Former Heartland coach Chijioke Osuagwu says Paul Onuachu’s continued loyalty to the coach who raised him is a rare example that more Nigerian stars should follow.
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Former Heartland FC head coach Chijioke Gabriel Osuagwu has praised Trabzonspor striker Paul Onuachu for staying connected to the grassroots coach who helped launch his career, calling on other Nigerian football stars to show similar appreciation for those who developed them.
Osuagwu, who has also coached Flamingoes, Stationery Stores, AS Racines FC of Lagos, Abia Warriors and Police Machine of Owerri, made the appeal in an audio message that circulated widely on social media on Thursday night. The message came in reaction to the postponement of a memorial football competition originally scheduled for that day to honour the late Coach Osahon Emokpae, Osuagwu’s former assistant during their time together at the National Grassroots Dream Team.
A Call For Recognition
Osuagwu, known in football circles as “Oburuonu,” urged stakeholders in youth development and club owners who benefited from the work of grassroots coaches at the Nigeria Grassroots Football Federation (NGFF) academy, including FC Ebedei of Sagamu, to actively support efforts to reschedule and properly organise the memorial. He said grassroots coaches had carried out their work over the years out of genuine dedication to developing young players, often without adequate recognition, and that it was time for that to change.
Reflecting on his own coaching career, which has included spells developing former Super Eagles players Stephen Ayodele Makinwa and Ifeanyi Emeghara at Frankelson United of Surulere, and Kazeem Ayila at Stores FC of Lagos, Osuagwu said many players who came through grassroots systems eventually forget those who built their careers from the ground up. He said he was grateful that Onuachu has continued to remember and support Osahon’s contribution to his development, describing it as an example other players who benefited from grassroots coaching, some of whom have gone on to play for the Super Eagles, should follow.
📌 Did You Know?
- Paul Onuachu was born in Owerri and came through the Ebedei academy in Sagamu before beginning his senior career in Denmark with Midtjylland.
- Standing at 2.01m (6ft 7in), Onuachu is one of the tallest strikers in top flight European football today.
- He won the Belgian Golden Shoe in 2020/21 after scoring 33 goals in a single season for Genk, form that earned him a move to Southampton.
- Onuachu turned down interest from Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Saudi Arabian clubs last summer to remain at Trabzonspor, saying the city felt like where he belonged.
- He finished the 2025/26 season as Trabzonspor’s joint top Süper Lig scorer with 22 goals and helped the club win the Turkish Cup.
- The Nigeria Grassroots Football Federation (NGFF), referenced in Osuagwu’s tribute, has served as a pipeline academy for several players who later featured for Nigeria’s senior national team.
- Nigeria had two simultaneous Süper Lig goal-scorers at the same club, Trabzonspor, in the 2025/26 season, with Onuachu joined by fellow Nigerian Anthony Nwakaeme, something that had happened only once before, in 2003/04.
