Waidi Akanni

Waidi Akanni, also known as Waheed Akanni, (born 20 June 1968) is a former Nigerian football defender and former head of the Lagos State Football Association.^[1]

Personal information
Full name	Waidi Akanni
Date of birth	(1968-06-20) 20 June 1968 (age 57)
Place of birth	Surulere, Lagos State, Nigeria
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1980	NAOC FC
1981–1982	KODA FC
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1987–1989	Howard University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1983–1985	NEPA Lagos
1985–1986	Flash Flamingoes
1990	Boston Bolts
?	Maryland FC
International career
1984–1985	Nigeria U20	??
1986–1989	Nigeria	??
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 July 2009

Career

Born in Surulere, Lagos State, Akanni began playing football for local side NEPA Lagos in 1983.^[2] He joined another local side, Flash Flamingoes, in 1985.

In 1988, Akanni attended Howard University in the United States, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering. He played for the university's soccer team and was the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship runner-up and the team's leading scorer with sixteen goals.^[3] He was also selected to the All-American first team. While in the United States, he also played for Boston Bolts and Maryland FC.^[2]

Akanni played for the Nigeria national under-20 football team that won the bronze medal at the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship finals in the Soviet Union. He would also play for the senior Nigeria national football team, appearing in a 1988 African Cup of Nations qualifying match against Sierra Leone^[4] and a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Cameroon.^[5]