BECOMING BY DARCKNIGHT

Football in African Streets is Culture, Kids use anything round they can find to kick about and will play on any free Surface they get and it just doesn't stop while you are young, Journeying through the City of Lagos for an hour now and I've seen so Many Roadsides Little Playing Feilds with Men Kicking about and even some Boys using the Foot of the third Mainland Bridge as their Playing Feild, One of the Coaches I had the Privilege of Meeting once told me street football is the best form of football education and nations were streets are footballers are plenty should be making more Profession

als for top football levels, why is that not the Case with many of these Nations? why do the boys have to leave home first if they are to have a good chance of becoming a Pro in the Game? We call this Street Football Monkey Post in my neighborhood and I've been playing this since I can remember, football has been a daily routine for me and my friends since we were kids, always returning from school with dirty uniforms because we've played during the break and after school hours till we became old enough to know we should carry playing shorts in our bags to school.

My Name is Tunde and In this same bustling city of Lagos,Nigeria I grew up with dreams of becoming a professional footballer.born into a family of 8 kids in the slums of lagos,my mom was a local school teacher and my dad a driver,Lagos is quite the highest living cost city in the country and raising 8 kids in such a place shouldn't be for couples doing such Jobs but I had no input in my parents life decisions and I won't complain of their efforts towards raising us as they give everything they have into that. I'm the 3 of the 8 children and the first boy,the two ladies before me I've left to marry so I'm officially Man of the house as it's commonly called here ,I wasn't the best in school but I'm in top class of students,I do very well in almost all Subject and my Dad dreams I could go on to get enough to be enrolled into any of the Top Universities in the Country, I Like LASU the most and dreams of going there if I would ever get the chance to go that Far with education, I keep my Hopes in check because I was worried my parents might not have enough to really send me to one of these schools.

Every day after school I join my friends in one of these makeshift pitches barefoot and full of enthusiasm.this moments used to be my best cause it takes the reality of my situation away from my mind,we used to be genuinely happy whenever we are playing football and the team people you meet on the pitch are ones that you can call to even outside the game, football is one of those bonds in the neighborhood that is very strong especially for a boy like me that is actually talented in playing,most of the street bros "Egbon adugbo" like we popularly call them always want to have me on their team,I was a very comfortable dribbler and that's the core required skill in street football, after school games was one we always look forward to every day after school and I whenever I changed to those extra shorts and got on the sandy pitch I feel so free and happy,I genuinely do believe I can actually get fortunate and get to play football also in Europe like the Footballers I watch on TV,I held the distant belief that my love for the game will take me to a place where I can show these skills to fans cheering in the Stadium but whenever I get home the reality creeps back in and I really don't see how realistic it is to leave this place to that stage,it looks too wide a leap for someone of my background, there's a lot of proceses and steps on the way to becoming a Professional Footballer,I don't really know much about these but I know it's quite impossible for me at that stage to leave that house to Europe, who's going to get me a visa? passport? flight tickets? Just to name the basics, probably Egbon Tayo and Alhaji that we use his backyard to play football will remain my biggest viewers till I have to stop playing football and focus on either going to university or learning Handwork.

December 2016 and Alhaji's Son Ade just returned from Norway, he's as passionate about football as his father and they enjoy watching the Game so Much, he's gone abroad to widen his knowledge of the Game and became a Scout,we call him Coach Ade on the Pitch and everyone was so Happy to welcome him back home.without knowing, My skills caught the attention of Coach Ade a few weeks into his return home and he's been talking to Alhaji jokingly about how I have the Talent to be a top footballer if properly developed,that evening when Alhaji and Coach Ade showed up at our house will remain one of the most dramatic days of my life,on seeing them on our corridor my heart skipped as I Feared they've come to report me for whatever I might have done while playing that I wasn't even aware of yet.they spent over two hours discussing with my parents before I Heard the cranky voice of my dad calling to me to come inside and join them,My dad narrated to me that they've come to propose that they are allowed to invest in my football skills by sending me to an Academy overseas to prepare me for professional football,I was shocked excited at the same time and didn't really know the right response to give,I kept nodding my head in acceptance to everything they were saying, I was definitely going to do anything to ensure this becomes a reality, Finally! I might actually be achieving my dreams of becoming a Professional? My Dad would have preferred I stay home and continue with school and become an Engineer one day but he's fully aware of what a life changing opportunity it will be if I could get a Pro Football Contract in Europe so it didn't really take much convincing for whole family to be on board and preparations were swift for me to leave to Norway. It was there that the reality of the Struggles to becoming a Professional Footballer started to dawn on me. The stress at the Nigerian immigration office over getting a passport done and then getting a work visa at the embassy was as tedious as they come, I've never knew I would have these documents in my life, I've always wanted to be a professional but never expected the dream to come true and everything was really very big from the very start.

I Finally left Nigeria to Oslo, Norway August 2017,My Sisters came home with their kids on the day I was leaving, I went to the pitch again a day before then to say my goodbye to my school friends and "awon Egbon adugbo" the final kick about was very special, I was already getting the professional treatment, it was one of the best games I've ever played on the street as it's one I will never forget, I had a dinner at Alhaji's house that night and he talked to me about how much he believe in me and how I shouldn't ensure to keep playing football the way I've always loved to play as when everything seems out of place, it's my love for the Game that will keep me going,I was so honored that night and went to Bed with tears of Joy flowing down my cheeks. I couldn't really close my eyes for long as I was anxious for morning so I can leave for the Airport, the Flight time was 2pm but we left home as early as Time for Prayers,My Parents went with me to the Airport in Coach Ade's Car, it was a very long ride probably the longest I've been in before then as I couldn't wait to get to the Airport, The Time we had to wait before Boarding seems like eternity but my moms advice and prayers all through the time made it go by very fast and finally I had to board and say goodbye to my mom that was already red eyed before I get myself off her hug, my dad was smiling and I could see through his smile how happy he was that I'm getting this opportunity. I finally boarded the Plane and we left for Europe Finally, it was my first time leaving the country and I didn't really feel out of place even if I've never been inside of a plane before I reluctantly carried with me the food my mom has packaged with me even though I was later happy to have it as it didn't take really long before I started to feel hungry.

On arrival, I was met at the airport with a fellow Nigerian working in Oslo that Coach Ade has initially arranged with for me to hang with while training with a local football team, the plan was to be going from there to wherever I'm called for Trial as we've already started sending mails to many Academies in the Country asking for a Trial, on getting to the Apartment it was a small place but very comfortable, Kayode as the Guy said I should call him rarely stay at home as he said he works double shifts to keep in line with his Target here, He doesn't look it though I guess the working conditions over here are well better than what we've got back in Nigeria,I took a very long Nap on that Arrival night, My First sleep away from home, the beginning of the road to actualizing my dream.