Temple Ojinnaka: Wolverhampton youngster dreams of playing for Super Eagles

The path of a young footballer toward professionalism is made of sacrifices, opportunities, and decisive moments that define the career.

The story of Temple Ojinnaka is not only that of a boy who is chasing the dream of playing at a professional level but of an athlete who knows how to adapt and grow, learning from the greats.

Temple was born on March 30, 2005, in Venice, to a family originally from Nigeria. Raised between two cultures, he began to cultivate a passion for football from an early age, following a path that led him to having to move across the Channel to pursue the dream of becoming a footballer.

After making his debut in the youth team, today he is a permanent member of the Wolverhampton U21 team, where he continues to work with determination to achieve the much-desired goal: the big leap into football that counts.

Temple Ojinnaka himself retraced the path that led him to Wolverhampton, opening up and talking to Italian Sports Newspaper, Numero Diez.

Ojinnaka also spoke about the possibility of playing for the Nigerian national team.

“It would be an honor to receive a call-up from the Nigerian national team, but I’m not sure there has been any contact with the federation. If I had to choose, it would certainly be a very difficult decision, because I consider myself both Italian and Nigerian.”

Despite the interest in playing for both countries, it is in Italy, at a tender age, that the love story between Temple and football blossomed: “I started playing as a child just for fun, when I was 4/5 years old, with my older brother. We played in the garden or at home: we took turns in goal and shot at each other. Most of the time, he won because he was older, but as I grew up, the games became much more balanced. I would say, therefore, that my brother is one of the main reasons why I play football. The fact of playing so much made me fall in love with this sport more and more, day after day”.

After kicking a ball around at home with his brother, his career began in the province of Venice, in a small football school: “When I started primary school, some of my friends played for the local club, the Associazione Calcio Noventa. Eventually, I joined too, but not straight away: I signed up around the age of 8/9, and, ironically, I started as a goalkeeper. I played there for about a year, then I moved to another team, called Calcio Sandonà. When I arrived I was still a goalkeeper, but it didn’t take long before I changed roles and started playing as a central midfielder. Playing against boys one or two years older, I sometimes even found myself playing as a striker. My best experiences were probably the tournaments and matches against academies, such as those against Milan and Udinese. It was in these games that I felt the need to prove that I belonged at that level, so I had to be the best version of myself every time I had the opportunity to face them.”

At just 11 years old, however, after a childhood spent in Italy, Temple made a big change: moving to England. This move, however, would only increase his passion for football and his desire to make it in this world.

“After moving to England, I joined a Sunday League club called Sedgley White Lions, which wasn’t too far from my house. I would go to training with a friend once or twice a week, and on the other days, I would go to the park to train with my brother or this friend, so I would always do something extra. When I started school, I told people I played football in Italy, and suddenly, everyone wanted to watch me play. They convinced me to join a club, which consisted of playing football in the school gym. When I started playing, everyone was impressed, including the teachers who were watching. They were so surprised that they suggested I try out for Wolverhampton District, a team made up of the best players from Wolverhampton schools. About a month or two later, I tried out and got accepted.”

It was thanks to his excellent performances with Wolverhampton District that Temple earned the call-up to Wolves.

We lofty dreams, Ojinnaka hopes to rise through football ranks at the club and national team levels in the coming years.