“Kevin is a player who oozes pure passion for TSG with every fibre of his body,” said TSG director of football Alexander Rosen, who continued: “He lives by the values that we want to stand for on and off the pitch and sets an example and leads the way with his passionate commitment, his enormous speed and his uncompromising style of play. Akpo has also repeatedly shown character in demanding situations, carried his team-mates along with him with his emotional manner and, on a sporting level, delivered probably his most consistent performances in a TSG shirt last season. As our ‘Minister of the Interior’, he also always takes care of our new signings and young talents, takes them by the hand and, as an experienced player, is always there to give them advice and support.”
“I love this club and there was no question in my mind that I’d like to continue to play football here in the future,” said Kevin Akpoguma, underlining his clear commitment to TSG. “This is my club, TSG are extremely close to my heart. The management have always believed in me, even in times that have been difficult for me personally. I’ve developed a close connection to TSG and the entire region and would like to give something back with my contract extension. Everybody who knows me knows that I’ll always give everything for this club.”
Akpoguma moved to TSG back in 2013 as a highly promising youth talent. The defender, who was born in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, has been a firm fixture in the Hoffenheim first-team squad since the 2017/18 season and has made 118 appearances for TSG in the Bundesliga (three goals), nine in the DFB-Pokal (one goal), two in the Champions League and four in the Europa League. During his loan spells with Hannover 96 and Fortuna Düsseldorf, the former Germany youth international also played four Bundesliga matches for Hannover as well as 45 second-tier and three DFB-Pokal games (one goal) for Fortuna. The now 28-year-old made his debut for the Nigeria national team in a 1-0 defeat against Algeria on 9 October 2020. In total, Akpoguma has made eight appearances for Nigeria and also featured in the 3-2 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying victory in Sierra Leone.