Super Eagles stars Victor Osimhen, Paul Onuachu and team captain Wilfred Ndidi have returned to Turkey following Nigeria’s involvement at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and will miss the official medal presentation.
The trio, who are all based in the Turkish Super Lig, departed Morocco immediately after Friday night’s match aboard a private jet arranged at the request of their respective clubs.
Osimhen is contracted to Galatasaray, Onuachu features for Trabzonspor, while Ndidi plies his trade with Besiktas.
As a result of their early departure, the three players will not be present at the medal ceremony scheduled for Saturday. However, it is understood that their medals will be presented to them at a later date through the Nigeria Football Federation.
Despite their absence at the ceremony, Osimhen, Onuachu and Ndidi were instrumental to Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 campaign, making significant contributions to the Super Eagles’ overall success at the tournament in Morocco.
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.
