Sporting’s Umoh opens up on wearing late father’s name

Sporting Lagos midfielder Victor Umoh

Sporting Lagos midfielder Victor Umoh opened up about the touching tribute behind his decision to wear his father’s name on his jersey for the Nigeria Premier Football League campaign, just hours after enduring a profound personal tragedy.

Better known to football fans as Clifford, the playmaker revealed that dropping his first name was a heartfelt homage to his late father, who was an ardent football lover and his greatest motivator, as well as a nod to his roots on the streets of Nasarawa.

“Decided to change the name to honour my dad,” Umoh said. “From Victor to Clifford, Clifford is also my name, the name my dad normally calls me. So, I changed the name to honour my dad, and also the streets, because where I grew up in Nasarawa, everybody calls me Clifford, everybody knows me as Clifford.”

The emotional weight of the name change became even more poignant given the circumstances under which he adopted it. Umoh revealed that he received the devastating news of his father’s passing right after a training session ahead of a crucial promotion-chasing fixture against Osun United last season, following a phone call from his elder brother.

Overcome with grief, the midfielder retreated to his balcony in solitude, weighing whether to stay back or push forward with the team’s ultimate ambition.

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Displaying incredible mental fortitude, he chose to play through the pain, informing his coach before leading the charge on the pitch.

“I told myself that I still need to play the match, so I went ahead and informed coach Jeff,” he recounted.

“I told him that I lost my dad… Then I told him, like, ‘I’m still going to the Osun game.’ We went there, we won the match, we got promoted. I was the happiest person that day on that pitch.”

Refusing to let the tragedy derail the team’s season goal, Umoh consulted closely with his siblings before finalising his registration details for the top-flight campaign. Now proudly wearing the number 10 jersey and bearing his father’s name in the country’s elite division, the midfield maestro is determined to hit his targets and honour his late father’s legacy on the grandest stage of Nigerian club football.