Ibrahim Olawoyin ended a 17-game wait for his first assist of the season as Rizespor produced their most convincing result in months, thrashing Kasimpasa 3-0 in the Turkish Super Lig on Saturday. England-born Nigerian winger Adedire Mebude was on the scoresheet as Nigerians played a key role in the win.
Olawoyin Delivers When It Matters
It had been a long time coming. Ibrahim Olawoyin had played 17 games in the 2025/26 Trendyol Süper Lig without registering a single assist. On Saturday, that wait ended in the best possible way, with a direct contribution to Rizespor’s third goal in a 3-0 demolition of Kasimpasa.
The Nigerian winger, wearing the number 10 jersey for Rizespor, drove forward with purpose in the final stages of the match and picked out fellow Nigerian Adedire Mebude with a precise pass. Mebude, the England-born winger of Nigerian heritage who wears the number 17 shirt, finished confidently to make it 3-0 with ten minutes remaining. It was a Nigerian combination that put the game beyond any doubt.
The three points moved Rizespor to 10th position on 27 points in the Turkish Super Lig table. For a side that entered Saturday’s fixture sitting in the bottom half, the result was a statement of intent. It was also one of their cleanest performances of the campaign, keeping a clean sheet while scoring three.
Two Nigerians, One Win
The Olawoyin-Mebude combination is a sub-plot worth following. Both are Nigerian, both operate in wide attacking positions, and both have been key parts of Rizespor’s forward line in a season that has had its share of inconsistency. When they connect, as they did on Saturday, Rizespor look dangerous.
For Olawoyin specifically, the assist ends what was becoming a frustrating personal statistic. Playing 17 matches across the top flight without an assist is unusual for a winger in the Turkish Super Lig, a league known for its high-tempo, attacking football. That the breakthrough came in a comprehensive away win will give him confidence heading into the final stretch of the season.
Competition: Trendyol Süper Lig 2025/26
Key contributions (Nigerians):
Ibrahim Olawoyin: 1 assist (Goal 3)
Adedire Mebude: 1 goal (80th min, assisted by Olawoyin)
Rizespor league position after result: 10th, 27 points
Olawoyin’s assist: First of the 2025/26 Super Lig season (after 17 appearances)
The Bigger Picture for Nigerian Football
Turkey has become one of the most important destinations for Nigerian footballers in recent years. Onuachu is leading the Golden Boot race for Trabzonspor. Chibuike Nwaiwu is scoring goals from defence for the same club. And at Rizespor, Olawoyin and Mebude are contributing to a mid-table outfit trying to stabilise in the top flight.
What’s notable about the Nigerian presence in Turkey is its range. These aren’t all Super Eagles regulars chasing one last big contract. Some, like Mebude, are England-born and haven’t yet committed to Nigeria at the senior level. Others, like Olawoyin, are established professionals building careers in a competitive European league. All of them are keeping Nigerian football visible across multiple clubs in the same division.
As FootballInNigeria.com.ng has tracked throughout this season, the Turkish Super Lig has quietly become one of the most Nigeria-rich leagues in European football. Saturday’s result at Kasimpasa added one more data point to that story.
📊 Analysis: Rizespor’s Nigerian Connection
Rizespor aren’t a club traditionally associated with Nigerian talent. But the 2025/26 season has seen them field both Olawoyin and Mebude with regularity, suggesting a deliberate recruitment strategy that leans on West African pace and directness in wide areas.
The challenge for Rizespor is consistency. With 5 wins, 9 draws, and 9 losses from 23 matches heading into February, they’ve been frustratingly inconsistent. A 3-0 win of this nature is encouraging. But they’ll need more performances like this in the final third of the season to avoid any relegation concern creeping in.
For Olawoyin and Mebude, strong finishing performances improve the chances of a Super Eagles conversation. Nigeria’s coaching staff monitors the Turkish league closely, and a combination goal in a big win is the kind of moment that gets noted.
Looking Ahead
Rizespor’s next fixtures will determine whether Saturday’s performance was a turning point or a one-off. The squad has the quality in wide areas, and when Olawoyin and Mebude are both in form, they create real problems for defenders.
For now, the 3-0 result stands as Rizespor’s most convincing performance in recent memory. Olawoyin has his first assist of the season. Mebude has another goal. And Nigeria, once again, delivered across multiple Turkish Super Lig clubs on the same weekend.
With Nigerians delivering impact performances week after week in the Turkish top flight, [the Bet9ja YOHAIG code’s welcome bonus of up to ₦100,000](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/sports-betting/bet9ja/bet9ja-promotion-code/) gives fans a real opportunity to build accumulators around Nigerian players across European leagues, including the Super Lig’s increasingly Nigerian-flavoured weekend fixtures.
📌 Did You Know?
- Adedire Mebude was born in England and came through the youth system at Rangers FC in Scotland before moving to Turkey. He is of Nigerian descent but has not yet received a senior Nigerian international call-up.
- Rizespor are based in Rize, a small city on Turkey’s northeastern Black Sea coast. The club has become an unlikely hub for Nigerian talent in recent seasons, fielding both Olawoyin (No. 10) and Mebude (No. 17) as regular starters.
- This was one of only 5 wins for Rizespor in the 2025/26 Turkish Super Lig season heading into the final stretch. The club has drawn 9 matches, suggesting they’ve struggled to convert close games into three points.
- The Turkish Super Lig currently features Nigerian players across multiple clubs simultaneously, including Paul Onuachu and Chibuike Nwaiwu at Trabzonspor. No other African nation has as many active representatives in Turkey’s top division this season.
- Ibrahim Olawoyin wears the iconic number 10 shirt for Rizespor, a jersey traditionally given to the most creative player in a team’s attacking unit. It reflects the level of creative responsibility the club has placed on his shoulders.
- Kasimpasa, the team Rizespor defeated 3-0, has historically been a stable mid-table club in the Super Lig. Saturday’s result was one of their worst home defeats of the season, further illustrating how convincing Rizespor’s performance was.
- Nigeria’s presence in the Turkish Super Lig has grown steadily since the mid-2010s, when players like Brown Ideye and John Mikel Obi began spending significant periods at Turkish clubs. The current generation of Nigerian Super Lig players is now the largest in the league’s history.
