20 Indigenous Nigerian Footballers Who Rejected Nigeria For Other Countries
Table of Contents
1. Razak Omotoyossi:
Lagos born Omotoyossi chosed Benin republic over Nigeria. Omotoyossi started his career in Nigeria, but switched to Benin after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) slammed a five-year ban on him for allegedly assaulting a referee during a Premier League game between his club, Sunshine Stars and visiting Enyimba.
He left Nigeria and for Benin to further his career and he became a household name for the country. He scored about 21 goals in 58 appearances for his adopted nation.
2. Emmanuel Adebayo:
The most popular name on this list. Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayo has had his fair share of on and off field problems. The free agent plays for Togo.
He was born in Lome but is originally from Osun state. Emmanuel Adebayor the Togolese played for clubs like Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City, Real Madrid and AS Monaco. He was also voted the 2007 African footballer of the year.
3. Jordon Ibe:
Ibe is one of the best young wingers in world football right now. It was believed that he would choose Nigeria over England but revealed that he would be pledging his international future to England, the country of his birth.
4. John and Justin Fashanu:
Popular football brothers John and Justin Fashanu represented England. The brothers were sons of a Nigerian barrister living in the UK and a Guyanese nurse called Pearl. When their parents split up, they were sent to a Barnardo’s home.
In 2007, The Times named John the 22nd out of the 50 worst footballers to have played in the Premier League. He was a part of the crazy gang Leeds team who were known for their aggressive style of football. John Fashanu earned two caps for England. Justin Fashanu meanwhile was known by his early clubs to be gay, and came out to the press later in his career, becoming the first and one of only two English professional footballers to be openly gay. He was also the first black footballer to command a £1million transfer fee, with his transfer from Norwich City to Nottingham Forest in 1981.
Justin committed suicide in London in May 1998 after a seventeen-year-old boy accused him of s*xual assault in the United States of America.
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5. Ross Barkley:
Rather surprising when you consider how English Barkley plays, looks and behaves. Barkley could have played for Nigeria as his paternal grandparents were actually from Nigeria but he did not give the country a thought as is seen in England as one of the future stars of the English national team. 6. Agbonlahor Gabriel:
Despite too much pleas for Gabby to switch his allegiance to Nigeria, the Aston Villa attacker chose to represent England when it was all too clear a future with Nigeria was brighter for him. Gabby Agbonlahor On 20 September 2006, Agbonlahor was called up for the Nigeria U-20 team for the match against Rwanda but turned down the call. He however left the door open to Nigeria but later pledged his future to England. 7. David Alaba:
The most successful of the lot. Alaba is a huge miss for Nigeria. Alaba was born in Vienna to Gina and George Alaba and has one sister. His mother emigrated from the Philippines to work as a nurse, his Yoruba Nigerian father is a prince from Ogere who is also a rapper and works as a DJ. He is a Christian and a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His middle name “Olatokunbo” means “Wealth from across the sea” or “Wealth from a foreign land” in the Yoruba language. He has been named Austrian footballer of the year for four years. He wanted to play for Nigeria but a culmination of the NFF inability to see his potential and other issues sees Alaba a full fledged Austrian. 8. Muritala Ogunbiyi:
Born October 10, 1982 in Ota, Ogun state, Ogunbiyi turned out for Benin. 9. Angelo Ogbonna:
Ogbonna was born to Nigerian parents who emigrated to Italy from Nigeria in 1983, settling in the city of Cassino in the central part of the country, but managed to obtain Italian citizenship only after his 18th birthday. Angelo Ogbonna once played for West Ham and Juventus. He has 10 caps for England already. 10. Patrick Owomoyela:
Born 5 November 1979 to a German mother and a Nigerian father, Owomoyela played as a right-sided defender/midfielder. Patrick Owomoyela He is a German footballer who is currently a free agent, having last played for German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. He made his debut for Germany in an Asian tour, playing 90 minutes in a 3–0 win over Japan, on the 16th of December 2004, in Yokohama. Since then, he has had 11 caps to his name. |
11. Oguchi Onyewu:
Oguchialu Chijioke “Oguchi” Onyewu (born May 13, 1982) is an American former soccer player. He also played for clubs in France, Belgium, England, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Onyewu’s parents moved to the United States from Nigeria to study in Washington, D.C. He made his first appearance for the senior national team on October 13, 2004, against Panama. Onyewu scored his first international goal in the 2005 Gold Cup, nodding home the extra time winner in the semifinal against Honduras, and was later named to the tournament Best XI. He has been capped by USA 64 times. 12. Dennis Aogo:
Born to a Nigerian father and a German mother, Aogo grew up in Oberreut, a suburb in the south-west of Karlsruhe. Aogo is capable of playing either as a left back or as a defensive midfielder. Nigeria gave him the chance to play for them at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa but on the 5th of January 2010, Aogo announced that he will only play for Germany. He made his national team debut for Germany in a friendly match against Malta in a 3–0 victory on 13 May 2010, playing 79 minutes, before being replaced by Jérôme Boateng. He has been capped 12 times since then. 13. Nedum Onuoah:
Chinedum “Nedum” Onuoha (born 12 November 1986) is English former footballer. He played as a defender, typically a centre back, but he could also play at right back or left back. Born in Warri, Nigeria, Onuoha was brought up in Manchester, England. In March 2007, Onuoha received an international call up from Nigeria, but announced he would like to play for England at full international level. Onuoha has never been capped by England at international level.
14. Maurice Edu:
Edu Maurice Edu, Jr. (born April 18, 1986) is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder. Edu is the son of Nigerian immigrant parents. His father, Maurice Sr., was a mathematics teacher, and his mother is a chemistry teacher. Edu has three sisters and a brother Reggie Edu. Edu has a younger brother Reggie Edu, who is a Teacher, Coach and Director of Coaching for the southern Californian youth soccer club Newcastle United FC out of Upland, CA, and three older sisters. He featured alongside Guillermo Ochoa and Ronaldinho as one of the FIFA 09 cover stars in North America. |
15. John Salako:
John Akin Salako (born 11 February 1969) is an English former professional footballer, sports television pundit and first team coach of Premier League side Crystal Palace.
Born in Ibadan, Nigeria, Salako played as a midfielder from 1986 until 2005, he notably played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace, Coventry City and Charlton Athletic, in the Football League for Swansea City, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham, Reading and Brentford. He represented England at senior level, earning five caps, all during 1991 while he was a Crystal Palace player.
16. Sidney Sam:
Sidney Sam (born 31 January 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger. Sam is known for his explosive speed and dribbling style.
Born to a German mother and Nigerian father, Sam would have been eligible to play for the Nigeria national team, but decided early on to represent his country of birth. Sam was a German youth national player, starring in Germany’s under-19 and under-20 teams. On 29 May 2013, Sam made his senior international debut for Germany in a friendly game against Ecuador in Boca Raton, Florida. On 8 May 2014, Sam was named to the 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by German national team manager, Joachim Löw.
17. Ugo Ehiogu:
Ugochuku “Ugo” Ehiogu (born 3 November 1972 in Homerton, London) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back from 1989 to 2009. He is currently the coach of the Tottenham Hotspur U-21 Team.
He played in the Premier League with lengthy spells at Aston Villa and Middlesbrough. He also played in the Football League for West Bromwich Albion, Leeds United and Sheffield United, as well as a spell in the Scottish Premier League with Rangers. Ehiogu was an England international, with a record of 4 caps and 1 goal. In 2012, he came out of brief retirement by signing for non-league side Wembley to participate in the club’s FA Cup games alongside other retired veteran players.
18. Chris Armstrong:
Christopher Peter “Chris” Armstrong (born 19 June 1971 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear) is an English former England B international footballer who has played as a striker for Wrexham (twice), Millwall, Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton Wanderers between 1989 and 2005.
Born in England to an Irish father and a Nigerian mother, Armstrong began his career in the Welsh National League, playing for Llay Welfare, before signing with Wrexham on a free transfer in March 1989. At Wrexham, Armstrong made his professional debut as a teenager during the 1989–90 Football League season in the old Fourth Division, and managed to score three times through the course of the season. In his two-year spell at the Welsh club, he went on to play 60 games, scoring 13 times, before moving to Millwall for £50,000 in August 1991.
19. Marvin Ogunjimi:
Marvin Ogunjimi (born 12 October 1987 in Mechelen) is a Belgian former football forward of Nigerian descent. Until 2011, he played for the Belgian national team and has obtained 7 caps.
On 8 October 2010, he made his international debut for Belgium against Kazakhstan in Astana, coming on at half-time and scoring twice in a 2–0 victory.
20. Dele Alli:
Bamidele Jermaine “Dele” Alli (born 11 April 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and the England national team.
Born and raised in Milton Keynes, he joined the youth system at Milton Keynes Dons aged 11 and broke into the first team five years later, during the 2012–13 season. Over the next two-and-a-half years he made 74 league appearances for Milton Keynes Dons, scoring 22 goals. He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in February 2015 for an initial fee of £5 million. Alli played for the England U17, U18 and U19 teams. He made his senior debut in 2015.
Alli was born and raised in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, to Nigerian father Kenny and English mother Denise.
