Kennedy Ezeji, Nigerian defender who was named Man of the Match in the Special Eagles’ inaugural game against hosts Egypt at the present Amputee Nations Cup, regarded it as another accomplishment in his service to the country.
Ezeji, who runs a Point-of-Sale business in addition to amputee football, was strong at the back as the Special Eagles drew 0-0 with the hosts in the opener at Cairo’s Al Salam Stadium on Saturday.
“I am very happy, first of all, because we played against the host nation and we were able to prevent them from intimidating us with their fans,” Ezeji disclosed
“I thank God too and I dedicate the award to my teammates and every member of the technical team who played their parts as well.”
On his business, Ezeji said, “Yes, I run a POS business but I had to stop due to some financial reasons associated with amputee football but I hope to revive it soon when I get a club in Turkey.”
The defender scored Nigeria’s first-ever goal at the Amputee World Cup – a freekick against Sierra Leone in 2018.
Following the absence of Cameroon, Nigeria, will play newcomers Burundi in their last group game on Tuesday as they hope to pick one of the seven tickets to the 2026 Amputee World Cup in Morocco.
Since the inception of the Nations Cup in 2007, the Special Eagles haven’t missed the tournament but their only appearance at the World Cup was in Mexico in 2018.
Aside from reaching their second World Cup, the Special Eagles are also looking to improve on their last outing in Tanzania 2021, which saw them fall off from their second-place finish in Angola 2019, their best-ever outing at the tournament, to seventh.
