Nigerian footballers who went on to play abroad

As a nation, Nigeria has produced some excellent footballers who have gone on to achieve a lot in the sport. Many of these players had spells playing in their homeland before plying their trade in other countries, and we’ve picked out some of the more interesting ones below.

Julius Aghahowa

Julius Aghahowa is somewhat of a cult figure and is renowned for being a favourite in football manager simulator games. The attacker, who started his career in Nigeria with Bendel Insurance, was famed for his pace and had spells playing in Tunisia, Ukraine, England and Turkey. He collected thirty-two caps for the Super Eagles during a seven-year period.

Emmanuel Ekpo

Like most Nigerian footballers, Emmanuel Ekpo started out playing in Nigeria and then made the decision to move to pastures new. An opportunity arose to head to the MLS, which the central midfielder grasped with both hands, and he went on to make over 100 appearances for Columbus. Time in Norway followed before Ekpo saw out his career in New Zealand, a country where football and everything football-related, including football match betting, is on the rise.

Joseph Yobo

Defender Joseph Yobo is one of Nigeria’s greatest-ever exports, with the player enjoying a stellar career at the highest level of the game. After a spell at home as a youth player with Michellin-Harcourt, Yobo made the breakthrough at Belgian club Standard Liege before earning a move to French giants Marseille. A long spell in the Premier League with Everton then beckoned before time in Turkey. Yobo also made a brief return to England with Norwich City.

Vincent Enyeama

Unlike other players on this list, goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama played a lot of games in Nigeria before going on to try his hand at playing in other countries. After racking up over two hundred games across spells with four Nigerian outfits, Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv came calling, and Enyeama made over a century of appearances for them. He did the same with Lille in France, too. Talking of centuries, Enyeama made 101 appearances for his country and is renowned for being one of Africa’s greatest ever keepers.

Sunday Oliseh

Sunday Oliseh is a Nigerian footballer who graced the very top of the game. Like others who have gone before him, Oliseh made the move from Nigeria to Belgium, this time with RFC Liege. And, after spells with Reggiana in Italy and FC Koln in Germany, the midfielder’s career took off, and he starred for Dutch giants Ajax, Serie A’s Juventus and Borussia Dortmund. He finished his career back in Belgium, this time with Genk.

Celestine Babayaro

Left-back Celestine Babayaro enjoyed a very straightforward career after departing his homeland. He established himself in Belgium with Anderlecht before being spotted by Chelsea, and he made the move to Stamford Bridge in 1997. After close to 150 games for the West London outfit, another move in England beckoned, this time up north with Newcastle United. In a three-year stint, he played nearly fifty times before jetting off to the USA’s MLS with LA Galaxy, where he failed to register an appearance.