Started with Curiosity.

There was a season during my primary school years, probably around P4, when Ronaldo's name started coming up far too many times. Something that piqued my curiosity so much that I wanted to know more about who he was. One particular year when my dad and I were watching the Champions League Final, Ronaldo scored a goal which to me was the most phenomenal goal I had ever seen, and from that moment on, my journey with Football began.

Two weeks after the Champions League, my neighbor who used to play Football introduced me to a security guard who guarded the grounds of a football training area. He began coaching my friend and me, then shortly started assembling younger boys from different places to play with us and ended up forming a team. After training daily, what began as a hobby grew into a passion that I decided would be the career I'd pursue, intending to reach the highest level, the Championships, the Titles, the Ballon d'Or, you name it.

So I started pursuing football at full speed to the extent of skipping classes at times so that I could play. But it wasn't long until my principal discovered what I had been up to. The principal had received a phone call from someone telling her they had seen me in a stadium when I was meant to be in school. She then told my mom that I had been skipping class every Tuesday and Thursday to go f training. My parents made it clear that I had to finish school, and only after could I pursue football. I was devastated because, at the time, I had grown so much in the game, and my coach had selected and scheduled me for the Nigerian Under-17. So missed that opportunity, and I went on to finish High school but decided not to join University so I could fully focus on playing football professionally.

A supposed pit stop.

After High school, I went to Lebanon intending to obtain my passport and then head to Europe after that. Unfortunately, my time there coincided with the Lebanese uprising, making it unsafe for me to remain there, so I h d to leave. I was given the option to either return home to Nigeria or head to Turkey, where Mom had a friend waiting for me, and that is how I lived here. I assumed it would be easier here to continue on the path of pursuing my football career, boy, was I in for a treat.

Before 2019, foreigners were able to play football in Turkey q ite easily. Under the old system, you could start in a Minor league and make your way up. Currently, one can only play in the first and second divisions if you have a big agent, a lot of money, and have played in your country's national team or from a recognized official team before you are even given an opportunity.

Turkey's new system concerning football affected me negatively, so I started to think of ways I could leave the country. In the process of trying to leave, a friend and I were scammed of our money with the promise of being taken out of the country. Then 2020 came around, and the whole world was dealing with COVID and t lockdown. I was still training then but had to put my plans to leave for Europe on hold. It was quite a challenging and depressing time for me, and it was during this period that I encountered Jesus and my perspective on my entire life changed.

Pursuing football changed from just being about playing and earning money, but becoming a means and platform of positive influence. I believe there are many people who are broken and who need love and encouragement. Football has given me football as a stream to influence people, especially football players. From a distance, someone may be famous and look all glamorous, something that's common in the football world, but deep down, they are going through a lot and/or are depressed. I believe God gave me this football platform to be a Footballer of love. So football, to me, isn't just something to make my life better but to make the lives of others better as well.

Expectations Vs Reality.

My ideas and expectations about the football structure, how the game is played, and the styles played here were positively big before coming. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case on the ground, for example, if I were to go to England and I mentioned a Turkish team, few would know about them because outside of Turkey, most Turkish football clubs aren't doing so well, but inside Turkey, they are very famous. The same scenario goes for Africa, if you were to mention Galatasaray or Besiktas, few people would even know. The football structure here limits the progress young foreigners can make in the game, limiting the exposure Turkish football teams have in other countries. Turkey is no longer a place where you can come, grow, and be the Footballer you want to be. People often come here to Turkey only to make money because the tax levels are relatively low compared to England. If you were playing for a club before you came here, you'd be getting a lot of money, so I believe many players come here for the money, not because they want to develop themselves and break out into the European scene.

There isn't a lot of guidance when football players come here because many come and join amateur teams like African teams to train, but the possibility of them making it from such teams is very slim. There are so many African players who are very good, they train with African teams, but due to the limitations and the system here, they cannot even make it.

Life lessons.

Being here has made me quite disciplined and has been like a season of preparation. This experience has also shaped and made me into who I am and who I am becoming. Realizing that in life, you don't always get things the way you want, and when changes happen, you have to be able to make the necessary adjustments. In this life, one encounters many things, so you have to be strong, and Turkey has made me strong in this process. This experience has given me a different perspective and a deeper understanding of who I am and what I possess. It has been a good journey, even though I didn't see what I wanted when I first came. It didn't all turn out to be bad, some things turned out good. My experience with God is the ultimate highlight of my time in Turkey. Many people come here wanting to play football and end up doing other things, so it has kept me grounded and focused. If I didn't want to play football again, my roots and foundation are deep, and I'm now focused on my purpose and what I want too. I'm not shadowboxing, I'm moving purposefully.

In as much as discipline and determination are major keys in the game, seeing the bigger picture of seeking that which is eternal is the differentiating factor for me. Being spiritually grounded has given me the advantage to maneuver through life in Turkey, considering it is a very challenging place to be if you aim to play football professionally in a foreign count y. You put a lot of effort and time into developing yourself, but if you're not careful, you can spend a lot of years here and not make any significant progress in your life. So that's why I have to have a bigger vision, because at the end of the day, what if the money doesn't come, or I don't get to the top or the highest level, what will happen?

The Bigger Picture.

I have interacted with and met a lot of people in Istanbul through football, and unfortunately, many of them are broken.

So every day when I wake up to go for training, I'm not just going to play FootballFootball but to influence people so they can experience God's lo e. Many people are seeking this truth and want to know that they are truly loved because, at the end of the day, it isn't all about their talents, and that Football is not what makes them stand out; it's just a tool.

I have a friend, who eats and breathes Football, but I helped him come to the realization that Football isn't everything. I mean, what happens when you no longer have Football does that mean that your life ends the ? As our conversations and interactions with him continued, I could see the change. I'm not reaching people just by playing Football but also by having a certain lifesty e. I believe that our talents are not just for us to make money or have a good life but to influence people to a greater and better purpose.

I still want to pursue Football professionally and use its influence to impact the world. It's not an easy journey, but I believe there are still a lot of possibilities to make it. This is a lifestyle for me because I have a routine to follow, my diet, the kind of things I do, and where I go matter in relation to where I see myself in the game. For instance training, you don't just wake up and decide to train at any time, but you have to maintain a level of consistency if you want to go higher. It's beyond just kicking the ball, it's a mind game.

Finding my Footing.

Football requires a lot of hard work, even though you might have talent, because talent works hand in hand with hard wo . I was not born with the talent of playing Football like other footballers, so I had to train a lot, even from the early stages of my journey. I was often insulted when I started playing and was told "not to play football again" or "Why are you playing football ". I remember there were times when they would choose team members, and they wouldn't choose me, or they would simply kick me out and say I wasn't good enough or "he can't play"; but I kept on going.

At a tournament when I was about 14, it was the semifinal or the quarterfinal not really sure which one it was, but I was on the bench for most of the ga e. The coach then decided to put me in 4 minutes towards the end, the ball was passed to me, and usually, I'd freeze because I didn't know what to do on the pit h. Still, on that day, I remembered a stent, dribbled past about two people, then passed the ball to someone who actually didn't score, but everyone was up shouting because of what I had to do. Everyone was excited, not because of the game but because of the little thing I just did, and we eventually won that game. A highlight in my football journey that made me realize I have something inside of me, even though I wasn't born with it. I believe every footballer is different, and everyone has something unique. It was during that period that I discovered that I have something in me that makes me stand out. That's why Football, for me, is a training ground that helps prepare me for the realities of life. A process of breaking and making, pain and effort, sweat, crying, laughing, joy, and peace where everything is happening in the process.

I believe there are different kinds of seasons to life and, in them, times of preparation. Times of training, purging, breaking, because you have to be broken then recreated, and it's only then that you see your full potential. So that you are fully prepared because God will test you in different ways, and when the opportunity comes, one has to be ready.