Lolade Adewuyi

Paystack’s Shola Akinlade visited his new club acquisition to meet fans and attend the board meeting. #AarhusFremad fans are hopeful of a good deal that could transform their club. In his first interview @shollsman told me he’s in it for the long haul. soccernet.ng/2023/04/in-dan…

Interesting that DAZN is streaming Portable vs Carter Efe globally. Massive platform

@molarawood It’s incredible how it has come about. And great credit must go to the Ibadan/Oyo/Ogbomoso/Iseyin women who never gave up on it, they took it along on their migration journey all over the country and across the continent.

@Jololade Amala has standalone restaurants whose USP is Amala. Unbelievable stuff! And those standalone restaurants now come with snazzy signage and franchises all over the place. I'm not even convinced they're all owned by Yoruba entrepreneurs. Everyone loves success, or so I thought.

Amala is the No.1 crossover Nigerian food of the last 10 years. You can hardly turn a corner in Abuja without seeing a fancy Amala joint, doing brisk business all day every day, frequented by Nigerians across board. The prideful regularity of tweets like below, insular, baffling.

@molarawood My Ife classmate Ganiyat Ogundele. Brilliant babe.

#Feminism101 Scene from 'Owo Eje'

@molarawood An emperor who received his staff of office from a sitting governor? An emperor who controls no empire. An emperor who has no army. There’s a lot happening that makes one shake their head.

The Ekitiparapọ Army did not fight for this. Ijesa was never under Oyo. Nor did Ogedengbe live and die for dubious claims to be staked as throwback. Who even beats their chest over "Empire" in the 21st century? Empire in these times is a sad delusion. Embarrassing.

Super Eagles Antalya tournament wrap-up: Standings, results and what Chelle learned from his experimental squad footynaija.com/2026/04/super-…

Nigeria U20 star Daniel Daga jailed in Norway as Molde suspend midfielder footynaija.com/2026/03/nigeri…

Eze goes to school

Revealed: How the Middle East crisis may affect the Super Eagles footynaija.com/2026/03/reveal…

@heli_chito @TeeladVibes The league is working to the best of its ability. Many young players are choosing to not play in it. Agents see the desperation and cash in.

@Jololade @TeeladVibes Our league is trash. Agents can do better, but it's not easy to secure a good move for local players when the local league has no sustainable structure

A player of this talent should be at a club with opportunity to rise to the top. Adisa Daniel (20) recently moved to Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil - ranked 136th nationally, plays in the Parana State League (not in the national division). Why is Nigerian talent being lost? The agents

@haiamkophee There’s a league that works for hundreds of players. Many young footballers are choosing a path away from the league, instead staying amateur in hopes of getting moves abroad. But it’s not a promised path and could see them with unfulfilled dreams.

@Jololade I think the lack of a proper league structure and players desperation play a huge part in it. Pato, as Adisa is fondly called in agric, ikorodu is a very talented lad and hopefully, he gets to blossom in Brazil.

@Real1_balogun We did a great thing together, well done Rilwan.

A relatable story in another form. This time, it’s Taiwo Awoniyi. DW wanted to shoot a documentary on Taiwo and I’d written an article on him. He was at Union Berlin at the time. That article that Monday morning came from a place of need. I needed to have something published as I hadn’t for some time due to my work. I probably must have told this story a couple times but I’ll repeat it and add more. Mr. Lolade Adewuyi read that story and he contacted me to ask if I had a relationship with Taiwo. I didn’t at the time but I suggested traveling to Ilorin to get more details. My job at the time was remote and I worked quite flexibly. I travelled to Ilorin the next day, booked a hotel and went in search of Taiwo’s story. I met a man at the stadium who held my hands and didn’t stop until we got someone who knew more about Taiwo. The man said he’d worked at Imperial Academy and knew him. He is a Physio. A very good man. Eventually, I succeeded with getting a hold of Taiwo’s coach, Abdulrazaq Olojo, and spoke to him. He said he’d tell me nothing if Taiwo didn’t give him the permission to do so. I respected that. After some days, I got contacted by Taiwo himself asking to speak with me alongside his agent. They just wanted to understand what DW wanted to do. I still remember where I was when I made that call. He agreed to the documentary. I went back to Ilorin and his coach was now more spurred to say everything he knew. Stories. Pictures. You could tell they were in sync. We went to his family’s house too and his parents were very accommodating and nice. DW paid me decent money for it. But more than that money, a relationship was established. A respectable and respectful relationship. Taiwo is a super humble guy. As fate would have it, he moved to Nottingham Forest. I also moved to the UK to study Public Health. My school was in Nottingham. I kept tabs with him. I was in school and desperate to get on going with employment, and reached out to him on my situation. He linked me up with the club’s media who linked me up with the club’s Marketing Director. We had a meeting and we had a solid conversation. That didn’t materialize into anything concrete as I was a student at the time and wasn’t in the media based on my studies, but I had access. We met much later, and he told me why he held on a bit before agreeing to the documentary. It was absolutely understandable. I work fully in Public Health now in the same city and work closely with Forest’s Community Trust team. When I tell them I know Taiwo, they’re often joyful and all say the same thing about him, ‘great guy’. It’s a name that instantly courts respect in this city, in those rooms. If I wanted to continue in the media here, I’m cocksure that name would have opened doors to those jobs. A good person is a good person, regardless.

@a_idume I thought this was just my keyboard misbehaving. It’s annoying after all these years of

You can type “dey” 2,000 times everyday on your Apple keyboard and this dumb thing will still keep correcting it to “Dey”. Ridiculous.

@ArmstrongW29406 @israel_ajoje Genuine agents sign up players, pay for them to travel to the clubs to be seen by their selectors. Don’t pay for a trial trip, your agent should pay for you as a sign he believes in your ability. After all, he stands to make money from you if the club gives you a contract.

@israel_ajoje Yes it's a trial with AC MILAN, BOLOGNA AND PARMA

So you want to become a professional footballer. A real Agent or Agency will never ask you for money. I repeat- A real Agent or Agency will never ask you for money. Let me tell you how those Amateur to Pro deals actually happen, and how to boost your odds. By the way- this is for Under 21 players. This may not be able to help you if you are above 21. There are ways you can do it but this Article may not be it for you. I don’t want you to be disappointed at the end. If you are still here, you should know this is a long read but I promise you it is exciting and you will love it. Just keep reading. A while back, I wrote about the difference between a pro footballer and an amateur one. The main point is in  how much you earn. Pros earn enough from football to cater for their needs. That’s all. But I didn’t talk about how to get there. Football at top level is not for fun. It is discipline, consistency, and turning every training session into a step toward mastery and improvement. Amateurs play for fun. Pros play for their livelihood. Over the years, I have spoken with dozens of players, their parents, and even “managers” who can promise you the moon but. I have counselled them on the raw, unfiltered steps to breaking into the professional ranks. It doesn’t matter what point you are at. The stories all circle back to one thing. Preparation meets opportunity. Are you still with me? I like to compare turning pro to getting into university. It is not a walk-in. There are multiple steps to take. Just like universities/tertiary institutions have minimum entry requirements, football clubs demand proof you are ready for the big leagues.That you are no longer a secondary-level footballer.  In Nigeria for example, to get into a top university, you  have to have gone to a primary secondary school, pass the UTME and then POST-UTME. In the US, it is SAT or ACT scores, plus a solid GPA and maybe extracurriculars. In the UK, you have to pass the A Levels exams. Right?. But to pass any of these exams, you have to have had a certain level of Education- Secondary School education. It is the same with football. You need evidence you are already playing at a high level and have the potential to outperform where you currently play. No scout is handing out contracts based on vibes alone. It is almost impossible for you to get a pro contract from your local Saturday playing field in your area. It doesn’t happen that way. You have to show a player CV, yes- a player CV, tapes, stats, or reps from competitive games proving you are levels above. If you don’t have any of the above, you will just explain tire, no evidence. Are you there? In my experience, There are Two major ways for you to Get Noticed To convince scouts you are the real deal, there are two solid paths. First, you have to earn a spot in your country's age-grade national team, like the U-17 or U-20 squads. This passes the message that you are one of the top talents in your age group nationwide. It is an international benchmark, fair and square. Though there are places where selections lean more on connections than merit. We all know how it goes. Yunno. This is a crazy topic for those who know. But that’s not what this is about. The second route- which I think is your best bet is to find a reputable academy that has a track record of churning out pros. In Nigeria, we call these "travelling teams" because they are geared toward getting you abroad. Do not waste your prime years at just any Academy that doesn’t have a solid program. They will have you playing FA Cup or Principals Cup matches at best. Go for ones with proven pipelines. We all know the big names like Beyond Limits, FC Ebedei, and Simoiben, but there are hidden gems out there doing deals quietly.  I know one in Ilorin that moved 3 players to Croatia just yesterday. The name is Dolly P.  Yes, the Entry is tough. But you can back yourself and trial if you are confident. But if not, scout smarter. Listen to this. One pro tip I give to players is this: Dig into national team rosters from U-17 to seniors over the last seven years. Note the academies those players came from. They are goldmines for boosting your odds. Do not sleep on them. If you are in Nigeria, check out teams in the TCC League or NNL (Nigeria National League). Many of the teams there serious travelling teams that are hungry for talent. Give it a shot. Back yourself. Even if you don’t get an immediate move, you could catch the eye of National team scouts. Top clubs love scouting during international tournaments. It is like their buffet of the best from each nation's crop. Pick your choice, yunno. If you perform there, opportunities could open for you. These days, many clubs will not even glance at an agent's pitch without a national team profile. They figure if you are not representing your country, you are not elite enough. We know it’s not true but it is what it is. Wise ones- this is a word to you If you cannot crack into these standard Nigerian academies, your shot at going pro in Europe is very slim. Let me break it down. Scouts don’t just pick players for technique. They are hunting for that X-factor their European squads/Academies lack. Like raw speed, flair, or ginger. But clubs face non-EU player quotas. Some can only slot in 7 to 8 from outside the continent. And they are picking from a global pool across five continents for those spots, so you have to be super exceptional. If you cannot fill one of 30 spots in a local academy, confess. I am not God but I can tell you for sure that your odds are lower against that elite competition. You have to level up your game One more non-negotiable. Get your highlight reel sorted. Upload quality, standard 3-5 minute videos to YouTube. Don’t send 15 second clips of you dribbling someone or scoring a goal. Don’t also send 238MB clips of you on whatsapp. No one is watching them. Upload them on Youtube. Start with a clean intro. Your biodata (age, position, height, foot), then your best attributes showcased in clips. If you blow this, you might have just fumbled your first impression. Wheeeww…this was a long read but I hope it was worth it for you. Let me know in the comment section if it was. My name is Ajoje and I am a FIFA Licensed Agent and International Sports Lawyer. I talk about the Law and Business of Football a lot. Repost and Follow me if you want to read more posts like this.

Every Carnival, Yorubas now discover they have cousins in Brazil. It was in 2014 during the World Cup that I connected with Brazil. I bought a Grupo Revelaçao DVD and heard their Arlindo Cruz cover of Meu Lugar and its references to Ogum and Iansa (Oya).

@ph0ssy_jaw @ojbsports The boxer Andy Ruiz played the Marc Anthony cover during his entrance to a world heavyweight boxing title fight against Anthony Joshua in Saudi in 2019. That was my first time hearing that song and its unmistakable Yoruba references. youtu.be/nsrH_wvnx2U?si…

@ojbsports I am Puerto Rican. And one of my favorite songs is by a Puerto Rican singer named Hector Lavoe called “Aguanile.” The opening of the song begins with a chant “Yemaya, Yemaya, oooooh, Yemaya, Yemaya…” and people practice and worship her on the island too.

Years ago, I met a pretty lady at a restaurant in Porto, Portugal. Being the sharp Naija guy that I am, I walked up to her and said, “You look like a goddess - Yemoja.” She looked at me wit this beautiful smile and replied, “I worship Yemoja.” I was stunned. Not just by the coincidence, but by the way she said it so naturally. Later, she told me she was from Brazil. That’s when it hit me. The Yoruba culture traveled far beyond Nigeria’s shores. In Brazil, especially through Afro-Brazilian traditions like Candomblé, Yemoja is deeply revered.

@ayo_oguntimehin @JudgeIyke @soccernet_ng @PoojaMedia @Real1_balogun AS Roma saw the market almost a decade ago when they set up a Pidgin account. It was a hit.

Long before now, I had noticed that the Nigerian social media space was being quietly tapped into by clubs. In fact, back in June 2024, I was contacted by someone from an international media communications department who openly told me that Sevilla were looking to tap into the Nigerian social space. I specifically advised them on how to use slang and other techniques to attract Nigerian fans. While I am not taking credit for what has been done since then, I am glad to see that this space is now being explored by bigger and top football brands. In my article, I wrote about how the Nigerian football community has grown beyond the small wooden viewing centres across the streets where we used to watch our football stars (with no mobile phone, Facebook, or even Twitter). Credit to @PoojaMedia, whom I strongly quoted in the article for pointing out how brands are “milking” Nigerians, and to @Real1_balogun for his thoughts on Nigerian players making the job of these top brands’ social media admins easier. My conclusion is "visibility is currency, and Nigerian football fans are proving to be one of the richest digital markets in the game." Read more: soccernet.ng/2026/02/atleti…

Some pictures from a frozen day.

Football won. Congratulations Senegal. 🇸🇳