Super Eagles goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho, has finally sent a response to fans and pundits who made side comments on his real age over the past few years in the sporting world.
Looking at his biography, Francis Odinaka Uzoho was born on October 28, 1998. He hails from Nwangele, a small town located in Imo state of Nigeria. He was signed on a full-term contract as a goalkeeper to Deportivo De Lacoruña in 2017 and has gone through different loans spells with different clubs, spanning his professional career.
It was recalled that Uzoho, who was the youngest player at age 19 during the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia, was criticized nationwide on social media over his real age, as most people believe he was older.
However, Uzoho has finally opened up to people who doubt his real age. He said that people who doubt his real age don’t know him closely.
Francis, The 21-year-old goalkeeper said this when he appeared as a guest on the Super Eagles Instagram live session on Tuesday, AOIFootball reports.
“I was smallish back then in 2013 when I participated in the World Cup with the U17 National team. I later went to Aspire Academy, where I learned a lot.
“My looks and body build changed when I started using the Gym and was working out seriously.
If a lot of people see my picture back then, they won’t even talk about my age, but I don’t really bother because they don’t know me,” Uzoho said.
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Francis, the soon-to-be 22-year old goalkeeper is currently on a loan spell at Cyprus club, Omonia, from Deportivo La Coruna.
There is the general notion or narrative that Nigerian football players often “forge” their age so as to obtain team shirts and have longer playing careers; however, this case may not always be so as Francis seeks to redeem his name.