Remembering Nigeria’s Barefoot Heroes Who Beat English Clubs Without Boots in 1949

• Nigeria sent a team to tour England in 1949 and recorded several victories playing barefoot
• The team competed with strapping on their ankles and toes on selected pitches in England
• They played nine games, earning two wins and two draws including a 2-2 draw in Liverpool

Talent and desire have no material limitations.

Credited for paving the way for England’s love affair with the region’s footballers, the Nigerian Football Association sent their first 18-member squad to Britain 75 years ago.

The tour happened 11 years before Nigeria gained independence from Britain, with the head of the Nigerian FA being an Englishman, Donald H Holley.

The boat trip from Lagos to Liverpool took two weeks and the tour lasted one month between August and September 1949.

Etim Henshaw captained Nigeria and the bulk of the players came from the greater Lagos area. Horeb International notes that the players were selected to be ambassadors for the NFA.

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The team wore an early iteration of the iconic green Super Eagles shirt, with white shorts and strapping around parts of their feet.

However, the team did not play the entire tour barefoot. On soft-ground pitches, they wore boots but preferred to play barefoot on surfaces with little to no grass covering.

Their first match was against Marine FC in Crosby, which the visitors won 5-2. They would lose their next three fixtures before picking up a draw in Walton-on-Thames.

The tourists would earn a second win when they beat Bromley FC 3-1 before finishing the tour with a 2-2 draw against South Liverpool FC, as listed by RSSSF.

The tour was among the earliest tests of Nigeria’s abilities and 75 years later, they are aiming to win their fourth AFCON title.

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