- Osimhen reveals childhood spent scavenging for football boots
- Lost his mother early and became breadwinner for six siblings
- Slept in church and lived without electricity
- Almost quit football after failing first U-17 trial
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has shared a deeply emotional account of his rise from extreme poverty in Lagos to global football stardom, revealing how hunger, loss and rejection nearly crushed his dream before it truly began.
Writing in The Players’ Tribune, Osimhen reflected on a childhood shaped by hardship, survival and unshakeable belief.
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He revealed that as a young boy growing up in a shanty area of Lagos, he often scavenged around a landfill site in search of second-hand football boots, sometimes finding only mismatched pairs.
“Hey, I found a broken Nike. Left foot! Size 8! … Hey, I found a Puma!!!! Right foot!!!! Size 9!!!!! That was a lucky day. We had a pair of boots to share between us all,” he wrote.
Osimhen said his life changed drastically after losing his mother when he was just two or three years old. From that moment, he became responsible for helping to feed and support his six siblings.
“Everything I earned, I gave to my siblings to buy food and pay the rent. Most nights, I actually slept in the church. Our house barely had a roof,” he recalled.
His father, once a driver, lost his job and later worked washing dishes in a police department kitchen. When the income still failed to cover rent, Osimhen turned to the nearby dump site to search for football boots that could keep his dream alive.
One night, at about age 12, reality hit hard.
“The landlord had enough. He cut off the power. We were sitting in the dark, all seven of us; no TV, nothing,” Osimhen said.
The lowest point came at age 15 during trials for Nigeria’s Under-17 team. After training, names were called, but not his.
“Everybody started walking to the parking lot. My dream was dead. I’m a footballer. Or I was trying to be,” he wrote.
He cried all the way home. But instead of quitting, Osimhen took a final chance. With help from a neighbour who borrowed a car, he travelled nine hours to attend a second trial.
“I had 15 minutes to change my life. I knew the only way to impress them was to run. So I ran until I was sweating blood,” he said.
That day, he scored two goals in just 15 minutes, a moment that changed everything.
From sleeping in church to wearing Nigeria’s green and white on the world stage, Osimhen’s story stands as one of football’s most powerful reminders of resilience, sacrifice and belief.