I once quit football to become a barber — New Super Eagles’ invitee Ebenezer Akinsanmiro

New Super Eagles invitee Ebenezer Akinsanmiro has opened up about a remarkable chapter of his life, revealing that he once stepped away from football for several years to train as a barber before returning to the game.

The 21-year-old midfielder, one of five new faces in Nigeria’s squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), shared his inspiring story in an interview with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) media team on Monday.

Currently on loan at Italian Serie B side Pisa from Inter Milan, Akinsanmiro described receiving his first senior national team invitation as an emotional milestone.

“It has been my dream for so long. I have been trying to play for the national team from the U-17 and U-20 levels, but there were moments I felt I wasn’t good enough. I just kept pushing and hoping that one day I would get called up,” he said

Born and raised in an environment with limited access to professional football, Akinsanmiro explained that watching matches was a luxury.

“Where I grew up, you had to pay to watch football, so I didn’t watch a lot of football growing up. I just loved playing the game,” he noted.

Inspired by family members who played at an amateur level, the midfielder initially followed the same path. However, uncertainty about a guaranteed future in football led him to seek an alternative profession.

“There was a time when I thought football wasn’t something where success is assured 100 per cent,” he said. “So I had to learn a trade. I quit football for months, even years, to learn barbing.”

Akinsanmiro’s fortunes changed when he joined Remo Stars FC, and he later moved to Inter Milan in 2023 at the age of 18.

He is among the first players to arrive at the team’s camp at the Renaissance Hotel in Cairo, Egypt, alongside Ademola Lookman, Semi Ajayi, Stanley Nwabali, and Francis Uzoho.

The Super Eagles have been drawn in Group C with Tunisia, Tanzania, and Uganda, and will begin their campaign against Tanzania on December 23.