From dusty pitches in Jos and Lagos to the dazzling lights of Stamford Bridge and the San Siro, Nigerian footballers have blazed a trail from local obscurity to global fame. Naija to the World is a weekly series that celebrates the incredible journeys of our football icons—stars who first made a name in the Nigerian Professional Football League or grassroots academies before catching the eye of European scouts.
This final edition of Naija to the World spotlights youth and experience, celebrating modern-day icons and tomorrow’s legends.
Paul Onuachu – FC Ebedei
Nigerian Football Club FC Ebedei has served as a talent pool for European Clubs over the years, nurturing the brightest talents the West African Country has to offer. Towering Nigerian Striker Paul Onuachu is a famed product of the academy.
Onuachu established himself as a standout talent with FC Ebedei in his teenage years, earning himself a move abroad. He departed Nigeria for Denmark in 2012, joining FC Ebedei’s affiliate club FC Midtjylland. He had a successful seven-year stint with Midtjylland before moving to RC Genk in Belgium.
He was at the peak of his powers in Belgium, a period marked by individual and collective success. His stellar form in the 2020/2021 season was one for the history books, and he became the first Nigerian to win the Ebony Shoe award in 15 years and the first Nigerian in history to win the prestigious Belgian Golden Shoe award. He made a clean sweep of all the awards, clinching the highest goalscorer award and earning a spot in the Team of the Year.
An out-and-out number nine, the 2-meter-tall Onuachu is a target man in every sense of the word. A full-fledged Nigerian international, he holds the record for Nigeria’s fastest ever international goal, having netted within 10seconds in a famous victory over Egypt in March 2019.
European Clubs
- FC Midtjylland
- Vejle Boldklub
- RC Genk
- Southampton FC
- Trabzonspor
Chidera Ejuke – Gee-Lec Academy, Supreme Court FC & Gombe United
The tricky winger Chidera Ejuke became the first Nigerian footballer to don the colours of Sevilla FC, a landmark achievement for a boy from Zaria. The Zaria-born winger took his early steps in football at the Gee-Lec academy before signing for local team Supreme Court FC during his secondary school years. An exciting talent in all ramifications, he is pacey, skillful, and has a catalogue of magical tricks under his belt. His burgeoning talent earned him a trial at Liverpool in 2016, but unfortunately, he was unsuccessful and returned to Nigeria.
Dubbed the Nigerian Iniesta at the time, Ejuke put the disappointment behind him and signed for NPFL Club Gombe United, linking up with their academy team. He kept his head up and remained focused on his game. Not long after, Super Agent Atta Aneke discovered him and secured a trial for him at Norwegian Club Valerenga Fotball. The club was convinced by his electric performances, and they offered him a professional contract in 2017.
Afterwards, Chidera Ejuke toured Europe, playing across several European leagues before signing for Sevilla last summer. His debut season might have been below expectations, but as he has shown repeatedly in his career, he is up to the task and will bounce back superbly.
European Clubs
- Vålerenga Fotball
- SC Heerenveen
- CSKA Moscow
- Hertha BSC
- Royal Antwerp FC
- Sevilla FC
Tolu Arokodare – Flying Sports Academy, Kash Academy, International Sports Academy, & Box2Box Football Academy
The Super Eagles are spoiled for choice regarding centre forwards, as the country is blessed with talented strikers. Genk striker Tolu Arokodare earned a deserved spot in the Super Eagles squad following his clinical performances with RC Genk last season. Before his breakthrough 2024/2025 season, Arokodare was just another Nigerian boy with a bag full of professional football dreams.
Born in Festac, Lagos, the first word Tolu Arokodare said as a baby was ‘goal’, a sign of things to come. Enamored with football from birth, his parents supported his football dreams unconditionally. He started his football career at Kash Academy in Festac, where his abilities & talents were nurtured. Combining football with academics in his teenage years, he joined The International Sports Academy owned by Nigerian Legend Chief Segun Odegbami, and subsequently, he linked up with the Festac-based Flying Sports Academy.
His European sojourn commenced at the Box2Box football academy in Surulere, going on unsuccessful trials in SC Freiburg and Toulouse FC. Eventually, a permanent move abroad ensued as he signed up with Latvian Club Valmiera FC in 2019, joining compatriots Laide Badmus and Abiodun Saliyu. He was an instant hit with Valmiera banging in goals left and right. He spent two seasons in Latvia before a series of loan spells in the Bundesliga and Ligue 2. Genk snapped up his services in 2023. Despite a slow start to life in Belgium, Tolu Arokodare burst to life last season, winning the Ebony Shoe Award and the Belgian Pro League Highest goalscorer Award at the end of the season.
European Clubs
- Valmiera FC
- 1. FC Köln
- Amiens SC
- RC Genk
Igoh Ogbu – Gombe United
A gem for the present and the future, defensive stalwart Igoh Ogbu is poised to become a mainstay at the heart of the Nigerian defence over the next couple of years. A winger at the beginning of his career, he transitioned to defence in his younger years following an injury to a teammate and has not looked back since then.
A youth international for Gombe United, Ogbu was the subject of prolonged interest from Norwegian Clubs. He had several training sessions and tryouts with Rosenborg BK. The Norwegian Giants were wholly impressed with the teenage sensation and wanted to give him a professional contract before he turned 18, but they had to comply with FIFA regulations. Afterwards, he was loaned out to Levanger and Sogndal, further reinforcing his status as an exceptional talent with the latter. He is physically dominant and quite fast for a centre back, combative by nature, and assertive on the ball.
Ogbu has become an unshakeable pillar in Slavia Prague’s defence, playing a standout role in their title-winning campaign last season. He has been handed the captain’s handband several times, a testament to his leadership abilities. Despite interest from multiple European Clubs, he decided to extend his contract with Slavia Prague, citing the UEFA Champions League as a major motivation for extending his stay in the Czech Republic.
European Clubs
- Rosenborg BK
- Levanger FK
- Sogndal Fotball
- Lillestrøm SK
- Slavia Prague
Gift Orban – Bison FC
Gift Orban, a product of a union between a Nigerian man and a Togolese woman, had a unique upbringing. Born in Benue and raised in Togo, he alternated between the two African Countries in his younger years. He fell in love with football at a young age, playing on the streets and sandy beaches before linking up with an academy in Togo in his teenage years. Upon his return to Nigeria at 17, he signed up for the local Nigerian club Bison FC.
Stabaek’s sporting director, Torgeir Bjarmann, made his annual trip to Nigeria to watch an amateur tournament. Bjarmann previously signed Odion Ighalo for Lyn Oslo and was present at Lyn Oslo during John Mikel Obi’s stint there. Impressed by Orban’s clinical abilities and overall team play, Bjarmann offered the Nigerian teenager a chance to partake in the club’s preseason training camp.
Gift Orban failed to impress adequately at the club and returned to Nigeria, but Bjarmann insisted the club sign him. He joined the club initially on loan and played with the club’s reserve side in the Norwegian fourth division. Orban sporadically found the back of the net and was given a chance with the senior squad again in a cup fixture. He took his chances and delivered brilliantly, netting a brace to send them to the next round. He fired them back to the Norwegian top-flight, finishing as the league’s joint top scorer despite joining the side in the middle of the season, clinching the Young Player of the Year award subsequently.
His heroics prompted Gent to splash the cash on him in the 2023 winter transfer window. He turned out to be a bargain signing for Gent, firing them to the UEFA Conference League quarter finals in 2023 with a resounding hat-trick. The 23-year-old striker holds the record for the quickest hat-trick in the history of UEFA club competitions.
European Clubs
- Stabæk Fotball
- KAA Gent
- Olympique Lyonnais
- TSG Hoffenheim
