Abdullahi: From watermelon seller to Sporting Lagos’ serial scorer

When Yusuf Abdullahi started playing football in the streets like most Nigerian children, he wasn’t aware of his potential.

He was just a happy JSS2 student who loved the attention he was getting from older players because of his ability.

From there, he graduated to his school team, where he was discovered by a coach, also named Abdullahi, who invited him to join his academy.

“Coach Abdullahi was the referee in one of those matches I featured in when I was in JSS2. I can’t remember if I scored in that particular one, but he came to me after and said he wanted me to join his team. There, I trained every Saturday and Sunday, first with the junior team from noon to 3 pm, and then with the senior team from 3 pm to 6 pm,” the player said via the official website of Sporting Lagos FC.

But before he could dream of becoming a footballer, he faced the pressure of focussing on his studies at home, while the idea of making money from the sales of watermelons with his friends winked at him, and he couldn’t resist.

“In JSS 3, I decided to stop playing football to sell watermelons.

“It was not just my parents’ comments that made me stop playing, though. It was mainly my friends. During the break after our JSS3 exams, many of them began to sell watermelons. They would go to the trucks that brought watermelons and buy in bulk, like 200 watermelons for the group. When we were together, they’d laugh at me. ‘You, it’s only football, you know. Look at us, we’re making money!’ So, I thought, why not? I joined them. I made money. I used it to buy clothes. I did that for six months,” Abdullahi said.

Perturbed by the lad’s choice, coach Abdullahi had to lie in order to lure him back to the academy, and that marked the beginning of his journey to Lagos.

“He called me and said I was wasting my talent. That a club in Spain had watched me and wanted to sign me, but I wasn’t around. I left the watermelons and came back to football immediately. No club came, but I just decided to keep playing.”

Two years after resigning from the watermelon fate, Abdullahi took football more seriously but always wondered why his coach wouldn’t allow him to join any club until Sporting Lagos scouted him. At the same time, he also nursed the fear of being far from home.

“When Sporting Lagos came, I didn’t think my coach would let me go. When he called me and said I should go, I was confused. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to be that far from my family. Even if I was going to be that far, it was meant to be straight to Europe. I didn’t even think my parents would agree.

“But my mum spoke with my dad, and they said, ‘If this is what you want to do, we will keep praying for you to make it’.”

In hindsight, the player admitted to understanding why his coach let him join Sporting Lagos instead of one of several other clubs who came for his signature.

According to him, he became better, and his numbers in the 2023/24 Nationwide League One and the Creative Championship League campaigns spoke volumes.

The 17-year-old scored 11 goals plus four assists in 20 TCC League appearances, while he also had seven goals in six NLO games for Sporting Lagos.

At the Gothia Cup in Sweden, which they won in emphatic style, Abdullahi scored the opener in their 4-0 win over Japan’s FC Tokyo in the final.

The club’s Head of Recruitment, Ayobami Animashaun, had this to say about his talent.

“Yusuf was first spotted by our technical director in 2022 and we invited him over for trials. We realised he was a special talent, he’s not the typical physical striker, he is more of a brain. That was what endeared us and he has been on a very interesting journey, showing signs of improvement on and off the field,” Animashaun

“If you noticed, he was emotional when he scored in the Gothia Cup final, that’s because he was sick during the tournament and even missed a game. We knew how much he wanted the opportunity and he will surely get another.”

Off the field, there are more goals for Abdullahi to score. Selling watermelons could not have fetched him a fortune, and the lad is aiming for the top so his family could live a more comfortable life.

“I have so much to play for. My dad is getting old. I have seven siblings. I have my mother. I need to show them that they were right to trust me to become a footballer. I need to play to show what I’m capable of and what this team is capable of. I need to score goals. This is a great opportunity for me.

“If I can do what I know how to do, I don’t have to worry about European clubs not finding me. And I don’t have to worry about the world not knowing my name. My name is Yusuf Abdullahi, and the world will know my name,” he concluded.