Chidozie Awaziem

Chidozie Awaziem
Awaziem with Nigeria in 2017
Personal information
Full name Chidozie Collins Awaziem[1]
Date of birth (1997-01-01) 1 January 1997[2]
Place of birth Enugu, Nigeria[2]
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Konyaspor
Number 15
Youth career
2011–2014 El-Kanemi Warriors
2014–2015 Porto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2019 Porto B 62 (2)
2016–2021 Porto 10 (0)
2017–2018 → Nantes (loan) 22 (1)
2019 → Çaykur Rizespor (loan) 16 (0)
2019–2020 → Leganés (loan) 26 (0)
2020–2021 → Boavista (loan) 27 (0)
2021–2024 Boavista 27 (0)
2021–2022 → Alanyaspor (loan) 18 (1)
2022–2023 → Hajduk Split (loan) 28 (5)
2024 FC Cincinnati 7 (0)
2025 Colorado Rapids 20 (0)
2025–2026 Nantes 27 (1)
2026– Konyaspor 0 (0)
International career‡
2017– Nigeria 40 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Nigeria
Africa Cup of Nations
Runner-up2023 Ivory Coast
Third place2019 Egypt
Third place2025 Morocco
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 08:10, 3 August 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 18:41, 17 January 2026 (UTC)

Chidozie Collins Awaziem MON // ⓘ(born 1 January 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Konyaspor and the Nigeria national team.

Club career

Porto

Born in Enugu, Awaziem joined FC Porto from Portugal in 2014, where he spent his last year as a junior and won the corresponding league title.[3] His senior debut was made with the B team in the Segunda Liga.[4]

On 27 January 2016, aged 19, Awaziem appeared in his first competitive game with the main squad, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 away loss against C.D. Feirense in the Taça da Liga.[5][6] His maiden appearance in the Primeira Liga took place on 12 February, as he again started in a 2–1 win at S.L. Benfica due to an injury crisis to the defensive sector.[7][8]

Awaziem was loaned to French club FC Nantes for the 2017–18 season.[9] His first match in Ligue 1 took place on 6 August 2017, when he came on as a 74th-minute substitute in a 3–0 defeat away to Lille OSC.[10]

In January 2019, Awaziem joined Çaykur Rizespor on loan until the end of the campaign.[11] On 15 August, in the same situation, he moved to CD Leganés.[12]

Boavista

Still owned by Porto, Awaziem signed a temporary deal with Boavista F.C. – also in Portugal and the city of Porto – ahead of 2020–21, with the obligation of a permanent four-year contract on 30 June 2021.[13] He returned to the Turkish Süper Lig on 8 September that year, being loaned to Alanyaspor.[14]

On 1 August 2022, Awaziem was loaned to HNK Hajduk Split with an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season.[15] During his tenure, he scored a career-best five goals and also won the Croatian Football Cup.[16]

FC Cincinnati

Awaziem joined Major League Soccer side FC Cincinnati on 25 July 2024, on a two-year contract with the possibility of an extension through 2027.[17] He totalled 14 appearances during his spell at TQL Stadium, recording three assists.[18]

Later career

On 9 December 2024, Awaziem signed a one-year deal with Colorado Rapids, extendable until the end of the 2027 season.[19] He returned to Nantes in summer 2025, on a three-year contract.[20]

Awaziem went back to the Turkish top division on 29 July 2026, joining Konyaspor for €1 million.[21]

International career

Aged 19, Awaziem was called up by Nigeria for friendlies against Mali and Luxembourg, on 27 and 31 May 2016.[22] He made his senior debut on 1 June 2017, starting in a 3–0 win over Togo in Paris in another exhibition game.[23]

Awaziem was included in Gernot Rohr's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia,[24] being an unused player as the tournament ended in group stage exit. He was also picked for the 2019,[25] 2021,[26] 2023[27] and 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.[28]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 17 May 2026[29][2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other[c] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Porto B 2015–16 LigaPro 242————242
2016–17 LigaPro 350————350
2018–19 LigaPro 30————30
Total 622————622
Porto 2015–16 Primeira Liga 1002110——131
2018–19 Primeira Liga 0000101[d]0—20
Total 100212010—151
Nantes (loan) 2017–18 Ligue 1 221—10——231
Çaykur Rizespor (loan) 2018–19 Süper Lig 16000———160
Leganés (loan) 2019–20 La Liga 26030———290
Boavista (loan) 2020–21 Primeira Liga 27020———290
Boavista 2021–22 Primeira Liga 3000—00—30
2023–24 Primeira Liga 2402010——270
Total 5404010——590
Alanyaspor (loan) 2021–22 Süper Lig 18140———221
Hajduk Split (loan) 2022–23 Croatian Football League 28540—4[e]0—365
FC Cincinnati 2024 Major League Soccer 70———7[f]0140
Colorado Rapids 2025 Major League Soccer 200——2[g]0—220
Nantes 2025–26 Ligue 1 27100———271
Career total 2901017140707032511
  1. ↑ Appearances in Taça de Portugal, Copa del Rey, Turkish Cup, Croatian Football Cup and U.S. Open Cup
  2. ↑ Appearances in Taça da Liga, Coupe de la Ligue and Leagues Cup
  3. ↑ Appearances in MLS Cup playoffs
  4. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Champions League
  5. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  6. ↑ Four appearances in Leagues Cup, three appearances in MLS Cup playoffs
  7. ↑ Appearances in CONCACAF Champions Cup

International

As of match played 17 January 2026[30]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Nigeria 20172[a]0
201831
2019120
202020
202170
202220
202310
202440
202551
202620
Total402
  1. ↑ Awaziem also appeared in one match against Togo in 2017, however Nigeria made nine substitutions during this match, and therefore it is not recognised as an official match by FIFA.
As of match played 16 December 2025
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Awaziem goal.[30]
List of international goals scored by Chidozie Awaziem
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.8 September 2018Stade Linité, Victoria, Seychelles Seychelles2–03–02019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.16 December 2025Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Egypt1–11–2Friendly

Honours

Porto B

Porto

Hajduk

Nigeria

Orders

References

  1. 1 2 "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Chidozie Awaziem at WorldFootball.net
  3. ↑ "Dragões são campeões nacionais de Sub-19" [Dragons are Under-19 national champions] (in Portuguese). Porto Canal. 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  4. ↑ "Chidozie: o menino lançado às feras num Clássico faz 22 anos" [Chidozie: the kid thrown to the wolves in a Classic turns 22] (in Portuguese). FC Porto. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "Eight reserves called for the match against Feirense". FC Porto. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Pires, Sérgio (27 January 2016). "TL: Feirense-FC Porto, 2–0 (crónica)" [LC: Feirense-FC Porto, 2–0 (match report)] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Chidozie e Indi são os únicos centrais para a Luz" [Chidozie and Indi are the only stoppers for the Luz]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 11 February 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Benfica 1–2 FC Porto". ESPN FC. 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on 14 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Nigerian Awaziem joins Nantes". ESPN. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  10. ↑ Vadeevaloo, Teddy (6 August 2017). "Ce qu'il faut retenir" [These were the highlights]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  11. ↑ "Chidozie Collins Awaziem Çaykur Rizespor'da" [Chidozie Collins Awaziem to Çaykur Rizespor] (in Turkish). Çaykur Rizespor. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  12. ↑ Martín, Javier (15 August 2019). "El Leganés hace oficial la cesión de Awaziem para blindar su zaga" [Leganés make Awaziem loan official to shield back sector]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  13. ↑ "Boavista garante Chidozie junto do FC Porto" [Boavista confirm Chidozie at FC Porto]. Record (in Portuguese). 5 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  14. ↑ "OFICIAL: Boavista empresta Chidozie ao Alanyaspor" [OFFICIAL: Boavista loan Chidozie to Alanyaspor] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  15. ↑ "Dobro došao: Chidozie Awaziem novi je stoper Hajduka!" [Welcome: Chidozie Awaziem is Hajduk's new stopper!] (in Croatian). Hajduk Split. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  16. 1 2 Casaca, Manuel (10 June 2023). "Hajduk faz esforço para ter Chidozie" [Hajduk make a run for Chidozie]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  17. ↑ Sigal, Jonathan (25 July 2024). "FC Cincinnati acquire defender Chidozie Awaziem from Boavista". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  18. ↑ "FC Cincinnati acquire $1 million in GAM from Colorado Rapids". FC Cincinnati. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  19. ↑ "Colorado Rapids acquire Chidozie Awaziem and Ian Murphy from FC Cincinnati". Colorado Rapids. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  20. ↑ "Official: Nantes sign Super Eagles Awaziem after Simon exit". Sports Market International. 23 July 2025. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  21. ↑ Godwin, Emmanuel (29 July 2026). "Chidozie Awaziem leaves Nantes to join Konyaspor in €1m transfer". Soft Football. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "Yusuf invites 26 players for Mali, Luxembourg". Nigeria Football Federation. 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  23. ↑ Okpara, Christian (2 June 2017). "Musa fires brace as Eagles hammer Togo 3–0". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  24. ↑ Udoh, Colin (3 June 2018). "Super Eagles drop Aina, Agu from World Cup squad". ESPN. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  25. ↑ "Nigeria: Super Eagles' team list for Afcon 2019". AllAfrica. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  26. ↑ Oludare, Shina (17 January 2022). "Afcon 2021 squads: Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon & every official tournament squad list". Goal. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  27. ↑ "Afcon 2023: Squads for tournament including Ghana, Nigeria and Egypt". BBC Sport. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  28. ↑ "Nigeria name star-packed AFCON squad as Osimhen and Lookman lead Super Eagles challenge". Confederation of African Football. 11 December 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  29. ↑ Chidozie Awaziem at Soccerway
  30. 1 2 Chidozie Awaziem at National-Football-Teams.com
  31. ↑ "FC Porto B é Campeão da II Liga" [FC Porto B are II League champions] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  32. ↑ "FC Porto conquista Supertaça pela 21.ª vez" [FC Porto conquer Supercup for the 21st time] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  33. ↑ Stevens, Rob (11 February 2024). "Nigeria 1–2 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  34. ↑ Stevens, Rob (17 January 2026). "Afcon 2025: Egypt 0–0 Nigeria (2–4 pens) – Super Eagles finish third". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  35. ↑ Booty, Natasha (13 February 2024). "Afcon: Ivory Coast and Nigeria players get cash, villas and honours". BBC News. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  36. ↑ "Tinubu gifts Eagles lands, houses, national honours after AFCON". The Punch. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
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