Newly invited Pisa Sporting Club midfielder Ebenezer Akinsanmiro has expressed shock over his call up by coach Eric Sekou Chelle for the forthcoming Africa Cup of nations Morocco 2025.
In an interview with the NFFTV from the Super Eagles’ training camp in Cairo, the yet to be capped midfielder said he could not contain his emotion after being listed in the 28-man list for the AFCON even as he revealed some of career struggles before arriving at this auspicious stage.
“When I just see the invitation, like, to be honest, I called like someone who is closer to me, then I started crying,” he said. “It has been my dream for so long.”
Akinsanmiro, who recently achieved his long-held dream of representing Nigeria, shared that the path to the national team was far from straightforward. The video, released by the NFF Channel, captured the midfielder
Reflecting on his tumultuous development, Akinsanmiro admitted there was a point in his life when he lost faith in football as a guaranteed career.
He continued: “I was like, football is not like something… 100% you will make it from it.
“I have to like learn a work. So I quit football for some months, years like this. Then I have like, ‘oh, let me learn a barbing work.”
He however, credited his father and his two brothers, who both played football when they were younger, for pushing him forward.
He also recalled early attempts to be part of the national team set up at both the U-17 and U-20 levels as well as recovering from an injury that cut short a previous call-up, adding he is now at the ready to give his best to the Super Eagles.
