2023 AFCON Player of the Tournament Ekong plays charity game amid exclusion from Super Eagles squad
Super Eagles and PAOK Thessaloniki defender, William Troost-Ekong, played a charity game at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, yesterday, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 30-year-old centre-back was not included in Finidi George’s 23-man squad to face South Africa and Benin Republic in Nigeria’s upcoming qualifiers.
The 2023 AFCON Player of the Tournament, yesterday, played in a charity game in Uyo, where the Super Eagles will take on South Africa this weekend.
The game featured other Nigerian stars like Sabinus, Odumodublvk, Josephy Yobo, Benjamin Tanimu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfred Ndidi and Vincent Enyeama. The game served as the official launch of the Troost Ekong Foundation, an initiative set up by the Super Eagles vice-captain to give back to his home town in Nigeria.
@TroostEkongFDN LAUNCH!
AKWA IBOM, UYO, ETINAN THANK YOU!
ALL THE PLAYERS THANK YOU!
EVERYONE WHO WORKED TIRELESSLY THANK YOU!
THIS IS THE START OF MAKING MANY OTHERS DREAMS COME TRUE!
TODAY WAS SOMETHING SPECIAL 💚📣#TROOSTEKONGFOUNDATION pic.twitter.com/cATEYAblrd
— William Troost-Ekong (M.O.N) (@WTroostEkong) June 2, 2024
Ekong last played a professional football game at the AFCON 2023 final against Ivory Coast. The former Watford defender suffered a hamstring injury in Nigeria’s group stage game against the Ivorians, but kept on playing till the final where he scored, but it wasn’t enough to give Jose Peseiro’s men victory.
After the tournament, he missed the rest of the season as he underwent surgery on his right leg after rupturing his biceps femoris. Despite not featuring for almost three months, Ekong won the Greek Super League with PAOK.
Adefolahan Guerreiro
Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience.
He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.
