By Dayo Awoniyi
Nigeria internationals Victor Boniface and his Bayer Leverkusen teammate, Nathan Tella, have successfully secured their places in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, joining an exclusive group of Nigerian players advancing to the knockout stages.
Boniface, who has been in exceptional form for Leverkusen, will be joined in the round of 16 by fellow Nigerians Chuba Akpom of Lille and Raphael Onyedika of Club Brugge.
This quartet ensures that Nigerian representation remains strong in the Champions League, despite the exits of other Nigerian players like Ademola Lookman, Samuel Chukwueze, and George Ilenikhena, whose teams were knocked out in the round of 16 playoffs.
Lookman, in particular, had a bittersweet night, scoring for Atalanta but missing a crucial penalty as his side was eliminated 5-2 on aggregate by Club Brugge.
Now, attention turns to the round of 16, where Boniface, Tella, Akpom, and Onyedika will be eager to make their mark and continue flying the Nigerian flag high on the European stage.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
