Chika Wali

Chika Wali
Personal information
Full name	Chika Wali
Date of birth	10 August 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth	River State, Nigeria
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Senior career*
Years	Team
	Pune
	United SC
2011–2013	Pune
2013–2014	Salgaocar
2014– 2014	Tuff Laxmi Prasad
2014–2015	Mumbai
2015–2016	Dempo
2016–2019	Ozone FC
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Chika Wali is a Nigerian football player who last played as a centre back for Ozone in the I-League 2nd Division.^[1]

Career

Early career

From the grounds of River State in Nigeria to Pune, this solidly built Nigerian has come some distance in every sense of the phrase. Chika started playing the game when he was eight beginning with school games and all school tournaments. He was then picked to play for his state where he used to play as a defensive midfielder. Incidentally, Chika, in his early days wanted to be a striker – he loved scoring goals – but a coach said that he would go much further in the game if he played back considering his height and physique. Later a scout spotted him and got him a contract to play for a club in the neighboring country of Benin, a two hours drive from Chika's place in Nigeria. He spent a season there – his first as a professional in the game.

Pune

He came to India as a teenager on the invitation of Pune after a close friend of Chika introduced him to Nigel Empson, a manager in India, who then brought him to the notice of Pune FC leading to his present contract. This is his sixth year in India as a pro.

Chika has been a key part of the PFC team which won promotion to the I-League and has gone on to establish itself as a major force in Indian football, finishing second in the I-League in season 2012–13. Hugely popular with the fans and his team-mates, Chika has shown commendable loyalty to PFC. Clean living and dedicated Chika is a player with the character and dedication to do extremely well in the game

Ozone FC

On 26 October 2017 Ozone announced the signing of chicka wali for their upcoming I-League 2nd Division campaign. He made his debut for the club in their first group stage match of 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division against Kenkre.^[2] However, the club failed to progress to the final round of the league and finished third in their group.^[3]

References

^ "Chika Wali joins Ozone FC Bengaluru". ozonefcbengaluru.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
^ Cyriac, Biju Babu (21 January 2017). "Ozone squander lead to go down to Kenkre". The Times of India. Bengaluru. TNN. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
^ "2nd Division I-League : Ozone FC Fail To Qualify For Final Round; Neroca May Too". Feverpitch. 25 February 2017. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2017.

External links

[1] "Chika Wali joins Ozone FC Bengaluru". ozonefcbengaluru.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.

[2] Cyriac, Biju Babu (21 January 2017). "Ozone squander lead to go down to Kenkre". The Times of India. Bengaluru. TNN. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2018.

[3] "2nd Division I-League : Ozone FC Fail To Qualify For Final Round; Neroca May Too". Feverpitch. 25 February 2017. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2017.

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