Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has revealed he considered quitting football after losing both parents, saying the grief made him question his future in the sport.
In an emotional interview with ACLSports on Wednesday, Nwabali shared the heartbreaking experience of coping with the loss of his mother, barely two months after losing his father.
“I don’t want to talk about my parents because tomorrow should be crossover night. Yeah, today actually. My mom died around two o’clock today. So, on how I try to keep a lot of things to myself, try to move on, try to be a stronger guy I was,” he said.
Reflecting on the depth of his pain, Nwabali admitted that at times he felt like quitting football altogether.
“Most times I feel like to quit, you know? I feel like to quit because, yeah, you know, mom and dad, but my mom is so dear to me. Really, it’s so painful, man. It’s really so painful to be talking about my mom today, bro,” he said.
He described the challenge of losing both parents at the same time.
“But I feel like it hurts. Yeah, it really hurts. No, I feel like talking a lot, but I feel like talking a lot because I try not to give room for this, but now I’m here. So, it’s not a nice feeling for any soccer player. Let me not talk about soccer player, human being in general, to lose both parents at the same time,” Nwabali added.
PUNCH Online reported that Nwabali lost his father in November 2025. Shortly after his father’s death, the goalkeeper announced the passing of his mother on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2025, sharing the heartbreaking news on social media:
“Rip mom, worst year of my life already,” accompanied by tears and heartbreak emojis.
Despite the immense loss, Nwabali credited his teammates for helping him continue playing.
“So, and I’m standing here playing football. Yeah, it’s true. Yeah, some people move on, some people don’t move on. I could remember I was talking to my captain that I want to leave football. You understand me? But with the help of some of my teammates, I keep going, bro. It really hurts,” he said.
Watch video here:
𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: ‘𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠’– 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐰𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has revealed he considered quitting football after losing both parents, saying the grief made him question his… pic.twitter.com/RemWtXwEjc
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) December 31, 2025
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