Chijioke Gabriel
The senior national team of Nigeria, Super Eagles, have been crowned the champions of the Unity Cup in England with a 5-4 penalty win over Jamaica after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
The 2025 Unity Cup, which was held from May 27 to 31 at Brentford Community Stadium in London, was a vibrant celebration of cultural heritage and football
The tournament featured four teams: Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago. It was organised to foster unity and pride among the African and Caribbean diasporas in London.
This year’s edition was particularly poignant, as it marked the return of the tournament after its last occurrence in 2004, underscoring its importance in promoting cultural understanding and community cohesion.
Moses Simon put the Super Eagles of Nigeria ahead in the 9th minute following good works by Cyriel Dessers, but that lead didn’t last for long before Jamaica drew level through Kaheim Dixon drew Jamaica level in the 12th minute.
The teams went into the break leveled at 1-1. Upon resumption for the second half, Super Eagles once again went ahead in the 53rd minute through Samuel Chukwueze. The lead only lasted for ten minutes before Jamaica leveled again.
Jon Russell found space in the box of Nigeria to head the leveller unchallenged forcing the game to go straight into penalty kicks, where Nigeria succeeded with all of their kicks while Jamaica missed one to hand Nigeria a 5-4 win.
Debutant Uche Chrisantus scored the decisive spot kick for Nigeria during the shoot out. Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon, Tolu Arokodare and Bruno Onyemaechi all planted their spot kicks in the opponents’ net with conviction.
