Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong recently shared the heartfelt reasons behind his decision to represent Nigeria rather than the Netherlands on the international stage.
Born in Haarlem to a Nigerian father and Dutch mother, Troost-Ekong initially played for the Netherlands at the U19 and U20 levels, appearing in youth friendlies.
However, his career took a defining turn after a phone call from former Super Eagles coach, the late Stephen Keshi.
The conversation with Keshi became a pivotal moment for the former Watford defender.
Keshi’s vision and encouragement inspired William Troost-Ekong to consider his Nigerian roots and the opportunity to play a meaningful role in Nigeria’s football journey.
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William Troost-Ekong Words
Troost-Ekong recalled in a recent episode of The Sports Afterparty Podcast.
“I had the decision quite early in my career. I was 20 at the time, I just finished my breakthrough season in the Netherlands, first year of playing probably 30 plus games in the Eredivisie, which is the highest league in the Netherlands.
“And all of a sudden I got a phone call from Stephen Keshi, who was the coach at the time, ex-captain and ex-player, so I was quite blown away when he called me.
“Just at the start of the season, I had played for the Dutch U19 and U20 squads, but there was no real perspective yet for the first team.
“This was the only tangible option that I had. The choice was between trying to progress and later in my career maybe have a chance to play for the Netherlands or have a chance now to play for the Super Eagles who were kind of going through a transition stage where a lot of their defenders that time were a little bit older, so I knew that they wanted to make some changes there.
“And taking that opportunity which then in turn would give me more perspective for my club so I kind of made that decision thinking about all those things.”
Now, at 31, Troost-Ekong has become a fixture in the Super Eagles squad, embodying a connection to his heritage that resonates both on and off the pitch.
