Quick Facts
GeminiBiography
Ali Sowe (born 14 June 1994) is a Gambian professional footballer who currently plays as a forward for CSKA Sofia and the Gambia national team.
Club career
Early years
Ali was made under contract in early 2013 by Chievo from Gambian club GAMTEL FC after he was already capped for the Gambia national football team despite his very young age. He join "Primavera" side for the Veronese club. On 12 May 2013 made history being the first Gambian football player to play a match in Italian Serie A. After collecting 2 caps, on 18 July 2013 he was loaned to Juve Stabia alongside his Senegalese teammate N'Diaye Djiby, playing in 2013–14 Serie B.
Skënderbeu Korçë
On 25 July 2017, Skënderbeu Korçë reached an agreement with Chievo for the loan of Sowe for 2017–18 season. The transfer was made official six days later, where he signed the contract and was assigned squad number 90.
He made his Skënderbeu debut on 17 August by starting in the first leg of 2017–18 UEFA Europa League play-off round against Dinamo Zagreb which finished in a 1–1 draw. In the second leg, the team held off and earned a goalless draw, with Sowe giving a strong performance, meaning that they have qualified to group stage for the second time in history, also becoming first Albanian club to successfully pass four rounds.
Sowe started the domestic season on 6 September by scoring a brace in the Albanian Cup first round 8–0 hammering of Adriatiku Mamurras. His league debut occurred three days later in the opening day of 2017–18 Albanian Superliga season against Flamurtari Vlorë. He endured 244 minutes before netting his first goal in league, which came on 23 September in the matchday 3 against Partizani Tirana, helping Skënderbeu to their first win in 6 matches against Red Bulls. Sowe scored his first Europa League group stage goal five days later in the match against Young Boys.
He was named Albanian Superliga Player of the Month in October 2017. Sowe's second Europa League group stage goal came later on 23 November in the 3–2 win against Dynamo Kyiv which was their second ever group stage win. He concluded the first part of the season by netting a brace in the 3–1 home win over Teuta Durrës.
Sowe scored his first career hat-trick on 9 May 2018 in Skënderbeu's 4–2 away defeat of bottom side Lushnja; this win clinched the championship for the club with three games to spare. He finished the league by winning the Golden Boot, netting 21 goals in 33 games, beating out his rival Sindrit Guri.
CSKA Sofia
On 5 September 2018, Sowe was loaned to Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia until the end of the season. On January 31, 2019, the transfer was made permanent, after CSKA activated his buyout clause.
Career statistics
- As of 22 August 2020
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chievo | 2012–13 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| Juve Stabia (loan) | 2013–14 | Serie B | 35 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 5 | |
| Pescara (loan) | 2014–15 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Latina (loan) | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Modena (loan) | 2015–16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Lecce (loan) | 2015–16 | Serie C | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | |
| Prato (loan) | 2016–17 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| Vibonese (loan) | 2016–17 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 6 | ||
| Skënderbeu Korçë (loan) | 2017–18 | Albanian Superliga | 33 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 45 | 28 |
| CSKA Sofia (loan) | 2018–19 | First League | 12 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 |
| CSKA Sofia | 16 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 11 | ||
| 2019–20 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 41 | 15 | ||
| 2020–21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| CSKA Sofia total | 61 | 26 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 77 | 34 | ||
| Career total | 203 | 59 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 233 | 74 | ||
Honours
Club
- Skënderbeu Korçë
- Albanian Superliga: 2017–18
Individual
- Albanian Superliga Player of the Month: October 2017
- Albanian Superliga top goalscorer: 2017–18
