Nigerian striker celebrates Champions League goal with ‘I am a Chosen’ inscription

Nigerian striker Victor Olatunji made a remarkable UEFA Champions League debut, contributing both a goal and an assist in Sparta Prague’s commanding 3-0 victory over Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday.

Olatunji doubled Sparta Prague’s lead in the 42nd minute, finding the back of the net before assisting Qazim Laçi in the 58th minute for the team’s third goal.

Olatunji’s impressive debut earns him a spot among the select group of African players to have scored and assisted in their first Champions League appearance.

According to a football stats platform, Opta Joe, Olatunji is the third African player, and the first Nigerian, to score and assist on his UEFA Champions League debut, joining Daniel Cousin (Rangers vs Lyon, 2007) and Serge Aurier (PSG vs Shakhtar Donetsk, 2015) in this elite group.

To celebrate his goal, Olatunji lifted his jersey to reveal an undershirt with the inscription, “I am a Chosen, who are you?”—a nod to a recent viral trend that has sparked discussions on social media.

The trend gained traction after videos of testimonies shared by members of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries went viral.

The testimonies led to widespread online engagement, with many social media users parodying them.

However, the leadership of the church has refuted claims that the viral videos represent the true essence of their testimonies, stating that some of them have been doctored and taken out of context to mock their faith.

They clarified that the testimonies occurred in dreams and emphasised that people should be cautious of misleading content online.