Super Eagles captain at the recent Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Cameroon 2021, Williams Troost-Ekong, is confident that Nigeria will ride the storm and beat Ghana to one of the five available continental tickets for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup when the two West African giants clash in March, even as he opened up on his campaign to rid the continent of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN, reports.
Super Eagles captain at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, Williams Troost-Ekong said the team will adopt a ‘no retreat, no surrender’ approach for the two-legged Qatar 2022 World Cup play-off against the Black Stars of Ghana.
The Nigeria-Ghana duel is about the biggest games out of the five fixtures to determine Africa’s five flagbearers for the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East with the others being: Egypt vs. Senegal; Cameroon vs. Algeria; Mali vs. Tunisia and DR. Congo vs. Morocco.
With a relatively poor showing at the AFCON by both Nigeria and Ghana, Troost-Ekong admitted that the Super Eagles must gird their loins to ensure qualification for a record seventh World Cup appearance.
Incidentally, Nigeria has missed out of the global football party only once in 2006 since their debut appearance at the USA 1994 Finals. The Super Eagles were also at France 1998; Korea/Japan 2002; South Africa 2010; Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018.
“I was at the last World Cup (Russia 2018) and I will say it’s the biggest highlight of my career; and I will like to go there again and do better than we did last time,” the 28-year-old Watford’s defender told NationSport in an exclusive interview. “I know what impact qualifying for the Qatar 2022 World Cup would make.
“I know the boys (Super Eagles) will be fired up and we are going to be a very hungry team and give our best so that we can make Nigeria proud again after the disappointment of the AFCON,” he offered.
The fixture is delicately poised with the first leg now fixed for the Cape Coast Stadium on 25th March with the reverse holding on 29th Match at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja.
“Nigerians are going to see a very, very hungry team against Ghana in March, “assured the Haarlem-born Troost-Ekong who ditched his country of birth to debut for Nigeria in 2015.
“A team that is ready to give everything in order to see our country at the next World Cup in Qatar.
“Following the disappointment at the AFCON in Cameroon, we would as a matter of fact, be using that as a motivation to qualify for the World Cup; and that is what I can say for now as per the play-off against Ghana.“
Yet there are still so much from Troost-Ekong to speak about after he was named as the global ambassador and Captain of Team Thrive Africa for Game of Our Lives- a social action platform under the auspices of END Fund in the Fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
More than 600 million people in Africa are reportedly affected by NTDs which cause long-term disabilities like severe pain, disfigurement, and blindness that can lead to death if left untreated.
In addition to health challenges, NTDs can lead to social isolation and stigmatization that affect both children and adults by reducing the number of years of education completed, future earning potential and overall economic productivity.
The mission of Thrive Africa was to build a team of social activists who can work together to address these issues, empowering Africa to thrive, not just survive.
“This is the project I’m passionate about and if you can recall, I started my partnership on this course with the End Fund through Common Goal which is all about fighting and eradicating of NTDs,” the former Dutch youth international further told Nation Sport. “And for the past few months, I have also been working with The Game of Our Lives on this platform.
“Through these efforts, we are doing to ensure that as many people as possible join us in the fight to eradicate this disease and the more we do this; the more we are sure this would be a topic on the global health agenda.
“So as I said earlier, I’m really excited and I’m hoping many more people including some of my teammates would join my team in this efforts at fighting and eradicating NTDs. “
Of course, Troost-Ekong is not only about wishful thinking and he has indeed put his money where his money is for the common good through the novel Common Goal platform.
For the sake of clarity, the Common Goal is a pledge-based charitable movement by streetfootballworld for the football industry that was launched in 2017 with the support of Spanish footballer, Juan Mata.
The movement encourages professional football players and coaches to pledge at least one percent of their salaries to a collective fund that supports football charities around the world.
This is the path of honour that Troost-Ekong has taken and committed himself to: “I have personally made financial commitment to this project and I will continue to do so; and hopefully I can persuade more people join my team and make financial commitment or spend their time towards this common goal of fighting and eradicating NTDs across the continent of Africa.
“On my part, I’m ready to do the best I can within my means; but it’s important to get as many people involved and it would be fantastic really if we have more people commit financially into this initiative. “
Born in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother, Eleanore Troost and a Nigerian father, Troost-Ekong represented the Netherlands at U-19 and U-20 youth levels before switching to play for Nigeria, making his senior international debut for the Super Eagles on 13th June 2015, playing 90 minutes in an AFCON qualifying match against Chad.
“It has been a big experience for me travelling to a lot of places around the continent since I joined the Super Eagles,” he said about his many trips around the continent. “I have had the privilege of travelling to many parts of Africa but I have always felt there is still more to be done in alleviating poverty as well as fighting and eradicating diseases such as NTDs.
“It is amazing that some players in my own line of duty and some ahead of me , have launched so many initiatives ; diverse projects even in Nigeria by some of my teammates.
“But as you noted, there is still a lot to be done. Of course, I’m ready to share my experiences through this platform to fellow Nigerians and people around the world so that they can also be motivated to do more in alleviating poverty and fighting diseases such as NTDs.”
Style, they said is the man and Troost-Ekong reckoned personality has remarkably reflected in the cause of fighting and eradicating NTDS, adding he was ready to do more on and off the pitch for the progress of humanity.
He quipped: “I’m just like everyone really. I’m a family man and I have got two lovely kids that keeps me very busy and I use most of my other spare times training.
“In between, I also dedicate my time towards this initiative because I’m very passionate about fighting and eradicating NTDs in Africa.
“I’m the same person people see on the pitch or in front of the television; I’m very jovial.
“I’m doing my bit in order to see that our country, Nigeria, win a major tournament during my time while putting on the green and white jerseys of the Super Eagles.”
Of course, Troost-Ekong always put a puritanical efforts playing for the Super Eagles and has since scored a couple of goals since his debut in 2015.
He scored an 89th -minute winner against South Africa in one of the quarter-finals of the 2019 AFCON in Egypt and was also among the goals for the Super Eagles in the 2-0 first round defeat of Guinea Bissau at the recently concluded 2021 AFCON in Cameroon.
“It’s always special when you scored for your country,” admitted Ekong who scored his first goal for his EPL side Watford in a 3–2 win over Coventry City on 7th November 2020. “The most exciting part is being in front of the fans celebrating after scoring a goal but don’t forget that my job first and foremost is to defend and ensure that we have a clean sheet and win matches.
“Though scoring those goals for the Super Eagles gave me a lot of joy, by and large, it’s not my job.
“Rather, I’m always happy to see our strikers getting the job done because that is basically their duty on the field,” he said.
TROOST-EKONG FRANKLY-SPEAKING …
On Cameroon 2021 AFCON: “Every big tournament is a lesson and we learnt so much this time. The AFCON in Cameroon was a great experience for a lot of our younger players who have not been at such a big tournament before; and we have seen the need for us to improve on managing games and to cope at the big stage and at a big moment as such that was a lesson as far as the AFCON was concerned. Altogether, I was very proud about the boys all through the AFCON because despite the unrest about the coaching staff and the situation in the country, we still comport ourselves very well. Even people who were at the tournament for the very first time, conducted themselves very well but we only missed a bit of luck in the knockout stages. We had some great moments and results but that’s football generally; always unpredictable. But one thing I’m personally proud about is the fact that we gave everything we had and we can look at ourselves in the mirror and be proud of what we did.”
On Watford becoming a Mecca for Nigerians: “I am very proud because we have few Nigerians with me here at Watford and obviously, I’m always proud to have more Nigerian players in the Premier League. Odion Ighalo opened the way for us here at Watford and he had a fantastic spell; and I’m very happy to have four of my teammates here already at Watford and hopefully, we can do good things here this season and ensure that Watford stays in the EPL; and maybe we can still have some more players here in the future. It is a special relationship and we also hope it works for Nigeria and that is what we can be proud of.”
On long-time romance in the fight against NTDs: “I’m ready to go as far as I can because I’m very passionate about the project of fighting and eradicating NTDs around Africa. I’m looking forward to a magnitude and scope we can get in order to have more and more people commit to the project. I’m looking forward to see that we can achieve together with so many people in the months and years to come and I will be preaching this gospel to educate people .I’m happy that End Fund is doing a good job already; and I will be here as long as I can to contribute my time and finances as much as I can towards fighting and eradicating NTDs in Africa.” (www.gameofourliv.es/thrivesafrica).