By Dayo Awoniyi
FC Slovan Liberec has completed the signing of 19-year-old Nigerian forward Soliu Afolabi on a long-term contract from second-tier Czech side FC SILON Táborsko, the club announced this week.
Afolabi joins the Czech First League club after a breakout season that drew interest from multiple European teams. The move marks a significant step up for the Lagos-born striker, who only began his professional career in 2023.
“When I learnt about Slovan’s interest, I was happy,” Afolabi said in a statement following his medical and official signing.
“It came through a lot of hard work. It will definitely be a challenge for me to move up to the top competition. It gets harder and faster—I have to adapt quickly.”
Born on August 8, 2005, Afolabi started his football journey at Box2Box Academy in Lagos before relocating to the Czech Republic last year.
He signed with FC SILON Táborsko and rose rapidly through the club’s ranks, earning promotion from the U19 team to the B team in 2024.
His consistent performances attracted interest from top-flight clubs, culminating in his move to Slovan Liberec in 2025.
Afolabi is expected to join Liberec’s preseason preparations ahead of the 2025–26 campaign.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career 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.
