Former Jersey FA President Supports Grassroots Football in Nigeria

Former president of the Jersey Football Association, Ricky Weir, wants to boost grassroots football in Nigeria. He is back in the country this month to promote his award-winning memoir and support Walking Football and youth leagues, according to The PUNCH.

Weir, who now has a Nigerian passport, told reporters in Lagos that this trip has three main goals. He wants to promote his book, “Illegitimately Blessed,” support grassroots football, and help develop Walking Football, which he introduced to Nigeria in 2020.

“The biggest thing is that I can come back whenever I want. I don’t have to think about visas or costs anymore. It allows me to embrace the country more, spend time with family, and potentially shift more of my football development work to Nigeria,” Weir said.

The founder of the Jersey 2 Africa 4 Football Foundation continued his grassroots work by attending the opening of the 5Stars Premier League in Abuja. He gave a new Premier League ball to each of the sixteen teams taking part. He also officiated the Walking Football opening league programme at the Eagle Club Pitch in Surulere, Lagos.

“It was gratifying to see how far it has come. There are now league programmes and women’s teams, which is fantastic,” Weir said about the progress in Walking Football since he helped start this slow-paced, non-contact sport in Nigeria six years ago.

Weir was a top striker in his playing days, scoring more than 600 goals in over 1,000 matches before moving to football administration. He was president of the Jersey Football Association for six years and has since started charitable projects that use football to promote social development across Africa.

During his visit, he received an award in Lagos from the Africa Illustrious Awards, organised by My Media Africa. He was honoured with the Award of Excellence and Special Recognition as African Football Ambassador.

Along with his football work, Weir is promoting his memoir. It tells his story of reconnecting with his Nigerian roots after being born in Glasgow to a Scottish mother and a Nigerian father he never met. His father died before he was born, and Weir was adopted and raised in Scotland.

He shared that he waited to search for his biological family out of respect for those who raised him. “I never wanted my adopted parents to feel they were somehow not enough. My real parents were the people who raised me,” Weir said.

That search led him to find out about his father's Nigerian heritage and connect with relatives linked to his family history. This journey is at the heart of “Illegitimately Blessed,” which Weir self-published in September 2024. It was later picked up by a European publisher, Europe Book, and won a literary award in Italy.

“When I finished the book, my goal was simply to complete it, leave something meaningful for my three sons, and hopefully inspire one person. Everything after that has been a bonus,” Weir said.

While football is a big part of the memoir, Weir stressed that it has a wider message beyond the sport. “It covers identity, family, discrimination, resilience, and overcoming challenges. It’s not just a football book,” he said.

After spending fourteen years focusing mainly on charity work in Kenya, Weir thinks his next chapter in Africa might be more about Nigeria, the homeland of the father he never got to meet.