Super Eagles invitee Ebenezer Akinsanmiro has revealed that he once stepped away from football for several years to learn the trade of barbing, uncertain whether a professional career in the sport would ever come to fruition.
The 21-year-old midfielder shared his journey in an interview with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) media team on Monday, reflecting on his rise from modest beginnings to earning his first senior national team call-up.
Akinsanmiro is one of five new players named in Nigeria’s squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
He is currently on loan at Italian Serie A side Pisa SC from Inter Milan, having joined the Nerazzurri in 2023 from Nigeria Professional Football League side Remo Stars after emerging from Beyond Limit Academy.
Reacting to his invitation to the Super Eagles, Akinsanmiro described the moment as deeply emotional and the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.
“It has been my dream for a very long time,” he said. “I wanted to play for the national team so badly. I tried from the U-17 and U-20 levels, but at some point I felt I wasn’t good enough. I just kept pushing and hoping that one day the opportunity would come.”
The midfielder also spoke about his upbringing, noting that access to watching football was limited.
“Where I grew up, you had to pay to watch football, so I didn’t really watch much. I just loved playing the game,” he said.
Akinsanmiro credited his passion for football to his family, revealing that his father and brothers all played the sport at amateur level. However, doubts about the uncertainty of a football career once forced him to seek an alternative means of livelihood.
“There was a time I felt football wasn’t something where success is guaranteed,” he explained. “So I had to learn a trade. I stopped playing football for months, even years, to learn barbing.”
Now firmly back on the pitch, Akinsanmiro is among the early arrivals at the Super Eagles’ camp at the Renaissance Hotel in Cairo, Egypt, as preparations begin for the AFCON tournament.
Also already in camp are Ademola Lookman, Semi Ajayi, Stanley Nwabali, Francis Uzoho, Paul Onuachu, Calvin Bassey, Frank Onyeka and Alex Iwobi.
Nigeria is scheduled to hold its first training session at the Cairo International Stadium ahead of a friendly match against Egypt on Tuesday. The team will later move to Fès, Morocco, which will serve as their base for the tournament.
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on December 21, with Nigeria drawn in Group C alongside Tunisia, Tanzania and Uganda. The Super Eagles will open their campaign against Tanzania on December 23.
