Isaac Promise (2 December 1987 – 2 October 2019) was a Nigerian
footballer. He was the captain of the football team representing
Nigeria which won the silver medal at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in
Beijing. He played professionally for 14 seasons, much of which was spent in
Turkey. He scored a total of 77 club goals during his career.
Career
Club career
As a promising youngster, Promise went on trials with
Nigerian second division side Grays International. Attracting attention from several big name football clubs in Europe, he went on trials with
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
alongside
Mikel John Obi, but found the trials unsuccessful. After being linked with Dutch outfit
Feyenoord Rotterdam
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after it ...
he eventually signed for
Süper Lig club
Gençlerbirliği in a three-year deal in August 2005.
In the
Turkcell Super League 2006-07 season, Promise scored 12 goals. He more than doubled the number of his total goals for Gençlerbirliği. On 15 July 2008, Promise agreed a 4-year deal with
Trabzonspor.
With
Trabzonspor, he scored two goals in 26 matches. Because of his average performance he was loaned out to
Manisaspor for a year. Promise played 27 matches and scored six goals. In the summer of 2010,
Manisaspor signed a contract with him. After scoring 11 goals in 30 matches with his now relegated club
Manisaspor, he signed a 3-year contract with
Antalyaspor.
In February 2015, he signed a six months deal with
Balıkesirspor.
In August 2018, it was announced that Promise would join
United Soccer League expansion side
Austin Bold
Austin Bold FC was an American professional soccer team located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2017, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. In 2021, Austin Bold FC announced it would be moving to Fort Worth, Texas leaving Circ ...
for the 2019 season.
International career
Promise was named as the captain of
the Nigeria under-23 squad for the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
, being held in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. On 13 August 2008 at
Tianjin Olympic Center in
Tianjin, Promise scored Nigeria's first goal against the
United States in the group stage. Nigeria went ahead to win the match 2–1.
Nigeria ended up winning the silver medal after losing 1–0 to Argentina in the final.
Promise first appeared in the
senior team in 2009. He earned 3 caps and scored one goal.
Death
Promise died of a heart attack on 2 October 2019, at age 31.
References
External links
Nigerian Players Patabase*
1987 births
2019 deaths
People from Zaria
Nigerian footballers
Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers of Nigeria
Olympic silver medalists for Nigeria
Pepsi Football Academy players
Olympic medalists in football
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Nigeria international footballers
Nigeria under-20 international footballers
Süper Lig players
Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers
Trabzonspor footballers
Balıkesirspor footballers
Manisaspor footballers
Al-Ahli Saudi FC players
Antalyaspor footballers
Kardemir Karabükspor footballers
Giresunspor footballers
Association football forwards
Saudi Professional League players
Georgia Revolution FC players
Austin Bold FC players
Nigerian expatriate footballers
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Expatriate footballers in Turkey
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
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