category:Real de Banjul FC players Category:Kuopion Palloseura players Category:Djurgårdens IF Fotboll players Category:KRC Genk players Category:UC Sampdoria players Category:Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Category:PAOK FC players Category:Diriyah Club players Category:Veikkausliiga players Category:Allsvenskan players Category:Belgian Pro League players Category:Serie A players Category:Süper Lig players Category:Super League Greece players Category:GFA League First Division players Category:Saudi First Division League players Category:2021 Africa Cup of Nations players Category:2023 Africa Cup of Nations players Category:Gambian expatriate men's footballers Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Category:Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Finland Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Category:Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Category:Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Category:Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Category:Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Category:Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Category:Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia