TOP 7 NIGERIAN FOOTBALLERS MALE AND FEMALE

Football, a global sport, transcends cultural differences, serving as a great symbol of 'unity in diversity' and a cherished heritage that brings people together, fostering a sense of community and shared passion.”. Since its inception as far back as the early 15th century, football has birthed legends who each contributed their unique brushstrokes against a giant wall of art that is called football, from the likes of the ancient Ferenc Puskas, Diego Maradona, Cafu, and Alfredo di Stefano, to the modern times of Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. Nigeria is not left out in this mix as it has seen legends like Rasheed Yekini, “Jay-Jay” Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Vincent Enyeama, Joseph Yobo, Sunday Oliseh, and John Obi Mikel, Victor Osimhen, Asisat Oshoala, ademola lookman among others.

 In the world of football today, several Nigerian players have been seen making their strides in the world of football, and here is a look at the top 7 Nigerian footballers.

7. Wilfred Ndidi

At our number 7 is Wilfred Onyinye Ndidi, an indigene of Lagos State, born on the 16th of December, 1996. This defensive midfielder began his journey with Nathaniel Boys before moving to Europe to join Belgian side Genk. Ndidi's unique displays in the Belgian side Genk and the UEFA Europa League have won him his reputation as a force to be reckoned with. According to Nairaland, he moved to the English first team side Leicester City in 2017 where he made his debut for the club on the 7th of January, in a 2-1 win against fellow English side Everton. 

           Since joining Leicester, he has been part of their success stories as he won the English FA cup and Community Shield in 2021, and the second-tier EFL Championship title in the 2023/24 season. The midfielder has also been a focal point for the National side at international matches representing the country

6. Chiamaka Nnadozie 

Going up at number 6 is Chiamaka Cynthia Nnadozie who plays for the Premiere league 2 club side Paris FC and the Nigerian women’s national team. The Young star was born on 8th of December, 2000 and is an indigene of Orlu, in Owerri, Imo state. She began her career in 2016 at Rivers Angels FC, a Nigerian club. Chiamaka played in the U20 world cup with Nigeria in 2018, then the Africa Cup of Nations at the end of 2018 and finally the 2019 World Cup in France. 

          She performed at a high level, notably against France in the group stage, and was voted best goalkeeper in Africa in December 2019. She joined Paris FC in January 2020. She is renowned for her incredible saves and commanding presence in goal. As one of the top goalkeepers in women's football, she was one of the Super Falcons' best players at the concluded Women's World Cup. She has won the CAF Women’s Africa trophy in the 2018 Ghana Cup of Nations. 

5. Alex Iwobi

Sitting at number 5, we have Alexander Chuka Iwobi. According to Wikipedia, he was born 3rd of May, 1996). He is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Fulham and the Nigerian National Team. Iwobi began his career at Premier League side Arsenal, making 149 appearances and scoring fifteen goals. He won the FA Cup in 2017.

           In August 2019, he transferred to Everton for an initial £28 million fee. Iwobi represented England up to U18 level. He made his senior international debut for Nigeria in October 2015, and was part of their squads at different international competitions from 2019 till 2023 where he was runner-up at the 2023 tournament. Iwobi is also said to be the nephew of the Nigerian legendary footballer “Jay-Jay” Okocha

4. Rasheedat Ajibade

Taking the number 4 spot is Rasheedat Busayo Ajibade, commonly referred to as Rash. Rasheedat was born on 8th of December, 1999. According to Daily Sports Nigeria, she was born and brought up in Kaduna state. Rasheedat began her career with FC Robo in the Nigeria Women Premier League with FC Robo where she showed herself as one of the league's brightest young stars. 

        In 2018, she moved to the Norwegian side Avaldnes and was in good form, scoring 12 goals in 39 appearances. In 2021, she moved to Spanish giants Atletico de Madrid where she has remained till date and has made about 54 appearances, per Wikipedia. She is a key player for the Nigerian women's national team, the Super Falcons, and represented Nigeria at various age-grade levels before making her senior debut in 2018. Rasheedat Ajibade has achieved and is still achieving in her journey both with clubs and playing for Nigeria. Here's a breakdown of her most notable achievements. She won the Supercopa de Espana in 2020-21 and also won the Copa de la Reina in 2022. She also has individual awards tied to her name.

3. Victor Boniface

Making our number 3 spot, we have Victor Okoh Boniface. Victor was born on the 23rd of December, 2000 in Akure. The Nigerian forward had not been fully recognized until a year ago. He began his career in January 2018 in Real Sapphire, but was loaned out to Turkish side Lefke TSK till July 2018 before returning back to Sapphire. Boniface then signed for Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in March 2019. He was troubled with injuries which kept out of action, but ultimately, he made his debut in September of that year.

          On 8 August 2022, Boniface signed a four-year contract with Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise. Union reached the quarter-finals of the 2022-23 Europa league. Boniface scored six goals in the competition, including a brace against Union Berlin in the round of 16, finishing as the competition's joint top scorer along with Marcus Rashford. Boniface has played for Bayer 04 Leverkusen since 2023. Boniface made his debut for the Nigeria senior team on 10 September 2023, coming on in the 64th minute for Taiwo Awoniyi. Boniface has won the Norwegian trophy with Bodo in 2020 and 2021, and due to his stellar season at Bayer 04, he was part of the success story of the club, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup known as the DFB Pokal, and the most recent of all, the German Super Cup winner.

2. Asisat Oshoala

In our number 2 spot, we have Asisat Laminat Osoala MON. Asisat Lamina Oshoala is a Nigerian professional footballer born on 9 October 1994 in Ikorodu, Nigeria. Her parents are Iya Asisa and Alhaji Oshoala. She was born into a polygamous family. Her father had two wives and she has 7 siblings. he attended Air Force Primary School in Victoria Island, Lagos, for her primary school education and later completed her secondary school education at Aunty Ayo International School in Ikoyi, Lagos. Upon graduation from school, she joined FC River Internationals in Lagos and played for the team until 2013, when she started playing for Rivers Angels. She gained immense popularity after the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada. Having scored seven goals, the forward became the tournament's best player. 

     In January 2015, she was signed to Liverpool Ladies and became the first African to play in the Women's Super League. In October of the same year, she contributed to the African Women's Championship victory as part of the senior Nigeria team. The same year, she was named the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year and became the first player to get the new award from the BBC World Service. In March 2016, she joined Arsenal Ladies. She moved to the professional Chinese football club Dalian Quanjian F.C. a year later. In 2019, she joined FC Barcelona Femeni.

            As of today, she plays for the Nigerian national team and the Spanish Liga F club FC Barcelona. She has received numerous awards in her career, including: Nigerian Women's Championship, Nigerian Women's Cup, African Women's Championship, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup runner-up, Primera División, UEFA Women's Champions League, Supercopa de España Femenina, Copa de la Reina, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Golden Ball, Primera División Top scorer, and Chinese Women's Super League Top scorer IFFHS CAF Best Woman Player of the Decade. Asisat has no doubt proven to be undoubtedly the best Nigerian female footballer at the moment.

1.Victor Osimhen

Taking the number one spot, we have Victor James Osimhen MON MFR. Osimhen was born on 29 December 1998 in Lagos, and is the youngest of six siblings. His parents are from Edo State and are of the Esan ethnic group of Nigeria. He grew up in the Olusosun area in Oregun/Ojota of Lagos State, where he was born. Growing up, his footballing idol was Didier Drogba. 

         Osimhen started his career at the Ultimate Strikers Academy, based in Lagos. In January 2016, after being noticed for his performances at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup Osimhen committed to a pre-contract with VfL Wolfsburg, stipulating that he would officially join the club in January 2017. On 5 January 2017, Osimhen officially signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the club, lasting until June 2020. In 2019, he moved to Lille for a reported 15 million euros. In 2020, he went on to Napoli for a record fee of 80 million euros, making the most expensive African transfer till Nicolas Pepe who was bought for close to 90 million euros. He also has some achievements to his name. he won African footballer of the year with Napoli, top goal scorer in Italy and international fixtures, Serie A league title, U17 World cup champion, and U23 Africa Cup Winner.

           In conclusion, we have prolific profiles of Nigerian players who have gone on to make impact in international foreign leagues as well as international tournaments. They have shown that hardwork and dedication gets you a share of the cake called success. As these top profile players continue to blossom, their radiance in the spotlight has helped the young seedlings to have someone as a means of inspiration as we now have more and more young Nigerian talents being snapped up by European clubs. This goes to show that there is hope of a bright and talented sets of Super Eagles and Super Falcons

The Unwavering Pen writes.....