Pa Dibba

Pa Amat Dibba (born 15 October 1987) is a Gambian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Swedish club IFK Haninge.

Career

Early career

Dibba was born in Gambia but moved to Sweden with his family at age seven.^[1] The family settled in Brandbergen, near Stockholm.^[2] As a youth player he spent time with Hammarby IF, FOC Farsta and Enskede IK before eventually playing first team football with Brandbergens IF.^[3]

Brandbergens IF were playing in the ninth tier of Swedish football at the time but would make a quick rise to the fifth tier during Dibba's years with the club. At the start of 2011 Dibba trialed with Hammarby IF feeder club Hammarby Talang FF. They were interested in signing him but didn't have room in their squad at the time. Dibba instead remained at Brandbergen for the first half of the season and then trialed with Superettan side GIF Sundsvall during the summer, where he was eventually signed to a 3.5 year deal.^[4]

GIF Sundsvall

He soon established himself as a frequent starter in Sundsvall. Between 2011 and 2016 he would make 132 appearances for the yo-yo club in both Allsvenskan and Superettan, scoring 34 competitive goals. On the 19 November 2014 Pa signed a new contract with GIF Sundsvall lasting until 2016.^[5]

With only six months left of this contract, Dibba attracted the attention from fellow Allsvenskan team Hammarby IF during the 2016 midseason. He completed a transfer to the Stockholm-based club, where he previously had been on trial, on 8 August 2016.^[6]

Hammarby IF

He made his debut for Hammarby a week later in an away fixture against Sundsvall, the team he just had left. The appearance sparked some controversy as the Sundsvall staff claimed the two clubs had reached a spoken "gentlemen's agreement" that Dibba would not feature in this particular game.^[7] However, the deal was later denied by officials from Hammarby in a statement on their website.^[8] On 26 September 2016, Dibba scored his first goal in Allsvenskan for Hammarby against Falkenbergs FF on away turf in a 2–0 win.^[9]

On 17 April 2017, Dibba scored the decisive goal as Hammarby won against fierce rivals AIK. He settled the score at 2–1 in the later stages of the game, citing "it had been a dream to determine a derby".^[10]

Dibba had his major breakthrough in 2018, scoring 7 goals in 10 matches, as Hammarby was placed first in the league mid-season. He was voted "Allsvenskan Player of the Month" in May.^[11]

Shenzhen FC

On 28 June 2018, Dibba joined Chinese club Shenzhen FC^[12] He signed a three-year contract with the China League One club,^[13] as reports suggested a transfer fee of around 12 million Swedish kronor (approximately £1 million).^[14]

Shanghai Shenxin

In February 2019, Dibba was loaned to China League One side Shanghai Shenxin for the 2019 season.^[15]

Personal life

Dibba has a total of 14 siblings.^[1] Even though he has lived the majority of his life in Sweden, it was his dream to represent the Gambia national football team.^[16]

He is a supporter of Real Madrid and names the Brazilian striker Ronaldo as his football idol.^[17]

In August 2017, R&B artist Madi Banja released a single called "Pa Dibba". The duo are personal friends and share Gambian heritage.^[18]

Career statistics

As of October 2013^{[19][needs update]}

International

Scores and results list the Gambia's goal tally first.^[20]

References

1. ^ "Lär känna Pa Dibba – Kungen av Fifa" (in Swedish). GIF Sundsvall. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
2. ^ "Dibba skrattar hela vägen" (in Swedish). Sundsvalls Tidning. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
3. ^ "Pa Dibba – GIF:s joker" (in Swedish). Dagbladet. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
4. ^ "Från sjuan till allsvensk succé" (in Swedish). SN24. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
5. ^ "Pa Dibba förlänger kontraktet med GIF Sundsvall" (in Swedish). Gif Sundsvall. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
6. ^ "Pa Amat Dibba klar för Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
7. ^ "Avslöjar: Hammarby hade lovat att inte spela med Dibba - bryter överenskommelsen" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
8. ^ "Angående Pa Dibbas övergång och matchen mot GIF Sundsvall" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
9. ^ "Pa Dibba hyllades efter första målet" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
10. ^ "TV: Dibba derbyhjälte för Hammarby - avgjorde sent mot AIK" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
11. ^ "Pa Dibba är Månadens spelare i Allsvenskan" (in Swedish). Allsvenskan. 27 May 2018.
12. ^ "官方：冈比亚前锋迪巴加盟深圳佳兆业" (in Chinese). hupu.com. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
13. ^ "Pa Dibba lämnar Hammarby för kinesisk klubb" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 28 June 2018. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
14. ^ "Avslöjar: Så mycket får Hammarby för Dibba" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
15. ^ "申鑫官方宣布罗伯特萧以外援身份加盟 87万欧转会" (in Chinese). Sina.com. 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
16. ^ "Pa Dibba drömmer om landslaget" (in Swedish). IK Brage. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
17. ^ "Busfröts spelarenkäter del 16 med sheriffen speedkulan Pa Dibba" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
18. ^ "Madi Banja släpper 2 singlar – sjunger om Håkan Hellström, John & Yoko" (in Swedish). Gaffa. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
19. ^ "Eliteprospects.com – Pa Amat Dibba". Eliteprospects. Archived from the original on 2013-10-26. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
20. ^ "Dibba, Pa Amat". National Football Teams. Retrieved 8 February 2017.