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Pulse Sports have revealed the list of the most-followed Nigerian athletes on social media in 2023 with only one female making the cut.
Nigerian athletes have witnessed a splendid rise in popularity over the years.
These talented sportsmen and women have also attained massive success in their respective fields.
To this effect, it should come as no surprise that their social media following numbers have increased due to their impressive achievements.
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09:37 - 03.10.2023
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Across a variety of fields in sports from Football to Basketball, Athletics, and even MMA and Combat Sports, Nigerians have made a name for themselves as records continue to be broken, while new ones are set.
In this article, Pulse Sports will reveal the most-followed Nigerian Athletes in 2023 via research based on the sum total of their social media following.
REVEALED: Top 10 Most Followed Nigerian Athletes in 2023
This influential list is mostly dominated by footballers of the Nigerian National Team, with some UFC superstars also headlining the list.
However, there is only room for one Nigerian female athlete, as the men lead the way in the social butterfly list.
Below is a list of the most followed Nigerian Athletes in 2023.
10, Asisat Oshoala - 2.2 million followers
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Age: 29 years old (as of October 2023)
Place of Birth: Lagos, Nigeria
Sport: Football
Category: Most Followed/Richest Nigerian Female Footballers
Team: FC Barcelona Femeni
Instagram: 1M followers | X: 432.9K followers | Facebook: 287K followers | TikTok: 432.9K followers
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Asisat Oshoala is arguably the most influential Nigerian female footballer of her generation.
‘Agba Baller’ is a five-time winner of the African women’s player of the year award and has attained massive success at both club and international level.
Oshoala is the only female on this list and understandably so, as she has become the blueprint for young aspiring female footballers not just in Nigeria, but also in Africa.
Pulse Sports reported that Oshoala became the first Nigerian female athlete to reach the 1 million mark on Instagram, and she is the second most-followed female athlete in Africa, behind Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur.
Oshoala is currently the most followed Nigerian athlete (both male and female) on TikTok.
As of 2023, Oshoala is also one of the richest female footballers in Nigeria and one of the most followed Nigerian athletes in the world.
10, Odion Ighalo - 2.2 million followers
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Age: 34 years old (as of October 2023)
Place of Birth: Lagos, Nigeria
Sport: Football
Category: Most Followed/ Richest Nigerian Footballers
Team: Al-Wehda
Instagram: 1.3M followers | X: 930.9K followers | Facebook: 36K followers | TikTok: None
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Odion Jude Ighalo Ighalo is next up on the list.
For majority of his career, Ighalo is one of the few Nigerian footballers who have commanded incredible wages having played for clubs like Shanghai SIPG, Manchester United, Al Hilal, and now Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League.
Ighalo is also one of the richest Nigerian footballers in 2023 and one of the most active footballers on social media.
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9, Ahmed Musa - 2.6 million
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Age: 31 years old (as of October 2023)
Place of Birth: Jos, Nigeria
Sport: Football
Category: Most Followed/ Richest Nigerian Footballers
Team: Sivasspor
Instagram: 1.5M followers | X: 327.1K followers | Facebook: 397K followers | TikTok: 444.2K followers
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Super Eagles legend Ahmed Musa is no stranger to fans of Nigerian football.
Musa has had iconic moments for the Nigerian national team on the global stage having scored in back to back FIFA World Cups for the three-time African champions.
Musa, who currently captains the Super Eagles team is in fact the most followed male Nigerian footballer on TikTok.
He is also one of the richest Nigerian footballers of all time, and one of the most followed Nigerian athletes in 2023.
8, Samuel Chukwueze - 2.7 million followers
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Age: 24 years old (as of October 2023)
Place of Birth: Abia, Nigeria
Sport: Football
Category: Most Followed/ Highest Paid Nigerian Footballers
Team: AC Milan
Instagram: 1.4M followers | X: 95.8K followers | Facebook: 1M followers | TikTok: 231.2K followers
AC Milan’s new boy Samuel Chukwueze takes the no.8 position.
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The 24-year-old talented winger sealed a big-money move to the Italian club in the summer transfer window and saw a massive boost in his social media following especially on Instagram.
Chukwueze’s switch to Milan earned him a whole new crop of fans, although, the Abia state-born attacker has endured a slow start to life at his new club.
As of 2023, he is one of the highest-paid Nigerian footballers and one of the most followed Nigerian athletes.
7, Mikel Obi - 3.1 million followers
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Age: 36 years old (as of October 2023)
Place of Birth: Jos, Nigeria
Sport: Football (Retired)
Category: Most Followed/ Richest Nigerian Footballers
Team: None
Instagram: 2.6M followers | X: 201.2K followers | Facebook: 300K followers | TikTok: None
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John Mikel Obi is no doubt a hero for the Super Eagles of Nigeria team.
Now retired, the 36-year-old was considered as one of the most talented midfielders to ever put on the Green and White stripe.
Mikel Obi is also a legend for Chelsea FC, with whom he attained massive success as a player winning nearly every single trophy at club level.
As of 2023, Pulse Sports named Mikel Obi the richest Nigerian footballer and one of the most followed Nigerian athletes in the world.
6, Alex Iwobi - 3.7 million followers
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Age: 27 years old (as of October 2023)
Place of Birth: Lagos, Nigeria
Sports: Football
Category: Most Followed/ Highest Paid Nigerian Footballers
Team: Fulham F.C
Instagram: 1.3M followers | X: 896.5K followers | Facebook: 1.5M followers | TikTok: 99.1K followers
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Since Alex Iwobi made his debut for the Super Eagles in October 2015, the Fulham midfielder has become a mainstay for the Nigeria national team.
Iwobi is one of the most-followed Nigerian footballers on Instagram and one of the highest paid Nigerian footballers in 2023.
He was named the most Stylish Nigerian footballer in 2022 by Pulse Sports and was among the Top 5 most stylish Nigerian footballers of the 2022-23 season.
Boasting nearly 4 million in combined followership amongst major social media platforms, Alex Iwobi is one of the most followed Nigerian athletes in 2023.
5, Victor Osimhen - 4.1 million followers
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Age: 24 years old (as of October 2023)
Place of Birth: Lagos, Nigeria
Sports: Football
Category: Most Followed/ Highest Paid Nigerian Footballers
Team: Napoli SSC
Instagram: 3.1M followers | X: 882K followers | Facebook: 142K followers | TikTok: None
Victor Osimhen’s rise in football continues to bring joy to fans of Nigerian football.
The prolific striker, widely regarded as one of the best in the world is already a Napoli hero at just 24 years of age, having helped his team win the Scudetto in the 2022-23 campaign.
Already touted for a mega move to one of Europe’s elite clubs, Osimhen is the second most-followed Nigerian footballer on Instagram.
The former Lille and Wolfsburg striker has remained a subject of transfer speculation for a while, and could reportedly find his way out of Napoli soon, following the resolution of a TikTok saga that really upset the Super Eagles star.
Pulse Sports recently reported that Osimhen crossed the 3 million followers mark on Instagram.
He has been known to be very active on his socials and is already a household name in Nigeria.
4, Henry Onyekuru - 4.4 million followers
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Age: 26 years old (as of October 2023)
Place of Birth: Lagos, Nigeria
Sport: Footballer
Category: Most Followed
Team: Al-Fahya
Instagram: 4.1M followers | X: 220.3K followers | Facebook: 39K followers | TikTok: 41.8K followers
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Interestingly, over the last three years, Henry Onyekuru has been the Instagram King of Nigerian footballers.
Onyekuru currently boasts over 4 million followers on Instagram, having travelled far and wide during his career.
Currently playing for Saudi Pro League club Al-Fahya, Onyekuru’s enormous Instagram following has propelled to rank high in the list of most followed Nigerian athletes in 2023.
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3, Kamaru Usman - 5.6 million followers
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Age: 36 years old (as of October 2023)
Place of Birth: Edo, Nigeria
Sports: Mixed Martial Arts
Category: Most Followed
Team: UFC
Instagram: 3.6M followers | X: 999.9K followers | Facebook: 1M followers | TikTok: 29.2K followers
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The Nigerian Nightmare and former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is the third most followed Nigerian athlete in 2023.
Usman who was born in Auchi, Edo State is the son of a former military officer.
However, Usman moved with his family to the U.S., when he was eight years old.
Since debuting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2015, Kamaru Usman has seen his social media numbers increase significantly over the years.
He has nearly 1 million followers on the X platform and has gone toe-to-toe with some of the baddest fighters in the UFC including Sean Strickland, Leon Edwards, Jorge Masvidal, amongst others.
As of 2023, Kamaru Usman is one of the most followed Nigerian athletes in the world.
2, Victor Moses - 5.9 million followers
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Age: 32 years old (as of October 2023)
Place of Birth: Lagos, Nigeria
Sports: Football
Category: Most Followed/ Richest Nigerian Footballers
Team: Spartak Moscow
Instagram: 1.1M followers | X: 1.1M followers | Facebook: 3.7M followers | TikTok: None
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As of 2023, Victor Moses is undisputedly the most-followed Nigerian footballer on social media.
The former Super Eagles star is also one of the most-followed Nigerian athletes in the world.
Moses has attained massive success at club level having played for clubs like Chelsea, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Fenerbahce, amongst others.
The Spartak Moscow winger was part of the Super Eagles team that won the AFCON in 2013 - the team’s last major continental trophy.
Considered a legend by some, Moses followership on social media has witnessed steady growth.
He is the most-followed Nigerian athlete (both male and female) on Facebook and the most-followed Nigerian footballer on the X platform.
Victor Moses has also been named amongst the richest Nigerian footballers in 2023.
1, Israel Adesanya - 14 million followers
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Age: 34 years old (as of October 2023)
Place of Birth: Lagos, Nigeria
Sports: Mixed Martial Arts
Category: Most Followed
Team: UFC
Instagram: 8.4M followers | X: 1.7M followers | Facebook: 2.2M followers | TikTok: 1M followers
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Israel Adesanya holds down the no.1 spot as the most-followed Nigerian athlete in 2023.
Adesanya boasts a whopping total followership of more than 14 million across major social media platforms.
Born as Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Odunayo Oluwafemu Owolabi Adesanya, the MMA superstar is one of the biggest names in the entire UFC division.
Adesanya was born in Lagos, and is the eldest of five children.
In 1999, he and his family relocated to Ghana for 10 months, before his parents decided to settle in Rotorua, New Zealand when he was 10 years old.
Currently, Adesanya is the highest-paid active fighter in the UFC division, having headlined several PPVs in recent years.
As at September 2013, he ranked #1 in the UFC Middleweight rankings and #9 in the UFC Men’s pound-for-pound rankings.
The former UFC Middleweight champion is the most-followed Nigerian athlete (both male and female) on Instagram with over 8.4 million followers.
He is also the most-followed Nigerian athlete on the X platform with over 1.7 million followers.
Interestingly, the Last Stylebender is reportedly one of the most Googled UFC fighters in the world, and despite his controversial nature, Adesanya remains one of the biggest pulls of the UFC in the modern era.
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