Sports

Ademola Lookman: From England youth team to Nigerian star

Published

2 years ago

February 6, 2024

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Ademola Lookman has no doubt stolen the limelight from star man Victor Osimhen on Nigeria’s run to the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals, with the former England youth international scoring all their goals so far in the knockout stage.

While reigning African footballer of the year Osimhen has not found the net at the tournament since the Super Eagles’ opening 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea, Lookman bagged a brace in the 2-0 defeat of Cameroon in the last 16 and followed that with the only goal in the 1-0 defeat of Angola in the quarter-finals.

Nigeria may need Lookman to extend that run against South Africa on Wednesday, with Osimhen a major doubt for the game with an abdominal problem.

Most analysis of Nigeria has focused on Osimhen’s lack of goals as well as the approach adopted by coach Jose Peseiro, who has successfully put the emphasis on not conceding.

“I have chosen another strategy. The players believe in it — don’t concede goals because we will score at least one,” Peseiro said in one press briefing in Abidjan.

His side have kept four straight clean sheets en route to the semi-finals, following a switch to a three-man central defence.

However, the 26-year-old Lookman is the difference-maker just now and has quickly made it impossible for Peseiro to drop him.

That is despite the formidable depth available to Nigeria in attack, with AC Milan’s Samuel Chukwueze, Kelechi Iheanacho and the veteran Ahmed Musa kicking their heels on the bench.

Perhaps Lookman never would have started in the first place but for an injury to Victor Boniface which ruled the Bayer Leverkusen forward out just before the AFCON began.

Yet there is a sense that every Nigeria player is pulling in the same direction as they set their sights on winning a fourth Cup of Nations crown for Africa’s most populous country.

“We are behind each other. We don’t take anything for granted. I think that shows in our work ethic, how we fight for each other, how we defend, how we attack,” Lookman said after collecting the award for man of the match against Cameroon.

– Settled at Atalanta –
He was not part of the Nigerian team that bowed out of the last AFCON in the last 16 in Cameroon in 2022, but that was the year big changes happened in Lookman’s career.

The Nigeria Football Federation had already been trying for some time to get London-born Lookman to change allegiance despite having represented England as a youth, just like Alex Iwobi and Victor Moses had done previously.

He eventually made his debut in a decisive World Cup qualifying play-off against Ghana in March 2022 and has not looked back.

“Both of my parents are Nigerian and my two older sisters were also born in Nigeria. So I was the only one out of us to be born here,” he told British newspaper The Guardian in 2021.

Lookman began his career at Charlton Athletic but was in the Premier League with Everton by the time he played in the England team that won the Under-20 World Cup in 2017 alongside the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dominic Solanke and Fikayo Tomori.

He has since played for RB Leipzig, Fulham and Leicester City, but is now flourishing at international level at a time when he appears in better form than ever in his club career.

A move to Italy to sign for Atalanta in August 2022 has been key, as he quickly settled and scored 15 goals in his first season there.

Lookman has added seven more so far in this campaign, and playing under Gian Piero Gasperini for one of Serie A’s best sides has helped him become established in the Nigeria side.

“I definitely have a defensive role, to help the team within the structure, but that defensive role also allows me to attack,” Lookman told The Times in an interview last year of his club manager.

“Italian football is known for structure… They’re so drilled on structure here.”

From Bergamo to Bouake, where Peseiro’s well-drilled team face South Africa as Lookman aims to take a step closer to adding the AFCON title with Nigeria to that Under-20 World Cup winner’s medal he picked up in the colours of England.

Related Topics:ADEMOLA LOOKMAN AFCON FOOTBALL SUPER EAGLES

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WrestleMania 42: Nigerian wrestler Oba Femi beats 10-time WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2026

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Nigerian professional wrestler, Isaac Odugbesan, popularly known as Oba Femi, defeated 10-time WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, on his WrestleMania debut on Sunday.

The clash, one of the headline matches at WrestleMania 42, ended on a dramatic note as the 27-year-old Nigerian overpowered the veteran.

Lesnar left his wrestling gear in the ring after the match — a gesture widely regarded in professional wrestling as a sign of retirement.

Oba Femi, also known as “The Ruler,” is a former NXT champion and has spent just three months on WWE’s main roster.

The contest began with both wrestlers testing each other’s strength before Lesnar briefly seized control with a series of offensive moves.

However, Femi absorbed the pressure and responded with a dominant display, shifting momentum in his favour.

Lesnar delivered an F5, but Femi quickly recovered, hitting a chokeslam before finishing the contest with his “Fall From Grace” sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall victory.

The bout quickly became a major talking point on social media, with fans reacting to the upset win.

Femi, a former shot put athlete, is a two-time NXT Champion and a one-time NXT North American Champion.

Born in Lagos, Odugbesan competed in track and field during his school years before signing with WWE in 2021 through its NIL programme.

He went on to win the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and the 2024 Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

During the WrestleMania Sunday post-show, Femi sent a message to Roman Reigns, popularly known as the “Original Tribal Chief,” drawing a loud reaction from fans as he hinted at a possible title challenge before the end of the year.

Sports

BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

Published

2 months ago

March 17, 2026

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The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

Sports

FG fulfils promises as D’Tigress receive national honours, house documents

Published

2 months ago

March 17, 2026

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The Federal Government has fulfilled its outstanding promises to the senior women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, delivering National Honour certificates and title documents for houses in Abuja.

The presentation took place in Lyon, where the African Champions are currently participating at the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

The move follows a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at clearing a backlog of promises made to the team following their 2023 Afrobasket victory in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, led the delegation alongside the Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade. Speaking during the handover, Dikko characterized the prompt delivery as a “clear departure” from previous administrations, where state-promised rewards often faced multi-year delays.

“This is a prompt fulfilment of promises made by a President who leads with action,” Dikko stated. “Mr. President is giving every Nigerian athlete a renewed confidence that sports is a serious business capable of changing lives.”

While the physical assets (housing and honours) have been delivered, the NSC Chairman confirmed that the cash rewards promised to the squad are currently in the final stages of administrative processing. He assured the players that disbursement into their respective bank accounts is imminent.

The Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade, noted that the current administration of President Tinubu is institutionalizing a “reward system” modelled after developed sporting nations to ensure high-performance outcomes.

President of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Engr. Musa Kida, credited the Presidency for prioritizing athlete welfare, citing it as a “legacy of a lifetime” for the sports sector.

Head Coach Rena Wakama and Captain Amy Okonkwo formally accepted the documents, affirming that the timely delivery of these incentives would serve as a catalyst for the team’s upcoming international qualifiers.