April 01, (THEWILL) – Former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme, has found a new passion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a martial art discipline, years after retiring from football due to leukemia.
Ikeme had to call time on his professional football career at the age of 29 after battling with the disease. The former Wolverhampton Wanderers man was a great goalkeeper for Nigeria, making 10 appearances for the national team after taking over from Vincent Enyeama.
Ikeme revealed that he stumbled upon a sign advertising a Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy in Sutton Coldfield while filling up his car at a petrol station near his home. He then decided to sign up for a taster session and eventually fell in love with the sport. His interest in martial arts paid off as he became a British open-age champion and won a bronze medal at the European Championships in Rome last year.
“Competition really wasn’t in my mind at the start. I just wanted to learn an art, and I found it all a really humbling experience, to be honest. And it’s about realising that nothing else matters when you are on the mat as it’s just two people concentrating on trying to get the better out of each other,” Ikeme said.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
