He plays for an American football team that shares a similar name with his home country’s national football team.
While American football may not be as popular, Nigerian-born Moro (Morotoluwa) Ojomo made his home country proud as he starred in Philadelphia Eagles’ dominant 40-22 win over Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night to win the Super Bowl LIX.
It was a first-career Super Bowl ring for the 23-year-old who was born in Lagos, Nigeria, before his family moved to California in 2009.
At the end of the match at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Ojomo, originally a seventh-round pick of the Eagles in the 2023 NFL Draft, excitedly wrapped himself with the Nigerian flag.
The defensive tackle finished the game with two total tackles and a tackle for loss. He was praised for being part of a Philadelphia defence that stifled Patrick Mahomes and held the Chiefs scoreless for nearly three full quarters.
According to Sports Illustrated, the Nigerian-born American played in eight games during his rookie season with the Eagles, posting three total tackles. However, he took a second-year leap in 2024, finishing the regular season with 20 total tackles. Also, Ojomo tallied 93 total tackles, five sacks and two pass breakups during his four years at Texas Longhorns.
Having lost the Super Bowl two years ago to the same opponent, the Eagles got a sweet revenge over the Chiefs this time to deny the latter of a three-peat success (Chiefs had defended their title against San Fransisco 49ers).
Sunday’s match was a fitting finale for the newly crowned Nigerian-born Super Bowl champion for the 2024-25 NFL season.
With his first Super Bowl ring, Ojomo joins the league of Nigerian-born athletes to have won the title.
