Nigeria beach soccer star Abu Azeez, professional footballer, landed in the beach without planning it, but it has become his everything now
Abu Azeez, born on the 31st of May 1994 in Sabo Ajangbadi, Lagos, can arguably be considered the best beach soccer player in Africa. At least, according to his wide collection of individual awards, which includes three Top-Scorer awards at the Copa Lagos or two top-scorer awards at the CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations and two nominations for the Best Player of the Year award.
Despite his international status in the game today, Abu, the first African player to have scored more than 100 goals on international competitions, arrived to the sand almost without planning it.
Before becoming a beach soccer star, Abu built a solid professional career in football, playing for top sides in Nigeria such as Enyimba or Shooting Stars, an activity he still combines with his beach soccer career today.
It was precisely when he was in football, just before becoming a professional player, that he gave beach soccer a try. It was in a friendly game against the Nigerian National Team. He was not a complete stranger to the basics of the game, though, as he had grown his talent in Badagry, a sandy area close to where he lived all his childhood, in Lagos. It was a very challenging moment for him, but a strong bond was made that very day…
“Beach soccer has become my life, and it has given me a lot of great things: I have met wonderful people, I have traveled to amazing places and, beyond all that, it has given me the chance to represent my people, my family and my country in a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.”
Banking on a terrific talent and a great scoring capacity, Abu tried to learn from what he saw in more experienced teammates: “Guys such as Ikecwukwu or Isiake Olawale have influenced me a lot. I always tried to mirror what they did on the pitch because they were extremely intelligent”.
But if he had to choose one name amongst all them, it would be coach Chukwuma Agbo, who left us last month: “He was crucial in my live. He believed in me so much… He gave me all the confidence I have today“.
Although his extreme dedication to beach soccer did not prevent him for graduating in Computer and Mathematics at the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Abu, the youngest of 4 brothers and one sister, cannot think in anything else than beach soccer for his future.
Already with the qualification for the FIFA Beach Soccer world Cup Paraguay in his hands, Azeez is willing to keep impressing on the global stage, with the desire of going all the way in Paraguay and writing a golden page in the Nigerian beach soccer history. For him, for his family, for Nigeria, and for his beloved Chukwuma.
