By Stephen Simon
As Canada chase a historic first FIFA World Cup victory on home soil, two of the country’s Nigerian-born stars have revealed how different generations of Nigerian football have shaped their journeys to football’s biggest stage.
Forward Promise David and striker Tani Oluwaseyi may now wear the Canadian colours with pride, but their football roots remain firmly connected to Nigeria, with legendary Super Eagles captain Nwankwo Kanu and current national team striker Victor Boniface serving as their greatest sources of inspiration.
For Promise David, admiration for Kanu began long before his own rise in the game. The towering forward grew up listening to stories of one of Africa’s greatest footballers from his father and studying videos of the former Arsenal and Ajax star.
Kanu remains one of the most decorated players in African football history, having won the FIFA Under-17 World Cup with Nigeria in 1993, the UEFA Champions League with Ajax, Olympic gold at the Atlanta 1996 Games and multiple domestic titles across Europe.
“I always looked up to Nwankwo Kanu growing up,” David said.
“That was one of the greatest players in Nigerian history. My dad talks about him fondly and I’ve watched a lot of highlights of him. Granted, I didn’t watch him live, but he’s a great player and somebody I tried to take a lot of things from.”
While David draws inspiration from a Nigerian football icon, teammate Tani Oluwaseyi looks to one of the brightest faces of the current Super Eagles generation.
Asked which Nigerian player has influenced him the most, Oluwaseyi wasted no time in naming Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface, whose blend of creativity, power, goalscoring instinct and vibrant personality has made him a fan favourite.
The choices of both players reflect the enduring influence of Nigerian football on Canada’s growing African diaspora community, particularly among young footballers who continue to embrace both their Canadian and Nigerian identities.
Oluwaseyi was especially eager to acknowledge the support coming from Nigerians around the world as Canada seeks to make an impact at the World Cup.
“Energy dey abeg,” he said with a smile in Nigerian pidgin.
“Thank you for all the Nigerian support in this World Cup. Nigeria is not in it, so abeg support us.
“We trained our whole life for this stage, the biggest stage in football. All my Nigerian friends always support me. It’s great to have a World Cup on my home soil in Canada.”
David also expressed appreciation for the support flowing from both Canada and Nigeria, describing it as a special privilege to represent one nation while remaining connected to another.
“It’s really good,” he said.
“To be from two countries and have people from both supporting you is always very cool. I hold both roots very close to my heart, so it’s really nice.”
Both players featured as Canada earned a point in their opening World Cup match, a result that left the squad with mixed emotions.
Although pleased to avoid defeat, David admitted the team felt it had done enough to secure all three points after creating numerous scoring opportunities.
“It felt good to get the point but I think for us we think we could have got all three,” he said.
“We are positive. The way we played from the 25th minute on, we pushed the game. We had chances, one hit the post and another got cleared off the line. We knew the opportunities would come eventually.”
For Oluwaseyi, Canada’s focus now is on making a stronger start in their next outing and turning encouraging performances into victories.
“The fans should look forward to a better start,” he said.
“We didn’t start the way we wanted, but we were able to get ourselves back into it. Hopefully in Vancouver we take the first charge.”
The striker believes greater attacking aggression will be key if Canada are to secure the first World Cup win in the country’s history.
“Just being a threat going forward. I don’t think we made enough danger in the first half. In the second half we continued putting pressure on the defence and eventually things started opening up.”
Despite the disappointment of dropping points in their opening match, David remains confident that Canada’s breakthrough moment is just around the corner.
“It will come,” he said.
“I have full confidence in every single person in that locker room that we will get a win in at least one of those next games.”
As Canada continues its World Cup journey, the influence of Nigerian football can be seen not only in the style and ambition of players like David and Oluwaseyi but also in the pride with which they continue to embrace their heritage. For two players inspired by different generations of Super Eagles stars, the dream now is to create a piece of football history of their own
