Kanu Nwankwo

About Kanu Nwankwo

The whistle blew at the 1996 Olympic Games and Kanu Nwankwo lifted Nigeria to gold. At just twenty years old, the lanky forward had already won a FIFA U-17 World Cup medal. Now he was an Olympic champion too.

Nwankwo Kanu was born on August 1, 1976. He first played for Iwuanyanwu Nationale in Nigeria before European clubs came calling. His speed and technical ability caught the eye of Ajax in the Netherlands.

At Ajax, Kanu flourished. He won three Eredivisie titles with the Dutch giants. The club's attack was built around his movement and finishing. But it was Europe's biggest stage where he would make his mark.

In 1998, Kanu joined Inter Milan. The Italian side had just won the UEFA Cup the year before. Kanu added to that legacy, capturing both a UEFA Cup medal and the prestigious Intercontinental Cup. His performances earned him two African Player of the Year awards during this period.

Arsenal came calling in 1999. Kanu would spend the next six years at Highbury, becoming one of the club's finest ever players. He won the FA Cup three times and appeared in the Premier League 118 times as a substitute—the ninth-most in history. More importantly, he was part of the legendary 'Invincibles' squad that defined the early 2000s. The club later named him among its greatest ever players.

After Arsenal, Kanu played for West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth, finishing his English career with dignity. Few African players have achieved what he did. He won the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup and an Olympic gold medal—a combination almost no one else could claim.

Beyond football, Kanu built another career. He became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and African brand ambassador for StarTimes. He founded Kanu Sports TV, an Internet sports television company. The boy from Nigeria had become one of the game's greatest Africans.