Just like any other middle class family, Emeka Ezeugo’s father too wanted him to carve a career in academics. He was playing football at a junior club level at his native place Aba, Nigeria. But once the high school results came, the father passed a diktat – forget football, pack your bags and leave for Chandigarh to join a college where Emeka’s cousin was studying.

That move ended Emeka’s dream of graduating to a senior division of Club football in Nigeria. But even in his wildest of dreams, he didn’t imagine that shifting his base to Chandigarh would open a new gateway for him in football and one day he would play at the world’s highest sporting arenas – Olympics and FIFA World Cup.

“When my father told me to move to Chandigarh for academies I thought my football career was over. But it came as a blessing in disguise for me and the city turned out to be a launching pad for my professional football career,” recalls Emeka, 55, who is now an American citizen and staying in New York.

“Chandigarh, DAV College and Panjab University will always remain special for me. The city and the institutes played an important role in my football career. It’s every footballer’s dream to play in the FIFA World Cup and I was lucky enough to realize the dream and the foundation of playing in the Olympics and World Cup was laid in Chandigarh,” adds Emeka, who has played professional football in five continents.  

Emeka is the only footballer, who played majority of his amateur tournaments in India and also started his professional football career here only and then went on to play in the FIFA World Cup.

He represented Nigeria in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and was part of the Super Eagles team that qualified for the first-time for the FIFA World Cup in 1994.

“Playing for Chandigarh in Durand Cup helped me in getting a break to play for Kolkata’s East Bengal club and as they say rest is history,” says Emeka.   

Next: How Panjab University & Chandigarh’s stint earned Emeka a break in the professional circuit.