“How NFF officials ended my football career” — Crayon recounts

Talented singer, Charles Chibueze Chukwu popularly known as Crayon has revealed how his football career was cut short by corrupt officials from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

The ‘Ijo’ crooner in an interview with Cool FM shared his football career story before he reached stardom.

Crayon opened up about the incident, which had a significant impact on his psychological well-being.

The fast rising Mavin signee explained that he was initially selected to join a national youth team in 2015, but was later unfairly dropped from the team.

He said;
“In 2015, I fell into depression because I couldn’t gain admission into the university like my friends did. They were all having fun at school, while I was left behind in the neighbourhood.”

“It was a boring period for me. I had nothing to do and nowhere to go. Moreover, my football career wasn’t taking off either. I used to play football and was quite good at it. They nicknamed me ‘Coutinho’ in my neighbourhood, after the talented player who represented Liverpool.”

“I aspired to become a professional footballer, but it didn’t work out for me. Football in Nigeria is deeply affected by corruption. While I won’t mention any names to avoid hurting people, I can reveal that these were influential officials within the football community.”

The 22-year-old singer added, “During a screening at the Surulere National Stadium, NFF officials deceived me and replaced me with another individual who had money and connections. That incident left me deeply disappointed and depressed.”

Watch the video below:

Crayon on dealing with depression back in 2015. pic.twitter.com/SK7ArYiHmn

— 🐬 @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) August 24, 2023