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 le ...

who played as a

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 ...

Club career

Born in

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

, Baruwa started his career at

Kano Pillars Kano Pillars Football Club is a Nigerian professional football club based in Kano, North Western part of Nigeria. They play in the lower division in Nigerian football, the Nigeria National League. Their home stadium is Sani Abacha Stadium. Kano ...

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

and

Shooting Stars FC Shooting Stars Sports Club (often nicknamed 3SC or ''Oluyole Warriors'') is a Nigerian football club based in Ibadan. History The club was one of the founders of the Nigerian Premier League in 1972, when they were called ''WNDC Ibadan'' (Wester ...

, 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 footbal ...

where his club was runner-up after losing to

Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east an ...

on penalties. In 1997, Baruwa was bought by

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Plac ...

, where he was a backup to

Fabrice Borer Fabrice Borer (born 24 December 1971) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Born in Delémont, Borer played for SR Delémont, FC Lausanne-Sport, FC Sion and Grasshopper Club Zürich. He also played three ti ...

. In the next season, he moved to Sturm Graz only appearing once as a reserve for

Kazimierz Sidorczuk Kazimierz Sidorczuk (born March 4, 1967 in Debno) is a former Polish footballer (goalkeeper) playing most of the career in Lech Poznań. He also played for Sturm Graz. He finished his career in Kapfenberger SV, with 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 Josef Schicklgruber (born July 21, 1967 in Ansfelden) is an Austrian retired footballer who last played for FC Pasching FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * F ...

was appointed the first choice. In January 2003, Baruwa was signed by

Barry Town Barry Town United Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Y Barri) is a semi-professional association football team based in Barry, Wales. They are known for representing Wales in Europe as winners of the Cymru Premier and Welsh Cup during ...

on a short-term deal, winning both 2002–03 Welsh Premier League 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 b ...

. During his stay, in a match against

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

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

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...

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

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

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 in the same month. In the same year, Baruwa was signed by

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

side

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of 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 ...

, 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 North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

in a

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

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 football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

Age controversy

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

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 final when Baruwa was a

player. Nigeria faced disqualification from the Olympic Games, but FIFA turned down the Zimbabwe allegation. During his stint at

, he was cited as a 33-year-old goalkeeper, meaning he was born in 1969.

Honours

Iwuanyanwu Nationale *

Nigerian Premier 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 ...

: 1993 Shooting Stars *

: 1995 Sturm Graz *

Austrian Football Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...

: 1998–99 *

ÖFB-Cup The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-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 27th t ...

: 1998–99 *

Austrian Supercup The Austrian Supercup (German: ÖFB-Supercup) was a Association football, 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 sho ...

: 1998, 1999 Barry Town * Welsh Premier League: 2002–03 *

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), 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 ...

2002–03 Nigeria *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

(stand-by player)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baruwa, Abiodun 1974 births Living people People from Abuja Nigerian footballers Association football goalkeepers Nigeria 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 footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate footballers in Austria Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Wales Expatriate footballers in Wales Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Yoruba sportspeople