List Of Nigerian Goalkeepers – All Names From Inception Till Date

Adebayo Adeleye is here, and he is perfect. The 23-year-old finally got his shot at representing the Nigeria national football team thanks to the suspension of Francis Uzoho.

The exciting Hapoel Jerusalem goalkeeper had received a few call-ups prior to this but was always considered second fiddle. After stepping up to the plate in the absence of the Omonia Nicosia man, the former Hapoel Katamon goalkeeper got fans of the Super Eagles talking and reminiscing about the greats like Vincent Enyeama and Sam Ibiam.

In no particular order, below is a list of all the goalkeepers who have preceded Adeleye.

Dream debut done ✅ and dusted. 🇳🇬🦅 🧤

Thank you to everyone for believing in me & for the support. 🙏🏾💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/BQVk4b8jPb

— ADEBAYO ADELEYE (@GAdebayoAdeleye) June 19, 2023

List Of Nigerian Goalkeepers

The first ever Nigeria national football team was formed in 1949 with players who had featured for amateur teams while the country was still a colony of the British Empire. The “1949 UK Tourists” or the “Red Devils”, as they were known at the time, were a brilliant team who gave Marine AFC their first-ever record crowd attendance of 6,000 spectators. Icons like goalkeeper Isaac Akioye, who went on to be a pioneer of physical education in the academic space, were in the team who performed brilliantly on their 1949 tour.

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Quick facts about Nigeria national football team goalkeepers

• Only five goalkeepers have made more than 30 appearances for the Super Eagles
• Only one has hit a century of appearances for the Super Eagles. He is Vincent Enyeama, often regarded as Nigeria’s greatest goalkeeper.
• Vincent Enyeama was ranked as Africa's greatest goalkeeper by the International Federation for Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) in March 2023.

These are the greatest goalkeepers
to represent the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

🔹Peter Rufai (1983–1998) 🇳🇬
🔹Ike Shorunmu (1992–2002) 🇳🇬
🔹Vincent Enyeama (2002–2015) 🇳🇬

Start One 🧤
Bench One 🧑‍🦼
Sell One 💷 pic.twitter.com/LoFfVREzxt

— Ogochukwu ❤️ #BBNaijaReunion (@TheEmmalez) January 20, 2023

• Sam Ibiam is Nigeria’s first official goalkeeper in competitions. He shares the record for the least goals conceded while in goal for Nigeria with Inua Rigogo.
• Emmanuel Okala and Patrick Okala were brothers who were in the team around the same time. They are the first Nigeria national football team siblings and the only ones to be goalkeepers. Other siblings who have represented the Super Eagles are Ikechukwu and Kalu Uche, John and Peter Utaka, Nwankwo and Ogbonnaya Kanu, and Emmanuel and Celestine Babayaro, amongst others.

Peter Rufai was the first Nigerian goalkeeper to play in Europe.