Two-time Super Bowl champion and Head of NFL Africa, Osi Umenyiora, talks about the NFL’s International Player Pathway Programme, discovering Nigerian prospect Uar Bernard, the growing influence of African athletes in American football, and more in this interview with PETER AKINBO
How significant is this moment for you personally and for NFL Africa, with Uar Bernard from Nigeria and Joshua Weru from Kenya securing opportunities with the Philadelphia Eagles?
It’s a very, very big moment. When you look at a guy like Uar Bernard getting drafted, for the Philadelphia Eagles to take a chance on a guy with massive talent and athletic potential is a turning point for us. Being in Nigeria, we know there are so many athletes like him. We have so much talent across Africa, and now people have hope and understand that something like this is possible. The whole programme was built on ideas like this. Although Uar got drafted, we already have athletes who came through the NFL Africa programme currently playing games in the NFL, despite never playing football before. So there’s no excuse anymore. We now have proof that people can start late, train for a few years and still make it to the NFL. They’re changing not only their own lives, but also their families’ lives. For us, this is a huge moment.
