“I Could’ve Been A Footballer, I Used To Play For Arsenal” – Naira Marley Reveals

Naira Marley, a well-known Nigerian singer, Azeez Adeshina Fashola, has discussed how he would have chosen football as a career.

He claims that while growing up in London, England, he played for the Arsenal youth, Millwall, and Charlton teams.

Naira Marley said the environment where he grew up caused him to adopt the Nigerian style when he could back home. He was talking about his childhood in the UK before returning home.

The singer mentioned how his father influenced his Yoruba language as a growing child in an interview with Cool FM Nigeria in Lagos.

He said, “What made it easy for me (to blend with Nigerian street music) is that I grew up in South-East London, Peckham to be precise. That is like small Lagos, you know what I mean?

“And all my life in England, my dad banned speaking English in the house. So, we had to speak Yoruba and all these Yoruba stuff. I still listen to Fuji. We eat African foods. Even though I’m in England, it was like I’m still in Nigeria. Yeah, it was easy for me. When I came back (to Nigeria), people didn’t really know I came from London.

“I could have been a footballer too, i used to play for Arsenal Youth, Millwall, Charlton.”