After Beyonce & Wizkid lit up the music world, Jay-Z has chosen a Nigerian footballer for stardom

There’s no better time to be a proud Nigerian than now after it was confirmed that Super Eagles star, Samuel Chuwkuweze has signed a deal with Roc Nation sports owned by American rapper Jay-Z.

The last few weeks have been great for Nigeria on the entertainment scene in general, and it all started with Beyonce featuring a couple of the country’s top musicians on her gift album which was the official soundtrack album for the live-action remake of the popular animated film Lion King.

The album which is now  No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums featured the likes of Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade and Wizkid whose collaboration got the loudest publicity.

Following the Euphoria that surrounded Beyonce’s album, Burna Boy made the country proud when he performed a song off his African Giant album on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

He subsequently released the album last week, and it has proved to be a success. According to reports, the album is on course to be the highest-ranked album in the UK charts for an African artist.

The golden moment did not stop with Burna Boy as Davido also collaborated with another American star Chris Brown. The two pop stars collaborated on a song called “blow my mind” and is already the fasted song by an African artist to reach two million views.

Chukwueze’s deal with Rock nation sports is the cherry on the cake, and it shows that sport is also not left out. The 19-year-old who plays for Villarreal was one of the breakout stars of the 2018/2019 season.

He came to the attention of people when he ran ragged Real Madrid’s defence in a La Liga clash between the Yellow Submarines and Los Blancos.

He proved his performance that night was not a fluke as he backed it up against another Spanish giant in Barcelona, scoring in that game.

His form for Villarreal last season earned him a spot in Super Eagles squad that finished third at the 2019 Africa Cup Of Nations in Egypt. He marked his debut tournament for the national team with a goal against South Africa, winning the man of the match award also.

His latest deal with Roc Nations is a testament of how far the Abia state indigene has come and also why he is Nigeria’s biggest star.  According to popular sports journalist and CEO of Campsbay media, Lolade Adewuyi, Samuel Chukwueze’s performance at the Nations cup proves he is shaping up to be Nigeria’s next marketable footballer. 

And this deal with Roc Nation is a testament to that. It should be recalled that the agency is also the home of popular stars like Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku, boxer Andre Ward, La Clippers’ Angel Delgado, Borussia Dortmund’s Axel Witsel among many others.

This shows Roc Nation believes Chukwueze can be the next big thing to come not just from Nigeria, but Africa and that is why they are bringing him on board.

It also benefits the 20-year-old because, with Roc Nation, he will soar higher as a brand off the pitch as long as he continues to play well on the pitch. They understand the role of sports stars and brands and will ensure he gets some of the biggest global deals as long as he keeps doing well.