My Football Story
My football story didn’t start on a perfect pitch. It started on the streets.
Growing up in Lokoja, football was everywhere. The bare ground was our stadium. No boots, no referees, just passion. That’s where I fell in love with the game.
After high school, I told my dad I wanted to start a career in football. At first it didn’t sit well with him. I had just graduated from high school and everyone was expecting me to be preparing for JAMB and university. But eventually, my family later on supported me. They provided everything I needed.
Months before resuming at Kwara Football Academy in Ilorin, Coach Sunny who is now head coach of Aifa helped me join FOSAC which was headed by him here in Lokoja. Alongside Coach Awala, who later became head coach of Naija Ratels, they taught me the basics and how to navigate the pitch.
Getting into the academy was when football stopped being just play and became purpose. I resumed early, so I had to train with the senior team. The academy had four categories: Yellow for the professionals, Blue which was mine, Skyblue and Red for the students still in secondary school. Training with the senior team was intense. Most of them had played in the NPFL. After my first training session I fell very ill due to the intensity of the training and i couldn’t train for a week. But I kept coming back.
When my category resumed, I made it my goal to get back to the senior team. After months of work, I was picked. Breaking into the senior team was my first big breakthrough. There, I trained under ex Super Eagles player Mr. Samuel Elijah and ex Kwara United goalkeeper Coach Bravo. My focus shifted from just making the team to earning a professional contract.
I and a couple of my friends tried attending a few scouting programs. One in Abuja led to an offer to travel to Italy, but we had to pay a large sum of money. We questioned it, lost interest, and decided to look for better opportunities.
Years passed and the pressure from home grew. In 2022/2023 my dad told me to write JAMB. I suggested University of Ilorin so I could stay close to the academy, but instead it got shunned and that didn't work out so I had to go back to Lokoja.
I stepped away from football for months and got involved in things I wasn't proud of. I thank God I was able to come out of it with the help of my family. That distance from my family and the game woke me up. I came back. later on I gained admission into Federal University Lokoja to study Political Science.
In my first year at FUL, I won almost everything: Freshers Cup, Dean’s Cup, VC Cup, and SUG Cup* back to back. Before the year ended, I got invited to join FC Bako in lokoja. Joining wasn’t easy. Battling into the first team taught me patience. Balancing school and football taught me discipline and time management. Right after the first match of the season, I suffered an ankle injury. Sitting out hurt, but it taught me resilience, how to recover, come back stronger, and support my teammates from the sidelines.
We finished the season with a new record: 17 wins, 4 draws, 1 loss. We won the Unity Premier League in Lokoja. That trophy wasn’t just a medal. It was proof that hard work and teamwork win.
Football has shaped who I am. It taught me discipline, teamwork, how to handle pressure, and how to bounce back after a loss. It taught me that success is built in training, long before match day.
Today, my football story is still being written. And I’m excited to share it because for me, football is not just about goals and trophies. It's about showing up for your team, for your family, for your community, and most especially for yourself.
Football gave me a second family, a second chance, and a reason to keep pushing for myself and everyone who believed in me. Every day I wake up believing that everything I've hoped for work out at the end of the day. I'm still chasing the same dream, even when no one is watching I'll keep showing up every single day.
My story isn't finished yet, in fact it's only just beginning.
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