Abiodun Baruwa (born 16 November 1974) is a Nigerian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Club career

Born in

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

, Baruwa started his career at

Kano Pillars Kano Pillars Football Club is a Nigerian professional football (soccer), football club based in Kano (city), Kano, northwestern Nigeria. They play in the Nigeria Professional Football League, the first-tier division in Nigerian football. They pl ...

. He also had spells with

Iwuanyanwu Nationale Heartland Football Club, founded as Spartans F.C., later known as Iwuanyanwu Nationale from 1985 to 2006, is a Nigerian football club based in Owerri. The team play their home games at Dan Anyiam Stadium (and the Okigwe Stadium as their tempora ...

and Shooting Stars FC, being the first choice goalkeeper during

1996 African Cup of Champions Clubs The 1996 African Cup of Champions Clubs was the 32nd edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region (Africa), the African Cup of Champions Clubs. It determined that year's club champion of association footba ...

where his club was the runner-up after losing to

Zamalek Zamalek ( , ''al zamalek'') is a ''qism'' (ward) within the West District (''hayy gharb'') in the Western Area of Cairo, Egypt. It is an affluent district on a man-made island which is geologically a part of the west bank of the Nile River, wit ...

on penalties. In 1997, Baruwa was bought by Sion, where he was a backup to Fabrice Borer. In the next season, he moved to

Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian professional association football club, based in Graz, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austr ...

only appearing once as a reserve for

Kazimierz Sidorczuk Kazimierz Sidorczuk (born 4 March 1967) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, spending most of his career in Lech Poznań and Austria. He finished his career in Kapfenberger SV, for whom he once scored a goal. ...

. He stayed with the club until 2001 without making any further appearance and being relegated to third-choice after Josef Schicklgruber was appointed the first choice. In January 2003, Baruwa was signed by Barry Town on a short-term deal, winning both

2002–03 Welsh Premier League The 2002–03 Welsh Premier League was the 11th season of the Welsh Premier League since its establishment as the League of Wales in 1992. It began on 16 August 2002 and ended on 2 May 2003. The league was won for the third consecutive season by ...

and

2002–03 Welsh Cup The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

. During his stay, in a match against

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club () was a Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. Founded in 1876, Bangor City have been founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the W ...

, he suffered racial abuse and was confronted by an opposition fan on the pitch. After failing to get a work permit for the 2003–04 season, Baruwa left Barry Town and in October 2003 joined

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

. Also without a work permit, he could not be paid by the

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

club. Unable to oust Tony Roberts from the starting side, Baruwa made a single Conference appearance as a substitute in September 2004, before being released the same month. In the same year, Baruwa was signed by

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

side

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient par ...

, making a single appearance at a 5–2 loss against

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

in a

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

match on 13 November 2004.

International career

Baruwa was a stand-by player for Nigeria under-23 at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

when his team won the gold medal. With the Nigeria national team, he was selected for the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

Age controversy

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

alleged that Baruwa, who played during

qualification, was in fact born on 7 February 1969 as stated in a match program from 1991

Nigerian FA Cup The Nigeria Federation Cup is the main football (soccer), football single-elimination tournament in Nigeria contested by 74 teams, representing the States of Nigeria, 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, FCT of Nigeria. It is the ...

final when Baruwa was a

player. Nigeria faced disqualification from the Olympic Games, but FIFA turned down the Zimbabwe allegation. During his stint at Barry Town, he was cited as a 33-year-old goalkeeper, meaning he was born in 1969.

Honours

Iwuanyanwu Nationale *

Nigerian Premier League The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) (formerly the Nigeria Professional Football League) is the highest level of club football in Nigerian football league system. The Nigerian Premier League has suffered like many others, from the financ ...

: 1993 Shooting Stars *

: 1995 Sturm Graz *

Austrian Football Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

: 1998–99 *

ÖFB-Cup The Austrian Cup (), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for a record 27th time. W ...

: 1998–99 *

Austrian Supercup The Austrian Supercup (German: ÖFB-Supercup) was a football competition held annually from 1986 until 2004 between the winners of the Austrian Football Bundesliga and the Austrian Cup. 19 editions were played during the short history of the com ...

: 1998, 1999 Barry Town *

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...

: 2002–03 *

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

2002–03 Nigeria *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

(stand-by player)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baruwa, Abiodun 1974 births Living people Footballers from Abuja Nigerian men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Nigeria men's international footballers 1998 FIFA World Cup players Swiss Super League players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Cymru Premier players Kano Pillars F.C. players Heartland F.C. players Shooting Stars S.C. players FC Sion players SK Sturm Graz players Barry Town United F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Hornchurch F.C. players Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Wales Expatriate men's footballers in Wales Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Yoruba sportspeople