Chizaram “Chizzy” Ezenwanta has signed his first professional contract with Chelsea FC, capping a remarkable rise through Cobham’s academy. Born in London to a Nigerian father and Cameroonian mother, the 17-year-old striker is eligible for three nations at the senior level and has already scored a hat-trick at the FIFA U17 World Cup. Nigeria’s interest is real, and this story is far from over.
A Family Built on Football
Before Chizzy Ezenwanta ever kicked a ball at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, the name Ezenwata already meant something in Nigerian football. His father, Ndubuisi “Endy” Ezenwata, played professionally for Gombe United in the Nigerian league system. Now his son has taken the family name into the Premier League’s most celebrated academy.
Chizzy signed his first professional contract with Chelsea FC in December 2025, a few months after turning 17 on 5 September 2025. Under Premier League rules, players must begin their U17 season on a scholarship deal before converting to a professional contract from their 17th birthday. Chelsea had clearly seen enough. The scholarship came first in July 2025. The professional deal was followed before the year was out.
It’s the kind of milestone that turns heads in Nigeria. Not just because of the club, but because of what this young man has already shown he can do.
What Chelsea Are Getting
Ezenwanta joined Chelsea in 2023 following a successful trial, having previously passed through the youth setups at Tottenham Hotspur and Charlton Athletic. He wasted no time making an impression at Cobham.
In his final schoolboy season, Ezenwanta scored 12 goals and produced 4 assists across 23 appearances in the U18 Premier League, Premier League 2, and FA Youth Cup. He finished as Chelsea U18s’ top scorer, regularly playing above his age group. He also made three substitute appearances in the Premier League 2, competing against players a year or two his senior.
Full name: Chizaram Ezenwata
Date of birth: 5 September 2008 (age 17)
Birthplace: London, England
Position: Centre-Forward
Current club: Chelsea FC (professional contract from December 2025)
Previous youth clubs: Tottenham Hotspur, Charlton Athletic, Chelsea (joined 2023)
Final schoolboy season: 12 goals, 4 assists in 23 matches
International eligibility: England (youth caps), Nigeria (father), Cameroon (mother)
Father: Ndubuisi “Endy” Ezenwata, former Gombe United professional
The numbers tell one part of the story. The physical profile tells another. Ezenwanta is a tall, powerful centre-forward with quick feet for his size, the kind of combination that clubs spend enormous transfer fees chasing on the open market. Chelsea has one developing on their own doorstep.
The Hat-Trick That Stopped Everyone
If there was a single moment that made Nigeria sit up and pay attention to Chizzy Ezenwanta, it came at the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar. Introduced as a substitute in the 56th minute against Haiti, he scored in the 58th, 71st, and 80th minutes. Three goals in 24 minutes. England won the match 8-1, and the teenager’s hat-trick was the standout performance of the game.
His parents were in the stands to watch it happen. His composure in front of goal, his pace in behind the defensive line, and his football intelligence in tight spaces all stood out. It was the kind of display that circulates on social media for days, and it did.
— Sports247 Nigeria, November 2025
What made it more interesting for Nigeria watchers: he was representing England. But he didn’t have to be.
Three Nations, One Decision
This is the part of the Ezenwanta story that has Nigerian football supporters leaning forward. Born in London to a Nigerian father and a Cameroonian mother, Chizzy is eligible for three nations at the senior international level: England, Nigeria, and Cameroon. His youth caps for England do not cap-tie him to the senior Three Lions under current FIFA regulations.
Nigeria’s interest is not hypothetical. In June 2025, Ezenwanta visited the Super Eagles’ camp in west London alongside his father. He met Super Eagles manager Eric Chelle personally and received a warm welcome from the senior squad. The Nigerian Football Federation followed that visit with a formal call-up to the Nigeria U20 team, though he was unable to feature at the time.
His father, the former Gombe United professional, has not publicly pushed his son toward any particular flag. But the family’s Nigerian roots run deep, and Chizzy’s visit to the Eagles’ camp suggests the door remains very much open.
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📊 Analysis: Can Nigeria Win This One?
Nigeria’s track record of converting London-born, dual-national strikers has been patchy. Some make the switch, some don’t. What’s different with Ezenwanta is the early, personal involvement of Super Eagles manager Eric Chelle, who met the player directly rather than working through intermediaries. That personal touch matters enormously with teenagers who are still forming their sense of identity and belonging.
The challenge is timing. England will fight hard to keep him. He’s already scored for them at a World Cup. But youth caps don’t bind him, and Nigeria has a compelling case: a clear development pathway, a natural fit as a future successor to Victor Osimhen’s striker role, and a national team whose profile has risen significantly in recent years. If the NFF handles this relationship carefully and patiently, and if Chizzy’s father’s Nigerian heritage continues to resonate with the family, this could still go Nigeria’s way.
What’s certain is that at 17, with a professional contract at Chelsea and a World Cup hat-trick already on his CV, this conversation is going to grow louder over the next 18 months.
What Happens Next
Chizzy Ezenwanta is now a professional footballer. Chelsea will integrate him gradually, likely continuing his development through the U18 and U21 setups before any senior consideration. The club’s model with young forwards has been patient and structured in recent years, giving players like him the runway they need without forcing early exposure that could damage confidence.
For Nigeria, the window to secure its international commitment is still open, but it won’t stay open forever. Every England youth appearance adds another layer of identity. Every conversation that doesn’t happen is an opportunity lost. The NFF knows where he is. Eric Chelle has already met him. The next move needs to be decisive, warm, and well-timed.
The Ezenwanta family has football in its blood. A father who played in the league in Nigeria, a son in professional football at one of England’s biggest clubs, and a younger brother already in the Charlton Athletic U18 system. This isn’t a one-off story. It’s a football family, and Nigeria’s relationship with them is still being written.
📌 Did You Know?
- Chizzy Ezenwanta’s younger brother also plays football professionally, representing Charlton Athletic U18 and was selected to represent Team Nigeria at the prestigious Bayern Youth Cup in Germany, suggesting the family leans toward the green-and-white when it matters.
- Before joining Chelsea in 2023, Ezenwanta passed through the youth academies of both Tottenham Hotspur and Charlton Athletic, making him one of a small number of players to have trained at three Premier League or English professional club academies before turning 17.
- His father Ndubuisi “Endy” Ezenwata played professional football in the Nigerian league system with Gombe United, a club based in northeast Nigeria. The family’s Nigerian football roots, therefore, stretch across two generations and two continents.
- England’s 8-1 win over Haiti at the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup, during which Ezenwanta scored his hat-trick, was one of the most emphatic victories in the tournament’s group stage. Coming off the bench in the 56th minute, he scored three times in 24 minutes, a record for a substitute in that match.
- Chelsea signed Ezenwanta on a scholarship in July 2025 before converting the deal to a full professional contract in December 2025, following his 17th birthday in September. Under Premier League regulations, players cannot sign professional terms until they turn 17, which means the timeline is as swift as the rules allow.
- Ezenwanta is one of a small but growing number of tri-national players eligible for Nigeria, meaning the Super Eagles are competing not just with England but also with Cameroon for his international future. His Cameroonian mother’s heritage gives FECAFOOT a theoretical claim on him as well.
- The 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup was held in Qatar, making it a tournament with a significant Middle Eastern football backdrop. Ezenwanta’s hat-trick in that setting brought him to global attention, with Nigerian football communities widely sharing clips of his three goals on social media within hours of the match.
