“My father stopped me from playing football…” – Super Eagles Forward
By: Godwin Nathaniel
It is not in doubt that Nigeria’s talent pool of grassroot footballers jostling to become professional footballers is almost the entire population of some countries; nations like Iceland.
Hadjuk Split and Erstwhile Super Eagles forward, Emem Eduok is one of such players who had to go through fire and brimstone to fulfil his boyhood dreams.
In a chat with Nigerian Sports Mouthpiece, NSM, Eduok said “it was really tough for me because we a lot of good players in Nigeria, you just had to work hard and also pray to God for favour. Every player goes through this hurdle”
The Uyo-born player also revealed he had travelled far and wide for trials before fortune smiled at him. “I went to trials at so many clubs before I made up my mind that I would not go anywhere again and wait for the right deal to come to me”.
He added “my father stopped me from playing football but my mother was always there. She was always supportive and now everyone is benefitting from it all”.
Emem starred for Dolphins of Port Harcourt where he became a cult hero for his goal contributions at the club. In 2015, he secured a move to Esperance De Tunis before making his way to Europe as he went on loan to Turkey.
The 26 year old is also in the record books as the first player to score at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, where he scored for Nigeria in a friendly encounter against Ghana.
Emem is currently in the books of Hadjuk Split in the Croatian Top Flight. Since making the move to Croatia, he has bagged 9 goals in 19 games for his team, with a record of a goal every 119 minutes.
