Atletico Madrid of Spain winger, Ademola Lookman will next month make a symbolic and emotional return to the place of his roots at Charlton Athletic FC of England, Sports247 reports.
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This follows confirmation that the Super Eagles of Nigeria will feature in this year’s Unity Cup at the home ground of Charlton Athletic, the London-based English lower division club Lookman played for from 2013 to 2017.
Lookman is bound to be part of the Super Eagles’ squad that will be at Charlton’s famed Valley Stadium to tango Zimbabwe, India and Jamaica in this year’s edition of the four-nation invitational competition they won last year.
It was with Charlton that the 2024 African Footballer of The Year made his senior debut on November 3rd, 2015, having earlier joined The Addicks’ academy in 2013 from Waterloo, a youth club based in the London Borough of Lambeth.
His scoring record for Charlton’s U18 and U21 teams reflected in the main team, as he got his first goal for the club in a 3-2 loss away to Brighton & Hove Albion on December 5th, 2015 and a brace in their 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers ten days later.
The great form he had with Charlton earned Lookman a four-and-half-year deal at Everton on January 5th, 2017 for an initial £7.5m fee, potentially rising to £11m with add-ons, and his journey into stardom entered the highway of rapid progress.
Memories will come alive once again at The Valley on May 26th for Ademola Olajade Alade Aylola Lookman, who was born to Nigerian parents on October 20th, 1997 in Wandsworth, Greater London.
He attended St Thomas the Apostle College in Nunhead, where he achieved three asterisks As and five other As in his GCSE; all of which all in the distant past, paling into less significance to the impact he is bound to unleash when he returns to his roots.
That impact will expectedly be on May 26th in the colours of Nigeria’s Super Eagles, with whom the boy of yesterday, who is now a man of many laurels, will line out for action against Zimbabwe in the opening match of the 2026 Unity Cup.
Details of Lookman’s impending return to The Valley are provided in a media statement from Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which disclosed that the star’s first senior club will play hosts to what has been tagged a ‘revamped four-nation tournament.’
The statement read in part: “Following the massive success of the 2025 edition, which saw Nigeria crowned champions at Brentford, the 2026 tournament marks a sentimental return to South London.
“The Unity Cup was famously hosted at The Valley in 2004, a landmark event involving Nigeria, Jamaica and The Republic of Ireland that solidified the competition’s reputation for blending elite sport with cultural celebration.
“The tournament kicks off with a high-stakes African heavyweight clash: Nigeria v Zimbabwe. This opening Semi-Final serves as a massive rematch following their intense 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying encounters.
“The second Semi-Final sees Jamaica take on India, a fixture that promises to be as much a spectacle in the stands as it is on the pitch. Fans will be ‘Jam-In’ at The Valley as they witness a vibrant Dancehall v Desi culture clash.”
