James Abankwah

Early career

Abankwah was born in Waterford to Ghanaian parents who were working as religious missionaries in Ireland, before moving to Celbridge, then to Lucan before moving to Letterkenny where he began playing football with local side Letterkenny Rovers in 2011. He later moved to Longford with his family, where he played for local club Melview FC and also represented Longford at the prestigious Kennedy Cup youth tournament at Under-14 level in 2016, before the family moved again, returning to Lucan in Ireland's capital, Dublin. While still living in Longford, Abankwah signed for top Dublin schoolboy club Cherry Orchard, travelling to Dublin training by lifts from his parents and also by bus, aged 12. It was there where his performances attracted the interest of scouts from local League of Ireland club St Patrick's Athletic who signed Abankwah for their Under-15 team in January 2019, aged 14. On 24 October 2019, Abankwah was part of the side that won the Under-15 League of Ireland title, as they defeated rivals Shamrock Rovers 2–1 at Tallaght Stadium to claim the trophy. A month later they defeated the same opposition in the Under-15 Cup final on penalties at Richmond Park to win the double. In 2020, he was promoted straight to the Under-19 team, three years above his age group, where on 22 December 2020, he was part of the team that won the League of Ireland U19 Division Final, beating rivals Bohemians 2–1 after extra time at the UCD Bowl to secure a UEFA Youth…

As well as the Republic of Ireland, his country of birth, Abankwah is also eligible to represent Ghana at international level due to his parents being from there.

Under 15 & 16

Abankwah received his first callup to the Republic of Ireland U15 squad in January 2019, but did not feature in any of the 3 friendly games during the trip to Spain. His first international appearances came for the Republic of Ireland U16 team against Denmark U16 and England U16 in August 2019. In October 2019, he was included in the Republic of Ireland U16 squad for the following month's Victory Shield tournament played in Wales. He featured against Scotland U16 and Northern Ireland U16 at the tournament.

Under 18 & 19

He was named as captain of the Under-18 side by manager Colin O'Brien in November 2021 for a 0–0 draw with Malta U18 in a friendly. He made his first Republic of Ireland U19 appearances on 8 & 11 October 2021, playing in both a 2–2 and a 1–1 draw with Sweden U19 in two friendlies. He started all three of the team's 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification matches on their November 2021 trip to Bulgaria, featuring against Montenegro U19, Bosnia and Herzegovina U19 and Bulgaria U19, helping his team to qualify for the Elite Phase. Abankwah's first goal at international level came on 23 March 2022, scoring an equaliser in an eventual 3–1 defeat away to England U19 at Bescot Stadium in Walsall.

Under 21

Abankwah was called up to the Republic of…

Club

As of match played 19 September 2026

International

As of match played on 1 October 2026

St Patrick's Athletic FAI Cup: 2021