Nigerian Athlete Thought UK American Football Scholarship Was a Scam — Then It Changed His Life

When Niyi received a message from a Welsh American football team inviting him to play for them, his first instinct was suspicion. Scams were rampant in Nigeria at the time, and the idea of American football being played in the United Kingdom seemed far-fetched. He ignored the message. It would take visa appointments and medical tests before he finally accepted that the opportunity was real.

Today, Niyi lives in Wales, where he plays American football, works for the National Health Service (NHS), and has built a life he once thought would be impossible. In this edition of Abroad Life, he shares how an unlikely sporting opportunity took him from Ile-Ife to South Wales, why he hasn’t looked back, and what he misses about home.

Leaving Nigeria: A Plan Years in the Making

Niyi graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University in 2019 with a degree in English. Like many young Nigerians, he watched as job opportunities remained scarce and wages stayed low. The COVID-19 pandemic made things worse. He knew he would leave someday — it was just a matter of where and how.

He considered Luxembourg and Lithuania, destinations he thought he could realistically afford. Then came an opportunity to play American football in the UK, and he ended up in Wales in September 2023. Looking back, he calls it one of the best decisions he has made.

From Taekwondo to American Football

Before American football, Niyi was a full-time taekwondo athlete. He competed as a student-athlete for Obafemi Awolowo University and participated in open competitions in Osun and Lagos states. But taekwondo wasn’t paying the bills. As he approached adulthood, the pressure to build a stable future grew.

His family had an athletic background — one of his uncles ran for Lagos State, and Niyi himself almost represented Nigeria. But no one in the family had pursued sports as a career. He decided to look for opportunities in another sport he loved: American football.

In 2023, after his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) posting was delayed, Niyi found himself with time on his hands. He came across The Express, a 2008 film about American football player Ernie Davis. The story sparked his interest, and he went on Facebook to search for American football teams in Nigeria.

At the time, there were only about ten teams in the entire country. One of them was the Lagos Marines, located about three hours from him. Niyi began travelling from Ife to Lagos for training, learning the game from scratch.

He wasn’t a starter when he joined, but his taekwondo background gave him an edge. Within six months, he was starting as a key player on the offensive line, playing right tackle.

A False Start in the United States

Niyi’s performance caught attention, and he received an opportunity to play college football in the United States. But the offer wasn’t funded. His parents couldn’t afford to sponsor him, and the American team wasn’t going to cover the costs. He would also have had to return to college rather than continue from where he was academically — something he felt would be a step backwards. The opportunity was let go.

How Wales Came Calling

While playing for the Lagos Marines, some of Niyi’s teammates were contacted by teams that found them on Instagram. The Lagos Marines’ page was still active, and the South Wales Warriors eventually reached out to him too.

At first, he thought it was a scam. “How are you playing American football in the United Kingdom?” he recalled thinking. He didn’t respond. The team then contacted his coaches, who reached out to him. Even after that, he remained unconvinced. Much of the process was handled through conversations with his father because Niyi genuinely believed the whole thing might be fraudulent.

It wasn’t until he started going for visa appointments and medical tests that he realised it was real. The opportunity was fully funded and came with a Master’s degree programme. He studied Management at the University of South Wales and graduated in 2024.

Joining the South Wales Warriors

When Niyi joined the South Wales Warriors, he was the only Black person on the team and their first international recruit. The players were welcoming, but there was an initial surprise when they saw someone who looked different from them. Niyi, a big guy, acknowledged that he probably fit the stereotype some people have of Nigerians as big, aggressive men.

His first training session involved a one-on-one drill against someone who considered himself one of the best players on the team. Niyi dominated that session, which helped him settle in.

A Different Game in the UK

Niyi quickly discovered that American football in the UK was different from what he had been playing in Nigeria. The game in the UK was much more strategic. In Nigeria, they played very physically — it sometimes felt like they were trying to kill themselves on the field. They would be told to run a play, do something, and hit somebody.

In the UK, there was a whole intellectual side of the game he hadn’t understood. Every team had a playbook containing the plays and strategies players were expected to learn. Physical strength alone wasn’t enough. Players needed to understand the plan and know their role in every play.

That was why Niyi spent much of his first season as a backup. Learning the enormous playbook was frustrating — he was physically capable, but had a lot to learn mentally.

A Breakout Performance

In the first game of the season, one of the starting players on the offensive line got injured around the second half. The team was losing, so the coaches brought Niyi in. They simplified some of the plays to help him learn them quickly enough to play without disrupting the game plan.

Niyi ended up winning the MVP award for that game. He made a game-saving tackle and blocked throughout without making any mistakes. He finished the season as a backup, but that year was significant for the team. In the previous ten years of its existence, the Welsh team had never made the playoffs. They made the playoffs in Niyi’s first season.

By his second and third seasons, more Nigerians had joined the team, so he wasn’t the only Nigerian player anymore.

Settling into Life in Wales

Niyi was fortunate to arrive in a house with a number of Nigerians living there. He didn’t have family in the UK and was relatively young, so having a community around him made a big difference. On his first night in the country, someone he had just met in the house cooked Nigerian spaghetti and chicken for him.

His first job in the country also came through someone in that house. People shared opportunities with him, and some even offered him jobs he didn’t eventually take. Having attended boarding school since he was eight, adapting to different environments and living with different people wasn’t particularly difficult for him.

The weather wasn’t much of an issue either. Even when the temperature dropped below zero, he would still wear shorts and a T-shirt. His friends would look at him like he was crazy.

Cultural Adjustments

One thing that took some getting used to was how people smiled at strangers. In Nigeria, if someone you don’t know smiles at you on the street, you might wonder what they want. In Wales, people would smile or greet him simply because they were being friendly.

He also noticed people staring at him because Wales didn’t have as many Nigerians around when he first arrived. Most people weren’t being disrespectful — they were curious and sometimes asked personal questions because they wanted to know more about him.

The smoking and vaping culture was another surprise. Seeing adults smoking and young people vaping in public places wasn’t something he was used to in Nigeria. Eventually, he understood that people had different social norms, even if he wasn’t particularly comfortable with all of them.

Building a Professional Career

Finding a job was one of the biggest challenges Niyi faced when he first arrived. It wasn’t easy to find work that matched his qualifications or the kind of career he wanted. His first job was as a stocktaker — a decent starting point, but he was still trying to figure out how to build a professional career beyond football.

Eventually, he got another job with the Ministry of Justice, which helped him move towards the professional career he wanted. Today, he works with the NHS. He started as a receptionist and currently works as an executive assistant to the clinical board. He has been able to build a professional career alongside his sporting career.

Differences in Education

Niyi also noticed a difference in the educational system. In Nigeria, he was used to studying for examinations, memorising information and reproducing it. In the UK, he had to think more critically and demonstrate that he understood what he was studying. He couldn’t simply cram everything and pour it out during an examination. He had to analyse things, make arguments and show that he understood the material. As someone accustomed to memorising information, he had to work harder to adapt.

What He Values Most About Living Abroad

Being able to take care of his family is a big one. At the age he was when he left Nigeria, it would have been difficult to find a legitimate job that paid enough to support both himself and his family back home. In Wales, he can work, earn a living and help his family without having to do anything illegal to make money.

He also appreciates the way the system works. He can do his job and expect to receive his salary at the end of the month without having to beg an employer for payment. Basic things are more accessible. Drivers respect zebra crossings. He can leave his car parked without constantly worrying that someone will steal its parts. He doesn’t feel anxious whenever he sees a police officer.

Healthcare is available through the NHS, although Niyi notes that the NHS is under pressure and waiting times can be long. He may not always receive attention as quickly as he’d like, but there’s a system through which he can access care.

The Nigerian community he has met in Wales has also been supportive. People check on one another, share opportunities and look out for one another. Even colleagues at work make an effort to ask how he’s doing.

For Niyi, the biggest difference is that the system works, and there’s a reward for labour. He can plan his life and take care of his responsibilities.

Missing Nigeria but Not Returning

Niyi misses Nigerian food. He cooks it at home and is even planning to start a food business soon. There are moments when he just wants to eat something that reminds him of home. He also strangely misses Lagos traffic — there’s a particular excitement that comes with being in Lagos, and he misses some of those moments.

But he doesn’t miss Nigeria as a country in the sense that he wants to return and live there now. Going home has become scarier because of how unsafe the country feels. People are being kidnapped, including people who aren’t celebrities or public figures. It feels like ordinary people can become targets.

Reflecting on What Might Have Been

Niyi sometimes thinks about what his life would have been like if he had stayed in Nigeria. Would he have found a job that allowed him to take care of his family? Would he still be playing American football? Would he have been able to pursue the things he wanted without constantly worrying about survival?

He can’t say exactly what would have happened, but he knows the opportunities he’s had in Wales have made a difference. If he had stayed in Nigeria, he might have reached a point where he felt pressured to do things he had always promised himself he would never do just to make money. He has always wanted to make an honest living, but surviving in Nigeria can put people under enormous pressure. He was close to doing things he wouldn’t be proud of to make a living. He might also have stopped playing sports because Nigeria doesn’t encourage people to pursue those dreams seriously.

On Nigeria's Sporting System

Niyi believes Nigeria doesn’t help sporting dreams. He had a passion for sports, but it wasn’t something he could easily turn into a sustainable career at home. He had to look elsewhere for an opportunity to keep playing and build a future. People have talent, ambition and the willingness to work, but the environment doesn’t always give them a fair chance to succeed.

He left because he wanted a better opportunity to build his life. He found that opportunity, and he doesn’t think you necessarily miss the things you had to escape from just because you’re living somewhere else.

Looking Ahead

Niyi doesn’t see himself returning to Nigeria anytime soon. He can’t say he’ll never return, but given the way things are right now, he doesn’t see himself moving back. He was already worried about the direction Nigeria was heading during the 2023 election campaign. He felt things would get worse, and he believes what has happened since then has reinforced those concerns.

What frustrates him is that so many people have the opportunity to demand better from their leaders, but the country keeps finding itself in the same situation. When people continue to support a system that isn’t working for them, it’s difficult to see how things will change.

For now, he wants to keep building his career, playing football and taking care of his family. He doesn’t want to return to Nigeria and find himself struggling to survive again. He misses home, but missing home isn’t enough reason to go back to a place where he doesn’t believe he can build the life he wants.

On a scale of one to ten, Niyi rates his experience abroad a nine. “This place has been very kind to me,” he says.