Stanley Nwabali : Africa Goalkeeper of the Year Dream Within Reach

After an appreciable performance with NPFL clubs-Enyimba, Lobi Stars and Katsina United, Stanley Nwabali finally decided to export his talent to South Africa with Chippa United. His breakthrough, however, came during the 2023 AFCON where he helped the Super Eagles to the silver medal after keeping four clean slates in seven matches. Now the 27-year-old is dreaming of emerging as 2024 Africa Goalkeeper of the Year after being named in the five-man shortlist by CAF 

Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, was last week named in the final five-man shortlist for the 2024 CAF Keeper of the Year awards taking place in Marrakech, Morocco on December 16.

Chippa United goalkeeper, Nwabali, who was one of the revelations of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast earlier this year, will go head-to-head with South Africa’s Bafana Bafana safe hands, Williams, Manchester United and Cameroon’s goalkeeper Andre Onana, Ivory Coast’s Yahia Fofana and Egypt’s goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir.

In the first week of December 2023, the then manager of Nigeria, Jose Peseiro, travelled to the southern tip of Africa. It was high summer in Port Elizabeth, as it used to be known, with the coastal city looking forward to its tourist season.

Peseiro was there to solve a crisis. Many Nigerians would call it a chronic one: the lack of a reliable, big-match-ready goalkeeper for the national team, a live issue since the 2015 retirement of Vincent Enyeama, a record-breaker and inspiration through over 100 caps.

In Peseiro’s rear-view mirror were high-profile errors that marked the Super Eagles in the period immediately before he was appointed as coach.

There was the long, speculative shot that bounced up off the outstretched arm of keeper Maduka Okoye and into the Nigerian goal in the last 16 of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, gifting Tunisia victory. There was the long, speculative drive that slid underneath Francis Uzoho’s body two months later, granting Ghana a place at the Qatar World Cup at Nigeria’s expense.

Peseiro had flown to Gqeberha to meet Nwabali and watch him wearing the gloves for Chippa United, then in the lower reaches of South Africa’s Premier League, against Golden Arrows.

No glamour fixture this, and a scouting mission that looked a little offbeat, even desperate, just a month ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote D’Ivoire for which Peseiro was making his plans.

Nwabali, 27, before then had a single cap to his name, from a friendly two-and-a-half-years earlier, a 4-0 Super Eagles defeat to Mexico.

Peseiro introduced himself to Nwabali and watched him keep a clean sheet against Golden Arrows, a 2-0 victory that interrupted an eight-match sequence of Chippa United games without a win. The coach liked what he saw: an imposingly tall and broad keeper with sharp reflexes. He decided his was a presence he could use at AFCON.

Nwabali’s selection was greeted with surprise in Nigeria. He had faded from the radar having left local club football 18 months ago to move a long way south. The best, exported Nigerian talent tends to go north.

Keepers such as Maduka Okoye, of Serie A’s Udinese, and Francis Uzoho, formerly of Deportivo La Coruna in Spain and now of Omonia in Cyprus, make their living in Europe. So does every outfield member of Nigeria’s AFCON squad.

Making a living at Chippa United, meanwhile, can seem insecure. The club have lurched through a series of financial crises and been supported by local government funds, Gqeberha’s civic leaders believing the city needs a top-flight team.

Chippa United, who moved its franchise there a decade ago, are alone in representing South Africa’s fifth biggest metropolis in the upper division of the national sport. An irony, then, in how the peak moment of Nwabali’s professional life unfolded, a little under two months after Peseiro had gone to appraise him.

Meanwhile, the Chippa United goalkeeper has revealed why the majority of the home-grown Nigerian players love to move to other African leagues rather than stay at home.

The 27-year-old goalkeeper moved to South Africa from Katsina United two years ago and could be on the move to a bigger side after a stunning display at the AFCON 2023 tournament where he kept four clean sheets in seven games to seal second spot for the Super Eagles.

Nwabali has played every tier of local football in Nigeria, from non-league to the Nigeria Professional Football League, and in a recent interview, revealed why South African players rarely move to Europe.

Ronwen Williams is at Sundowns, he gets everything he wants, he’s got the name, the sponsor, his family is here, everyone is supporting him, he’s the captain of Bafana Bafana, and the league is okay. The league pay is a little bit nicer depending on the level of your team,” the former Enyimba goalkeeper told Far Post.

In comparison to the NPFL, Nwabali revealed the pay gap between both leagues is astonishing, highlighting the money as the major reason players leave Nigeria without thinking twice.

“In West Africa, our leagues are not as good. We want to go to Europe, we want to come to South Africa, we want to go to Morocco, all those kinds of leagues, if your league is nice there’s no point in you leaving. If your league is nice, you’re getting paid, you’re getting sponsors, what are you leaving for? If you want to challenge yourself, you can still leave. It depends on you if you can cope there, if you can’t cope there, it’s fine to just come back and play your football,” he added.

Nwabali has been linked with several European clubs after an impressive outing at the AFCON 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast.

At the 2023 AFCON, the 27-year-old put in an outstanding performance for Nigeria against South Africa after he helped Nigeria win against the Palancas Negras of Angola to book a place in the semi-finals.

The Super Eagles advanced into the final of the last AFCON thanks to the heroics of Nwabali. 

After the regulation 90 minutes and extra-time, there was nothing to separate between Nigeria and South Africa with the scores tied at 1-1. 

It was then down to penalties. Everyone expected South Africa’s goalkeeper Ronwen Williams to come out on top after he saved four spot kicks against Cape Verde, but it was a different game against Nigeria. 

Nwabali who plays in the PSL showed his abilities, and was the hero for Nigeria, saving two penalties. 

Nigeria could have started the game on the back foot but for a smart save that Nwabali made at his near post.

Indeed, Super Eagles’ recent 2-1 loss to Rwanda in the dead rubber match of the 2025 AFCON qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo on Monday was blamed on the absence of Nwabali between the sticks.

It however remains to be seen whether all these attributes and performance would be enough to deliver the Golden Gloves to Nwabali come next month when CAF would announce the Africa Goalkeeper of the Year winner.