Leicester City of England duo, Kelechi ‘Kels’ Iheanacho and Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi are both relishing the delight of winning this year’s English FA Cup, even as the president of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Melvin Amaju Pinnick joined their celebrations with a heartwarming message from Abuja.
Megasportsarena.com reports that, in the wake of Iheanacho and Ndidi becoming the latest Nigerian players to win the prestigious cup, following their club’s 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London, Pinnick was quick to send a congratulatory message to the duo and their club.
Ndidi and Iheanacho both featured in Saturday’s final and celebrated forwards with Nigeria’s flag flowing round their shoulders, as they joined a list of only seven other Nigerian players to have lifted England’s most glamorous diadem.
It was excitement galore, as Ndidi and Iheanacho became only the second pair of Nigerians to cinch the FA Cup in England, after Nwankwo Kanu and John Chukwudi Utaka sealed an earlier triumph with Portsmouth in 2008, after beating Cardiff City in the final.
Before then, Daniel Amokachi won it with Everton in 1995, Celestine Babayaro with Chelsea in 2000, Kanu with Arsenal in 2002 and 2003 and John Mikel Obi with Chelsea in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012, while Alex Iwobi got it with Arsenal in 2017 and Victor Moses with Chelsea in 2018.
In reaction, Pinnick, who is also a FIFA Council Member, sent a message of congratulations to the Super Eagles’ duo, while pointing out how happy he was seeing The Foxes gain the trophy at the expense of the better fancied and London-based Chelsea in Saturday’s final.
Pinnick stated “I am very happy for both Ndidi and Iheanacho. They worked very hard for Leicester City throughout the campaign and themselves and the Club deserve the honour.
“I believe this triumph will serve as a major psychological boost for the two players ahead of our friendly games this summer and FIFA World Cup qualifiers starting in September.
“I am also very happy seeing the two players celebrating with the Nigerian flag at the end of it all. That was awesome.”
Similar relish was expressed by Iheanacho and Ndidi, after The Foxes became the 44th different team to win the oldest football competition in the world, courtesy of Youri Tielemans’ second-half wonder strike from distance.
Leicester will face Chelsea again in the English Premier League on Tuesday and victory in that game would secure for Ndidi, Iheanacho and their pals a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League potentially at the expense of The Blues.
That would be additional celebration for Ndidi and Iheanacho, who helped Leicester see off John Mikel Obi’s Stoke City as well as Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester United and Southampton to reach the FA Cup final and eventually get their first conquest of the competition, after losing four previous attempts.
Ndidi took to social media right after and, while revealing that Saturday’s final coincided with the birthday of his daughter, he posted: “Perfect birthday gift for my daughter 😭❤️ What a feeling having to see the fans again Thank you everyone 🦊💙;” and Iheanacho added: “OLUOMACHUKWU Champions 🏆🥇@LCFC 💙 E go choke for Naija 🇳🇬🇳🇬.“
