Michael Obafemi: How Corruption Made Nigeria Lose Teenage Chelsea Destroyer To Republic Of Ireland

Michael Obafemi: How Corruption Made Nigeria Lose Teenage Chelsea Destroyer To Republic Of Ireland

By Admin

Michael Oluwadurotimi Obafemi sent heads turning with his opener for Southampton in their 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day.

Unknown to many, the 19-year-old Republic of Ireland striker, who opened his Southampton account in 11 games on the occasion could have been playing for Nigeria, who passed off the chance in 2015 because he would not bribe the Nigeria U17 selectors.

According to David Doherty, founder of UK-based D-Pathwaysports, Obafemi was highly impressive for his Soaring Eaglets team that came down to Nigeria to engage the Golden Eaglets in a double-legged friendly at the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, before the team went on to win the U17 World Cup in Chile.

Reacting to the player’s goal at Chelsea on Wednesday, Doherty said Obafemi had been completely overlooked by the Nigerian selectors despite being the best player on parade in the second game, because he would not bribe them to get on the team to the World Cup.

He said:”Michael Obafemi was the Man of the Match against Golden Eaglets in 2015 as a player of Leyton Orient. He was outstanding in the return leg at MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.

“We brought Michael to Nigeria on a platter of gold, but guess what? They overlooked us because we are not ready to pay. This is one of the frustrations and headaches with the corrupt group running football in Nigeria.

“Now, he has gone to play for Ireland and doing us proud. Nice one Michael Obafemi.”

Obafemi, who was eligible to represent England, Nigeria, and the Republic of Ireland, committed to the Republic of Ireland in November 2018 and made his debut on November 19 in the UEFA Nations League match against Denmark. He came on as a substitute in the second half of the barren encounter, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to win a senior cap for Ireland.

Despite representing Republic of Ireland at the youth levels, Obafemi could have switched his allegiance to Nigeria at senior level, but the thought possibly never crossed his mind, due the shabby treatment of 2015 at 14.

Obafemi has been at Southampton since 2016 and steadily rose through the ranks before making his professional debut as a substitute in the 82nd minute of a 1–1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 21 January 2018 aged 17 years and 199 days, making him the second youngest player to make a Premier League appearance for Southampton after Luke Shaw, who was 17 years and 116 days old.