Okonkwo, Iwobi, Ezenwata, Awe families cheer Nigeria to victory in Unity Cup clash v Zimbabwe

Allnigeriasoccer.com can report with certainty that the families of four United Kingdom-based Nigerian players were in attendance at The Valley on Tuesday evening as the Super Eagles opened their Unity Cup title defence with a convincing 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe.

Arthur Okonkwo's mother (pictured wearing glasses), the father of Chelsea striker Chizaram Ezenwata, Alex Iwobi's parents, and Zach Awe's parents alongside his younger sister all witnessed the encounter at SE7 8BL.

Okonkwo, Iwobi, Awe and Ezenwata have all previously been capped by England's Young Lions, although the Wrexham goalkeeper and Fulham midfielder have switched international allegiance to Nigeria.

With the exception of Ezenwata, the aforementioned players are products of Arsenal's renowned Hale End Academy.

Ndubuisi Ezenwata had hoped to see his son represent Nigeria at the 2025 Fifa U20 World Cup, but club commitments prevented the Chelsea youngster from joining the team in Abuja for preparations ahead of the tournament in Chile.

Chuka Iwobi, who featured for Enugu-based Vasco da Gama during his playing career, was seen interacting with Super Eagles supporters, taking photographs with fans both during and after the match.

In goal, Arthur Okonkwo marked his Super Eagles debut with a clean sheet, much to the delight of his mother, although the Wrexham shot-stopper was largely untested over the course of the 90 minutes.

Femi Azeez, who shares the same agent as Okonkwo, proved the match-winner for Nigeria, netting a decisive brace to send the defending champions into the Unity Cup final.