Tunde Folawiyo

In Nigeria, non-sport has gripped the national imagination the way that football has. It is the country’s most popular sport by a landslide. A larger percent of the country’s population are fans of the sport than in any other country in the world, a recent market poll has shown. The country’s national team, nicknamed the Super Eagles, received the highest ranking any African football team has earned in 1994, when the FIFA World Rankings showed the team in fifth world-wide. The team is currently ranked at fifth in the Confederation of African Football, and 39^th worldwide. Fans of football in Nigeria, including Tunde Folawiyo, are looking forward to seeing the team live up to its potential. For more information, please visit this Tunde Folawiyo blog.

Unofficial games among other African colonies start Nigeria’s national football history in the 1930s, and official records start in the late 1940s. The team’s history as champions began with a win at the second All-Africa games, where the team was awarded the gold medal in 1976. Strong showings at the African Cup of Nations followed, and the team took their first Cup in 1980, led by Muda Lawal. A treasured moment in Nigerian National Football history is the team’s Olympic gold in Atlantic in 1996. The team played its first World Cup in 1994. In this year’s Cup, Nigeria opened with a tie against Iran before a 0-1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina showed the team their first World Cup victory since 1998. The winning goal was scored by Peter Odemwingie, who was born in the former Soviet Union and raised in Russia and Nigeria. Odemwingie has played for the Nigerian National Team since 2002.

The Nigerian women’s national team has also been a force in the sport. The team has never failed to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and won the CAF Women’s Championship every year it ran, until breaking their streak with a defeat by Equatorial Guinea in 2008. As with the men’s team, outstanding players for the women’s team have also had successful careers playing internationally. Mercy Akide went on to play for the San Diego Spirit and the Hampton Road Piranhas, and current team captain and CAF African Women Footballer of the Year in 2004 and 2005 Perpetua Nkwocha also plays for Swedish club Sunnana SK.

Now that the Super Eagles’ World Cup venture has come to an end, the future of one of the team’s most beloved players remains uncertain. Peter Odemwingie has stated he is currently unsure of a future with Nigeria upon an early exit at this year’s World Cup. The forward secured the team’s only win with a goal against Bosnia-Herzegovina, demonstrating his great talents on the field. Tunde Folawiyo and millions of Super Eagles fans throughout Africa and beyond may be saddened to see the skilled player part ways with the Nigerian squad as his contributions have proved vastly significant in the recent success of the team.

Whilst the Nigerian squad indeed looked promising ahead of the World Cup in Brazil, advancing past the first round, the team sadly came up short –  Stephen Keshi’s team failed to triumph over France during the last16 knockout period, putting an end to Nigeria’s World Cup hopes. Whilst his future remains uncertain, ‘Osaze’ regards wearing the green jersey as one of the proudest accomplishments of his career. ‘Osaze’ made his Super Eagles debut during 2002, where he has since represented the team more than 60 times, twice at the World Cup and through four Cups of Nations included. He was also part of the team that went on to win a silver medal during the Olympics of 2008.

The Stoke City footballer was raised in both Nigeria and Russia, beginning his professional career in Nigeria’s Premiere League. The forward went on to play European football for La Louviere of Belgium, where he played three seasons ahead of a move to Lille. He scored an impressive 26 goals for the team, prompting Moscow’s Lokomotiv to extend an offer of £10 million in exchange for his services during July of 2007. Scoring 23 times for the team, during a three-and-a-half year period, ‘Osaze’ moved to West Bromwich Albion during August of 2010. Thirty Premiere League points later, he was awarded among the Premiere League’s Players of the Month three times. Later, he was acquired by Cardiff City during August of 2013 before ultimately joining the Stoke City team in exchange for Kenwyne Jones during January of 2014.

As one of Africa’s most popular soccer stars, Odemwingie’s fate will undoubtedly be a topic of conversation for Super Eagles fans across Africa and beyond. His contributions to Stoke City and the Nigerian national team alike may continue to regard him as an inspiration to African citizens like Tunde Folawiyo and millions of others around the world.