Tag: Nigeria

Former Notre Dame center Lauren Ebo makes Nigerian Olympic team

Congrats, Lauren!

Make that five women’s basketball players with Notre Dame connections in the 2024 Olympics. [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag], who finished her collegiate career with the Irish during the 2022-23 season, has been named to the final roster for Nigeria for the upcoming competition. Ebo took to social media after the announcement and appears to be a little shocked to even have this honor

Ebo just played for a professional team in Turkey and recently signed with another team in Poland. Now, she’ll try to help the Nigerians capture their first Olympic medal in basketball, men or women. She joins a women’s basketball competition already featuring [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] and [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag] for the U.S. and [autotag]Natalie Achonwa[/autotag] and [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] for Canada.

Ebo and Prosper were teammates with the Irish during the aforementioned season with Ebo transferring in and Prosper enrolling at Notre Dame early. They’ll play against each other when Nigeria and Canada wrap up group play Aug. 4. Rounding out that group are Australia and host country France.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Chargers sign WR Praise Olatoke

Praise Olatoke joins the Chargers through the NFL’s International Pathway Program.

The Chargers signed wide receiver Praise Olatoke on Friday.

Olatoke, who was born in Nigeria and raised in Scotland, joins the team through the NFL’s International Pathway Program. This program allows international athletes to compete at the NFL level and improve their game to earn a spot on a roster.

Because he is a part of the program, Olatoke will not count toward the Chargers’ 90-man offseason roster during training camp. He would also not count toward their practice squad limit if he made the roster.

The 6-foot-2 and 205-pound Olatoke possesses blazing speed, having run track at Ohio State and clocking a 10.27-second 100-meter dash during the Big Ten Outdoor Championship in 2022.

Olatoke has little football experience, as he played on the Buckeyes’ club football team.

Efe Obada like a role model for Commanders newest signee

Ndubuisi hopes to follow Obada’s lead to a long NFL career.

Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi met with the press Thursday, his first time since being signed by the Washington Commanders Wednesday.

Ndubuisi comes to the Commanders as a result of being part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.

For those wondering, no, the signing of Ndubuisi does not unfairly eliminate a roster spot for another potential future player for the Commanders. This is because, beginning this season, each of the 32 NFL clubs is eligible to fill a 91st roster spot entering training camp and a 17th roster spot on its practice squad reserved for an international player.

The 23-year-old from Nigeria is a defensive lineman who stands 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 298 pounds. He spent last season with the Denver Broncos’ practice squad.

“I see this as an opportunity to keep living the dream, keep getting better and trying to achieve what the goal is, trying to be the best player. I feel like as each day passes I get to know, learn. It’s a learning process for me.”

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When asked what he is trying to achieve, Ndubuisi responded, “To be better than I was like previously. (I am) just trying to do the best, and just do my job. At the end of the day it’s all about doing my job.”

Ndubuisi volunteered that the coaches are very encouraging to him, he feels at home and welcomed.

Efe Obada was born in Nigeria and raised in the Netherlands and England. He was the first player to go straight from a European football league to the NFL and has had some success as a pass rusher for the Commanders.

“He’s like a role model for us because he happened to show us, prove to us that yes, it’s possible by putting more hard work and trying to (make an) impact in doing his job. I feel like if he could do it there’s nothing stopping us from doing the same.”

“I grew up playing soccer and basketball, but football for me was something I got introduced to later. I was putting hope in basketball and my first-ever video about football was greatest hits in football. I was amazed about it, and it was just so exciting.”

As a result, Ndubuisi began watching more football videos on Youtube, which furthered his interest in the sport and then led to him wanting to learn how to play it. He spoke of watching some videos and then going outside to practice what he had observed.

Ndubuisi gained his first experience in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. He was then trying to make the team as an offensive lineman, but after appearing in one preseason game, he was released.

Commanders sign defensive lineman Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi

Ndubuisi is a part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.

Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters remains busy. On Monday, Peters added running back Jeremy McNichols and quarterback Jeff Driskel to Washington’s offseason roster. On Tuesday, Peters added linebacker Mykal Walker.

On Wednesday, Peters did it again, signing defensive lineman Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi. If that name doesn’t sound familiar, it’s because Ndubuisi is from Nigeria and a part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.

The 23-year-old defensive lineman is 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 298 pounds. He spent last season with the Denver Broncos’ practice squad. In 2022, Ndubuisi was assigned to the Arizona Cardinals as an offensive lineman, appearing in one preseason game before he was released.

Ndubuisi has an incredible story. Growing up in Nigeria, he played soccer and basketball before seeing the NFL on YouTube and he was hooked. Unfortunately, Nigeria didn’t have many football teams, so he practiced alone, or would bring his friends to fields to re-enact what he would see in the videos.

In 2021, he received a break when joined the UpRise Academy, which helps identify and develop African talent and was co-founded by former Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora.

As a part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program, Ndubuisi will not count against Washington’s 90-man offseason roster.

The Commanders have seen players from the international program make the final roster. In recent years, David Bada and Sammis Reyes were on Washington’s roster.

Browns awarded international marketing rights of Nigeria by NFL

The Cleveland Browns were awarded the international marketing rights of Nigeria in the NFL Global Markets Program

The NFL granted the Cleveland Browns the rights for international marketing in Nigeria. Previously referred to as the International Home Marketing Areas, the NFL announced the program three years ago to grow the sport globally. 

The international markets operated throughout Western Europe, South America, North America, Asia, and Oceania. Argentina, Colombia, Japan, and South Korea are the four other new markets in 2024. Nigeria is the first market to open in Africa, and the Browns have the sole marketing rights in the country.

The Browns already have ties to the country. David Njoku’s parents immigrated from Nigeria, and his family maintained close ties with their communities. In 2022, Njoku was named a chief of his familial village, Umuozu, in southern Nigeria. Njoku recorded a message welcoming the country to the program.


Njoku isn’t the only Browns player who has roots in Nigeria. Defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo and new offensive tackle Hakeem Adeniji are of Nigerian descent. Okoronkwo has participated in NFL Africa events, hosting football camps in Nigeria and Ghana. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is another major participant in NFL Africa. The Browns have a ton of friendly and familiar faces to welcome in fans from across the globe.

Rockets proudly host NBA’s first Nigerian Heritage Night as Olajuwon, Udoka take part

Hakeem Olajuwon, Ime Udoka, and Chiney Ogwumike were part of Houston’s inaugural Nigerian Heritage Night, which was the first held by any NBA team.

When Julian Duncan joined the Rockets as chief marketing and strategy officer in July 2021, the native Houstonian had a vision of celebrating Nigeria and its communities during a regular-season game. The Houston metropolitan area is home to one of the largest Nigerian immigrants communities in the United States.

Two years of planning turned out to be well worth the wait for Duncan and his staff. Last Friday, the Rockets paid tribute to the Nigerian population in Houston and surrounding areas by hosting the team’s inaugural Nigerian Heritage Night at Toyota Center.

It was the first such tribute arranged by an NBA team. It was a massive success for fans in attendance and those individuals who joined a postgame Q&A session with icons such as Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon; Rockets head coach Ime Udoka; WNBA All-Star and ESPN personality Chiney Ogwumike; and award-winning recording artist Tobe Nwigwe. All are of Nigerian descent.

“Being in Houston, it is the city of innovation, but it is also a city with rich cultural heritage,” Duncan told Rockets Wire.

“We celebrate tons of different heritages here, but the one we had not touched bases with was the Nigerian heritage,” Duncan explained.

“It made the most sense when one, you have Hakeem Olajuwon in your city, and two, Houston is home to the largest population of Nigerians, bigger than any other city in the nation. It just made sense. So, two years in the making, we have a beautiful celebration of Nigerian culture and heritage here in Houston.”

Ogwumike, who grew up in the Houston area and became a national player of the year at Cy-Fair High School, was honored with the team’s ceremonial pregame “First Shot.” Naturally, she made it, earning $5,000 for charity from Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta.

In subsequent comments, she said it meant a lot for her to participate in an event that celebrates her culture and represents her family.

“It meant the world to me,” Ogwumike told reporters after being formally honored by the organization as a hometown hero. “I am able to celebrate my culture here, the African diaspora, and the sports world, and how it has brought us all together.”

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Chiefs OL Jason ‘Chu’ Godrick speaks about his first-ever football game

#Chiefs lineman Jason “Chu” Godrick spoke about playing his first-ever game of organized football on Sunday.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Jason “Chu” Godrick’s “welcome to the NFL” moment this past Sunday was even bigger than just a welcome to professional football — it was a full-on “welcome to football” moment.

Godrick, who came to Kansas City as part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program from Lagos, Nigeria, played in his first-ever football game against the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 of the preseason.

And, oddly enough, he did a pretty solid job in his professional debut. The 6-foot-5, 295-pounder earned 20 snaps at right tackle and didn’t allow a single pressure. After the game, Godrick talked to Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports (former editor of Chiefs Wire) about his amazing first-time football experience.

“Words can barely express it, to be honest,” Godrick said. “The atmosphere was definitely something I had never experienced, but I did my best to keep my head on a swivel and just play ball.”

It’s almost unprecedented to see a player come straight into the NFL without playing a single snap of organized football — it speaks to the true talent that Godrick has, not to mention the work ethic of getting to that level.

It’ll be another giant leap for Godrick to one day make a practice squad, let alone a 53-man roster, but his impressive debut showed that it could be a possibility for him. That would be a story to behold.

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Lauren James went and lost her mind. It could be costly for England.

One of the stars of the World Cup may have thrown it all away in a split-second decision

Lauren James was having a dream World Cup heading into the knockout stage, but her debut on the world’s biggest stage now risks becoming something of a nightmare.

James was perhaps the standout player of the entire group stage, scoring three goals and adding two assists in just three games for England — all of them wins.

The 21-year-old has quickly risen to prominence to mark herself as a star of the global game, but she risks undoing all of her stellar work in Australia and New Zealand after a moment of madness against Nigeria in the round of 16.

Late in the game with the score tied 0-0, James ended up on top of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie and — for reasons only she will ever know — instead of simply getting off, she clearly and deliberately stood on her opponent’s back.

After a VAR review, England was down to 10 players.

The Lionesses would still manage to overcome Nigeria by the slimmest of margins, winning 4-2 in a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw through 120 minutes. But their path forward without their top attacking player looks murky.

England has enough talent to beat either Jamaica or Colombia in the quarterfinal without the suspended James. But the concern is that she could face an additional sanction due to the blatant nature of her infraction.

“It was a moment that was in a split-second,” England manager Sarina Wiegman said after the game. “It was later in the game so players get a little tired. She is inexperienced on this stage and in a split-second lost her emotions. She would never want to hurt someone, she is the sweetest person I know.”

England’s Rachel Daly added: “She’s a young player – people forget that. They put a lot of pressure on her on the outside.

“It’s a team game, she’s been excellent for us and [we’ll] put an arm round her and help her through it.”

England will now face a nervous wait on the word from FIFA, who could add an additional two games to James’s suspension — ending her World Cup.

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2023 Women’s World Cup Knockout Stage Day 3 Recap: Australia, England advance

Australia and England reached the quarterfinals, with the latter needing a penalty shootout to do so

On the third day of knockout stage games at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, two more teams punched their tickets to the next round, while two others got sent packing. The two games that took place were England against Nigeria and Australia versus Denmark, the first of which ended up going to a penalty shootout.

Before we get into the two games, here is your reminder that you can follow all of the World Cup action right here at Pro Soccer Wire! You can get the full TV/streaming schedule, a power ranking of all 16 knockout stage teams, and the rankings in this year’s race for the Golden Boot.

Now, let’s get into the games.

World Cup knockout round power rankings: Evaluating all 16 teams

Evaluating the hopes of the 16 teams left at this World Cup

A World Cup group stage full of surprises has resulted in a truly intriguing set of 16 teams going through to the knockout rounds.

Some favorites have looked the part, but the list of big teams that have underachieved is significantly longer (it’s not just the U.S. women’s national team, folks). A couple of second-tier teams have stepped their game up, while some unheralded sides have shown that while no one was watching, they were making major strides.

The result is a round of 16 where it feels like nearly anything could happen. Could the USWNT join the likes of Germany, Brazil, and Canada in being out? What about the possibility of teams like Jamaica, Morocco, and South Africa getting to the quarterfinals?

It’s been completely unpredictable, so all of these things are distinctly possible. Still, Pro Soccer Wire tried to sort out the likelihood of any one team making a run to the final. Somewhere between their results in this tournament, past track record, and overall talent level, we’ve settled on a power rankings list that everyone everywhere will surely have no problems with.