Stanley Nwabali, the Super Eagles goalkeeper, was awarded a chieftaincy title over the weekend in recognition of his outstanding performance at the just concluded AFCON, according to soccernet.com.
Nwabali has enjoyed an incredible rise to stardom, winning the hearts of the majority of Nigerians in the last two months due to his heroics at the AFCON. The Chippa United star was barely known before the 2023 African Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
Heroic welcome for Nwabali
The goalkeeping position which has been a major issue of concern in the team setup was solved, with the 6.5ft shot stopper putting up a good shift when called upon to man the goal post.
Throughout the tournament, the 27-year-old star made an impression, recording four clean sheets, and two penalty saves against South Africa.
Unfortunately, he could not help the Super Eagles to lift their fourth AFCON trophy, as they fell to a 2-1 loss to the host nation, Cote d’Ivoire in the final.
Nevertheless, the Nigerian government gave the Super Eagles a warm reception after their AFCON performance.
They were honoured with the Member of the Order of the Niger(MON) title and rewarded with houses and lands.
In recent development, Nwabali received a warm welcome when he returned to his hometown. He was honoured with the chieftaincy title “Ugo Egbema – The Pride of Egbema Kingdom” by Mgbede community’s traditional ruler, Nzeobi Amida, in Rivers State
