“Most times, I want to quit” – Stanley Nwabali reflects on how his parents’ loss affected his football career

Super Eagles and Chippa United goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has revealed how he struggled with thoughts about quitting football after he lost his parents, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 29-year-old lost his father in November 2024, after Nigeria's 1-1 draw against Benin in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.

He was greeted by news of his father's death, and was allowed to leave camp by the then-interim Super Eagles coach, Austin Eguavoen.

At the start of 2025, on the first day of January, Nwabali's mother swallowed her last breath, digging a big hole of loss into the former Enyimba International goalie's heart.

Rip mom, worst year of my life already

— Nwabali Stanley bobo (M.O.N) (@NwabaliBobo) January 1, 2025

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While his theatrics at the AFCON 2023 tournament set him on the continent, his performances on the pitch have dipped since the loss of his parents, and the Nigerian goalie has, for the first time, chosen to speak publicly about his loss.

Stanley Nwabali nearly quit football after his parents' deaths

Nwabali was on the bench for Nigeria's game against Tanzania after he confirmed he'd been struggling with an injury in the games against Tanzania and Tunisia.

Just before the Super Eagles started training today ahead of their round of sixteen fixture, the 6'5″tall goalkeeper revealed the toll grief has taken on him.

“I don't want to talk about my parents because in a few hours, it'll be exactly a year since I lost my mum,” Nwabali told ACL Sports.

“You know, I try to keep a lot of things to myself. I tried to move on, try to be a strong guy, but most times, I want to quit.

“I mean, I lost my mum and my dad, but my mum was so dear to me, and it's so painful to talk about it, but I feel like it hurts.

“I want to talk a lot, but I have no words. It's not a nice feeling for a footballer, or even a human in general, to lose both parents at the same time.

Today makes it exactly one year that Stanley Nwabali lost his mom.

He almost broke down while talking about the pain to our Chief Football Writer @FisayoDairo#YourSportsMemo #AFCON2025 pic.twitter.com/PAXQTGFAXX

— ACLSports (@acl_sports) December 31, 2025

“My dad was a month before my mum, and I'm here playing football. It's true. Some people move on, some don't, but I tried to talk to my captain, William Troost-Ekong, that I want to leave football, you understand me?

“With the help of my teammates, I've been able to keep going, but it hurts a lot,” he concluded.

Eric Chelle will be hoping his number one goalie will be fully fit for action when the knockout round of the AFCON 2025 tournament kicks off.