Non-League to the Bundesliga: Dapo Afolayan's journey to Germany's top flight

From the National League to the Bundesliga, Dapo Afolayan has a footballing journey that few can match.

He's trained with the likes of Declan Rice, Jack Wilshere and Jermain Defoe. He's also played under David Moyes and Paul Scholes in a footballing career that has stretched over Canada, England and Germany. He also has a university degree in civil engineering.

The London-born winger has been promoted to the Bundesliga with St Pauli, who won the second-tier title for the only the second time in their history. Their promotion ends a 13-year wait to return to the summit of German football.

St Pauli won the title on the final day but achieved promotion with a game to spare in a 3-1 victory against VFL Osnabruck in their last home fixture. In that game Afolayan scored twice and set up the third to ensure victory. Owing to St. Pauli's strong bond with their unique support, fans joined the players on the pitch sparking some dramatic celebrations.

"It was like nothing I've ever experienced before in my life," Afolayan told Sky Sports.

"I ran on the pitch to celebrate with my team-mates, and I only managed to find two of them before we got surrounded.

"It was just pure ecstasy. For a lot of us, we were quite emotional because we spoke about the possibility of promotion. We dreamt of what could be possible. So, for us to achieve it in that manner, at home in front of our fans as well was perfect."

Breaking into the Bundesliga is just the latest achievement that the 26-year-old can add to his array of efforts to reach top-level football. He began his career in grassroots playing for his local team Harrow St Mary's. At seven years old Afolayan joined Chelsea's academy where he shared a youth dressing room with some familiar names.

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