Funso Ojo

PSV

Funso-King Ayorinde Ojo was born in Antwerp on 28 August 1991 to parents of Nigerian origin. He joined the PSV Eindhoven Academy from Germinal Beerschot in the 2004–05 season. He made his debut for the first-team at the age of 15, when head coach Ronald Koeman played him in a friendly against amateur side HVCH on 19 May 2007. He was called up by Huub Stevens to the substitute bench for a competitive fixture in the 2008–09 season. Ojo played his first Eredivisie match for PSV on 5 May 2009 against Willem II. Ojo signed a contract extension four months later, which would keep him at the Philips Stadion until summer 2010, after he impressed manager Fred Rutten. Having featured just twice for PSV in the first half of the 2010–11 season, Ojo joined VVV-Venlo on loan on 8 January 2011. However, he struggled to break into the starting eleven under head coach Wil Boessen, much to Ojo and Rutten's frustration. PSV signed Georginio Wijnaldum in June 2011, though Ojo would still manage to make a further ten appearances in the 2011–12 campaign.

Beerschot

On 16 April 2012, Ojo rejoined Belgian Pro League club Beerschot AC (formerly called Germinal Beerschot) on a free transfer, signing a four-year contract. Manager Adrie Koster said that he had gained technical skill in the Netherlands but would need to develop physical attributes to succeed in the Belgian leagues. On 1 September, he scored his first career goal in a 2–0 win at KV Mechelen. However, he rarely…

Ojo was capped by Belgium from under-15 to under-21 level, winning his first and only under-21 cap as a late substitute in a Iceland on 1 September 2011.

Ojo is a versatile midfielder who links defence and attack by winning the ball and passing it on to more creative teammates. He has good intelligence, fitness and technical ability. Scunthorpe United manager Stuart McCall said that he was best utilised as a defensive midfielder, though can also play as a box-to-box midfielder.

Ojo is a trained physical instructor and is also involved in real estate. He is married. He entered a not-guilty plea to a charge of assault for an incident that took place following a Scottish Premiership match at Tannadice Park in November 2021. Ojo admitted he had "squared-up" to an opposition fan, and was fined £400 after being found guilty of pushing the man and knocking his glasses off, though the punch Ojo had thrown was ruled to have been in self-defence. Speaking in February 2023 as part of the English Football League's Green Football Weekend, Ojo was reported to have saved more than 500 kg of CO2 emissions from about 260 green activities, following his choice to change his lifestyle and switch to a plant-based diet. His wife, Julie Herman, launched the fashion business Rose Ojo in August 2024, which upcycled football shirts into puffer jackets.