Eddie Odhiambo

Edward Bahati Obara Odhiambo-Anaclet (born 31 August 1985) is a Tanzanian football manager and former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He most recently served as manager of North Leigh.

Odhiambo began his career as a youth player with Oxford United before joining Southampton in 2003, signing professional terms the following year. He spent loan spells at Chester City and Tamworth during the 2004–05 season but did not make a first-team appearance for Southampton. In July 2006, he returned to Oxford United, where he established himself as a first-team regular. Odhiambo signed for Stevenage Borough in May 2008, winning the FA Trophy in 2009 and contributing to the club's promotion to the Football League the following season.

He subsequently spent one season apiece at Conference Premier clubs Newport County and Gateshead, before joining Brackley Town of the Conference North in May 2012. After four years and 142 appearances at Brackley, Odhiambo later had spells with Oxford City, Kidlington, Banbury United, and North Leigh. Transitioning into coaching, he held player-coach roles at both Kidlington and Banbury, before being appointed manager of North Leigh in March 2021, where he helped the club achieve promotion to the Southern League Premier Division South via the play-offs in May 2022.

Early life Born in Arusha, Tanzania, He has three brothers, including Eric, who also played professionally, and Anaclet, who played at semi-professional level. In June 2009, he adopted his father's surname, Odhiambo, having previously been known as Eddie Anaclet.

Playing career Early career Odhiambo began his career in Oxford United's youth system before joining Southampton's academy. He was part of the club's youth team alongside Theo Walcott and Dexter Blackstock, In December 2004, he joined League Two club Chester City on loan, making a single appearance in a 3–1 FA Cup victory away to Halifax Town. He returned to Southampton later that month and spent the remainder of the 2004–05 season with the reserve team.

In November 2005, Odhiambo joined Conference National club Tamworth on a three-month loan, making 11 appearances during his time there, comprising eight league fixtures and three FA Cup ties. but did not play for the first team, featuring once for the reserves. He made his competitive debut on the opening day of the 2006–07 season, starting in a 2–0 home victory over Halifax Town. He scored his first senior goal in a 1–1 home draw against Cambridge United on 3 February 2007. He ended the season with 47 appearances and three goals in all competitions,

Odhiambo's 2007–08 season was disrupted by injuries, including a knee ligament injury sustained in a 1–1 draw with York City on 30 September 2007, which sidelined him for six weeks. He returned to the first team on 10 November 2007, coming on as a substitute and scoring in a 3–1 FA Cup victory over Northwich Victoria. A broken collarbone sustained in a 1–0 defeat away to Northwich on 8 December 2007 kept him out for a further six weeks. He returned in January 2008 and was a regular for the remainder of the season, making 34 appearances and scoring twice. Across his two seasons with Oxford, he made 81 appearances and scored five goals. Stevenage Borough manager Graham Westley, who had previously praised him in The Non-League Paper, approached him regarding a move. with Oxford entitled to compensation due to his age. and scored his first goal in a 2–1 defeat away to Eastbourne Borough on 12 October 2008. From November onwards, he featured only twice over a four-month period. He finished the 2008–09 season with 21 appearances and one goal. He later featured more regularly, and scored his second goal of the season in a 3–0 win over AFC Wimbledon on 5 April 2010. Odhiambo made 21 appearances, scoring twice, as Stevenage won the Conference Premier and earned promotion to the Football League for the first time. Although the club had the option to extend his contract, the terms offered were contingent on appearances, which he declined. having made 41 appearances and scored three goals over two years with the club.

Newport County and Gateshead Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Odhiambo joined Conference Premier club Newport County on a free transfer. He made his debut on 14 August 2010 in a 1–0 defeat away to Darlington. He featured regularly as both a right-back and central midfielder under Dean Holdsworth during the first half of the season.

Having also attracted transfer interest from Forest Green Rovers, He joined alongside striker Yemi Odubade, with whom he had previously played at Oxford United, Stevenage, and Newport. With his contract due to be automatically extended upon reaching 30 first-team appearances, Odhiambo was not selected for certain matches to avoid triggering the clause. He was released on 30 April 2012.

Brackley Town Odhiambo signed for Conference North club Brackley Town ahead of the 2012–13 season, making his debut on 18 August 2012 in a 4–1 win over Altrincham. He scored his first goal for the club three days later in a 5–0 win against Hinckley United, his first in nearly two-and-a-half years. Odhiambo played in all three play-off matches, with the club losing 1–0 to FC Halifax Town in the final on 12 May 2013. Across four seasons with Brackley, Odhiambo made 142 appearances and scored four goals in all competitions. The following month, he moved to Banbury United, debuting in a 2–1 victory over Cambridge City on 10 October 2016, and went on to make 34 appearances that season. He rejoined Kidlington in a player-coach role for the 2017–18 season, playing alongside his brothers Anaclet and Eric. In July 2018, he returned to Banbury, making 54 appearances across the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons, the latter of which was curtailed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Odhiambo signed for Southern League Division One Central club North Leigh on 5 June 2020 as a player-coach. He made four appearances before the 2020–21 season was curtailed due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. He was appointed manager of the club in March 2021, at which point he retired from playing.

Coaching career Odhiambo earned his UEFA B Licence in 2020 and his UEFA A Licence in 2022. In July 2022, he joined Oxford United as Academy Head of Player Care and also began working as a co-commentator for BBC Radio Oxford. Owing to these additional commitments, he left North Leigh by mutual consent on 14 November 2022. In March 2023, he was appointed Head of Football at Velocity Football, Oxford City's full-time educational academy. He returned briefly to North Leigh as first-team manager at the start of the 2025–26 season, before being appointed as Head of Football, Community & Culture at Oxford City in November 2025.

Style of play Odhiambo was regarded as a utility player in the early years of his career, featuring at full-back, in central midfield, on the wing, and as a second striker. At Oxford United and Stevenage, he was primarily deployed at right-back, the position he occupied for most of his career.

Personal life Odhiambo served as Head of Year at St Birinus School in Didcot for four years from 2018 to 2022. Championship

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2004–05 Conference Premier

2011–12 Conference Premier

2012–13 Conference North

2013–14 Conference Premier: 2009–10

Individual Brackley Town Player of the Year: 2012–13

As a manager North Leigh Southern League Division One Central play-offs: 2022