Meet The 1983 Flying Eagles: Part 4 — Meet Tarila Okorowanta

𝐁𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐎𝐤𝐨𝐤𝐮

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝐀 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐂𝐔𝐏 — 𝐌𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐂𝐎 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟑

𝐁𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐎𝐤𝐨𝐤𝐮

Every footballing nation remembers its historic firsts. For Nigeria, one of those unforgettable moments belongs to 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐎𝐤𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚.

On 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟒, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟑, in Monterrey, Mexico, he became the first Nigerian footballer to score at a FIFA World Cup tournament, at any national-team level.

His goal secured Nigeria’s 𝟏–𝟎 victory over the Soviet Union.

Behind that historic achievement is the story of a young boy from Ajegunle whose football journey began on an open field inside a military barracks.

𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

Tarila grew up in 𝐀𝐣𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐞, 𝐋𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐬, particularly around the 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬, where his family lived while his father served in the military.

His childhood was rooted in a community where football was part of everyday life.

He attended 𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐮 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝, in the Ajegunle area.

His parents emphasized education, but his enthusiasm for football was impossible to overlook.

The young Tarila was growing up in an environment where opportunities to play existed all around him, even without the facilities available to today’s professional academies.

𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒

The open field inside the Navy Barracks became Tarila’s earliest football classroom.

There, he developed his skills through regular games with other children, discovering the excitement of competition and the discipline required to improve.

His progression through grassroots football eventually opened the door to competitive club football.

His playing career included 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬, 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤, 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 and 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝.

Known for his dribbling, attacking movement and eye for goal, Tarila developed into a footballer capable of making decisive contributions.

The boy who once played inside the barracks would eventually carry Nigeria’s hopes onto the world stage.

𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋-𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐀 𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐑 — 𝐀 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐄𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐀𝐑𝐃

On 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟖, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟑, Nigeria defeated Guinea 𝟐–𝟎 at the National Stadium, Lagos, overturning a first-leg deficit to secure qualification for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Mexico.

Tarila was one of our goalscorers.

I remember what happened immediately after his goal.

Overcome with excitement, we rushed towards him, jumping on our teammate in celebration.

But beneath the pile of jubilant players, Tarila was protesting!

“𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭, 𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞!”

In our excitement, we were practically crushing our own goalscorer!

More than four decades later, that moment still makes us laugh.

It captured something beyond the result: the friendship, youthful enthusiasm and extraordinary bond within our historic Flying Eagles generation.

𝐌𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐂𝐎 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟑 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

On 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟒, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟑, Nigeria faced the 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 in Monterrey during the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

For the first time, a Nigerian national football team was competing at a FIFA World Cup tournament.

In the 𝟕𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞, Tarila scored.

Nigeria won 𝟏–𝟎.

With that goal, he entered the history books as 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐀 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥.

It was an achievement that would remain his permanently, regardless of how many Nigerian footballers subsequently scored on the world stage.

Tarila later represented the senior national team and was part of Nigeria’s 𝐀𝐅𝐂𝐎𝐍 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟒 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐥 generation in Côte d’Ivoire.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐉𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐘

Away from the football pitch, Tarila enjoys traditional Nigerian dishes, particularly 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐩.

Among his most treasured football memories are the preparations at 𝐁𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐨 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐌𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞, 𝐈𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐧, where our Flying Eagles generation assembled ahead of the historic journey to Mexico.

The camp brought together young footballers from different parts of Nigeria under 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐔𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐳𝐮𝐞 and his technical team.

We trained, competed, learned and developed the understanding required to function as a national team.

Those preparations remain an important part of Tarila’s story, alongside the friendships formed during that period.

𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐂𝐘

Retirement from competitive football did not end Tarila’s involvement in the sport.

He continued working in 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, passing on the knowledge acquired during his playing career.

He serves as 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞, contributing to the development of young players.

His approach emphasizes 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, both on and off the pitch.

These principles reflect his belief that young footballers must develop character alongside their sporting abilities.

His journey, from grassroots football in Ajegunle to international recognition and youth development, offers a meaningful example for aspiring footballers.

𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐎𝐤𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐀 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐩 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥. 𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

His historic goal deserves recognition. So does his contribution to developing future footballers.

To my teammate, 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐎𝐤𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚, your contribution to Nigerian football remains part of our nation’s sporting history.

And whenever we remember that afternoon against Guinea, I can still hear you protesting underneath your celebrating teammates!

Some memories never grow old.

𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐎𝐤𝐨𝐤𝐮

FIFA Legend | Former Nigeria Flying Eagles Vice-Captain | Former Super Eagles International | AFCON Silver Medalist | Football Historian | Football Analyst | Investigative Football Writer | Journalist-at-Large | Founder & CEO, Greater Tomorrow Children’s Fund (GTCF)

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬:

PaulOkokuMediaHub@gmail.com

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧, 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥.