Taiwo Awoniyi: The story of a historical Nottingham Forest jersey

On Saturday evening, Taiwo Awoniyi scored the goal that handed Nottingham Forest their Premier League safety against title chasers Arsenal. It ended the Gunners’ title run and handed the trophy to Manchester City, the Citizens’ third straight triumph. 

Hundreds of thousands rejoiced across the River Trent as the Nigerian secured safety for the team in their first season back to the Premier League since 1999. Awoniyi’s 19th-minute goal put history in favour of the Tricky Trees. It made him a hero again, just like he was at Union Berlin, where he made the fans dream. 

On the last day of the 2021/22 Bundesliga season, Union needed a win against visiting Bochum to secure fifth place and qualify for the Europa League. The fans inside the Alte Försterei waited with pregnant hope as the minutes ticked down and the visitors held them to a 2-2 draw. But Taiwo rose to score an 88th-minute winner to send the entire stadium into crazy celebrations. 

I was a pitch-side photographer that day and made memorable pictures of the ensuing chaos. I witnessed firsthand the Nigerian striker’s greatness and the Union fans’ love for him. It made me decide to go watch his first home game in the Premier League when he was transferred to Nottingham Forest for a princely sum of 20.5 million euros that summer, an amount Union had never received for any of their players.

Choosing football

Let me digress a little. Taiwo Awoniyi hails from Isin, Kwara State, in central Nigeria. His career began by playing on the streets of Ilorin and then coming under the guidance of coach Garba Abdulrasaq Olojo, who ran the Unicorn Football Academy in Ilorin. Olojo found him in primary school and moulded Awoniyi into a tidy little star striker.

But the journey was only sometimes smooth. Taiwo and 13 of his playmates were once locked up for playing football. They broke the windowpanes of a neighbour who handed all of them to the police. The lad and his friends spent a night in a holding cell until his father arrived from the night shift to get them out. Mr Solomon Awoniyi was himself a policeman, so the arresting officer let the kids go with an apology to the aggrieved neighbour. 

The elder Awoniyi wanted his son to become a medical doctor because of his brilliance. But like a Yoruba saying I have heard in the last few days: ‘May our children not be forced to become doctors when they are fated to be football superstars’. 

Instead, teenage Taiwo took the fees for purchasing his university entrance form and bought a ticket to join the Imperial Football Academy in Odogbolu, Ogun State. From here, he was scouted to the Nigeria U17 national team in 2013. 

He played as a substitute striker in the squad behind Isaac Success. When Success got injured, Taiwo led the line alongside Kelechi Iheanacho and took the team to win the title at the FIFA U17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. 

He subsequently led the Nigeria U20 attack line to win the U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal before signing for Liverpool as an 18-year-old. But he did not get a permit to play in the Premier League and had to be loaned to six European clubs while waiting for his chance with the Kop. 

A hero in Berlin

That chance never came. Instead, Taiwo found a home in Berlin, where Union decided to make his loan move permanent and offered him the chance to thrive. It began a joy-filled sojourn where Taiwo led the attack and scored 15 goals in the Bundesliga to hand the small Köpenick-based club their first Europa League qualification. 

In March, I met Taiwo for our first interview at the Humboldt Forum, a new museum in the centre of Berlin. There I showed him some interesting artefacts from pre-colonial Nigeria. I took my then seven-year-old daughter along, and they became fast friends. He became her hero, and she took a printout of her picture with him to school the next week. She became a star among her classmates.

It was difficult for Urs Fischer to see his star striker leave, but the money was too good for the Irons to turn down. When Nottingham Forest visited Berlin in pre-season, Taiwo was warmly welcomed back for a final goodbye. He got a proper send-off and was handed memorabilia in the middle of the pitch as the fans sang his name out in the stands. It was emotional.

After the game, Fischer and Taiwo hugged in the mixed zone and wished each other well for the future. Fischer had replaced Taiwo with US-born Cameroonian-descent striker Jordan Siebatcheu. Siebatcheu shook hands with Taiwo as he came for an interview, a passing of the baton.

That afternoon I promised Taiwo I would watch his first home game for Nottingham Forest. 

The jersey

I had a valid UK visa, making it easy to travel to England for Taiwo’s first game inside the Forest Ground, their home beside the River Trent. The immigration officer at the entry point wondered why I was visiting the country so soon after my previous trip in May. We ended up talking about football and his love for Rangers.

I stayed in my younger brother’s house in South Harrow, and we both took the train from Kings Cross to Nottingham on matchday, August 14. Inside the train were boisterous West Ham United fans who hoped for a good start to the season. 

Once in Nottingham, we took a bus ride to the stadium with dozens of other fans. Finding the club office to pick up my media pass took a minute. I watched from the tribune as Taiwo scored the lone goal that handed Forest their first Premier League win since 1999. I celebrated with joy. 

Steve Cooper told me at the press conference that he was happy for the Nigerian. “He’s settled in well, and scoring today would help him become the striker that he would be for us on the pitch.”  

As the players left the parking area, Taiwo spotted me and parked his car. About 30 fans made a line for him to sign autographs and take selfies. Afterwards, he emerged from the car where his family waited, and we had a good hug, and I congratulated him on the feat. He brought out his wet match jersey and handed it to me as a token of appreciation. It was a special decision he had made. 

I returned to London and prepared to make my trip back to Berlin when I got a message from Taiwo later that night that he wanted the jersey back. His agent had asked him about the shirt and told him its historical implications: the first Premier League goal for Nottingham Forest in almost a quarter of a century. 

Taiwo took the train to London on Monday morning to pick up the shirt in South Harrow. He arrived quite early, so we decided to get breakfast in the neighbourhood before his return. Diners were still closed, so we took a bus ride to a restaurant far away. None of the other passengers recognized the player. In my mind, I knew it would be a little while before he became a famous face across the entire country. 

After our breakfast, Taiwo left for Nottingham with a promise to send me another match jersey. He kept his promise and sent me another Nottingham shirt earlier this year. It came in the mail.

It is one I would proudly display. It belongs to a player with an uncanny desire to succeed. A humble player like no other that I know.