Chijioke Ejiogu (born 22 November 1984) is a Nigerian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring 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 intercepting o ...

, he plays for

Heartland FC 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 (but currently use the new Okigwe Stadium ...

Career

He began his career at Arugo F.C., he then played for Dolphins F.C. and

Julius Berger FC Bridge Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Lagos that was founded in the mid-1970s. As a result of an association with the Julius Berger construction company, the club was known as Julius Berger Football Club until 2010. The cl ...

. He was held in high regard by Dolphins F.C., with some considering him a hero. The players alongside Victor Babayaro (director of sport of Dolphins F.C.) allegedly collected money meant to be part payment of sign on fees as well as three months salary from

Akwa United F.C. Akwa United Football Club is a Nigerian football (soccer), football club based in Uyo, Akwa Ibom. They play in the Nigeria Professional Football League, the first division of Nigerian football. The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium is the clu ...

and then returned to Dolphins F.C. In August 2008, he briefly signed up for

Heartland F.C. 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 (but currently use the new Okigwe Stadium ...

and later left the team and moved to

Enyimba Aba is a city in the southeast of Nigeria and the commercial center of Abia State. Upon the creation of Abia state in 1991, Aba was divided into two local government areas namely; Aba South and Aba North. Aba south is the main city centre and ...

in September that year.He also played for

Sharks F.C. Sharks F.C. is a former Nigerian football club based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. They played in the top division in Nigerian football, the Nigerian Premier League. Their home stadium was Sharks Stadium although they played some of their bi ...

and Ifeanyi Ubah FC. In 2018 he signed for Heartland. He is renowned for his ability to stop

penalty kicks A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

, most memorably at the 2007 Nigerian FA Cup Final between Dolphins F.C. and

Enugu Rangers Rangers International Football Club, commonly known as Enugu Rangers, is a Nigerian professional association football team. They are based in Enugu and play their home games at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. Enugu Rangers are one of the three olde ...

where he stopped 4 penalty kicks at the penalty shoot-outs, also during Enyimba's

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and organi ...

penalty shoot-out in 2010 against

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

AS Vita Association Sportive Vita Club, more commonly known as AS Vita Club, AS V. Club or simply Vita Club, is a Congolese football club based in Kinshasa. History AS Vita Club was founded in 1935 by Honoré Essabe under the name of ''Renaissance'' in ...

where he stopped three penalty kicks. He is a highly decorated player in the

Nigerian Professional Football League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwindl ...

, winning the title once with Dolphins F.C. (2004) and twice with Enyimba (

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and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

). He is also the most decorated player in the Nigerian FA Cup with seven winners' medals, with Julius Berger in 2002, Dolphins F.C. in 2004, 2006 and 2007, Enyimba in 2009 and 2014 and Heartland in 2012. He was part of the Julius Berger side that played in the final of the now defunct

CAF Cup Winners' Cup The African Cup Winners' Cup was a football competition that started in 1975 and merged with the CAF Cup in 2004 to form the CAF Confederation Cup. It was a competition between the winning clubs of domestic cups in CAF-affiliated nations and was ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and was also part of the Dolphins F.C. team that played in the final of the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Honours

Club

Julius Berger * Nigerian FA Cup: 2002 * Nigerian Super Cup: 2002 *

, Runner-up Dolphins *

: 2004 * Nigerian FA Cup: 2004, 2006, 2007 *

, Runner-up Enyimba *

: 2009–10,

* Nigerian FA Cup: 2009, 2014 * Nigerian Super Cup: 2010 Ifeanyi Ubah * NEROS Anambra FA Cup: 2017 Heartland * Nigerian FA Cup: 2012

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ejiogu, Chijioke 1984 births Living people Nigerian men's footballers Nigeria men's international footballers Enyimba F.C. players Heartland F.C. players Dolphin F.C. (Nigeria) players Akwa United F.C. players Bridge F.C. players Footballers from Imo State Men's association football goalkeepers