GW’s Ben Ogedegbe competes for Nigerian U-23 squad

ATLANTA (Via George Washington University) – GW men’s soccer’s rising senior Ben Ogedegbe was called up in July to compete and train with the Nigerian U23 squad in Atlanta as the Nigerian team prepared for the upcoming Rio Olympics.

Ogedegbe first caught the attention of Nigerian coach Samson Siasia in 2014 at a camp while still a student-athlete at IUPUI – Ogedegbe transferred to GW for the spring 2016 semester. In July – just two days before reporting to Atlanta – Ogedegbe received the call to join the Nigerian team for a week.

“I was incredibly excited when I found out I would be playing,” said Ogedegbe. “I called my family to give them the news.”

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Ogedegbe joined the Nigerian U23 team for matches against the Atlanta Silverbacks on July 13, and the USL’s Charleston Battery at Silverback Park on July 16. The Leesburg, Virginia, native played 20 minutes in the first contest at center back and excelled under pressure. The July call-up marked Ogedegbe’s first involvement with the Nigerian national team system, and the rising senior trained with the team five times during the call-up.

“Overall my experience was great – even though it was just a week I learned so much about the game from all the coaching staff and players,” said Ogedegbe. “My favorite moment was, hands down, putting on the national team jersey for the first time for the game. It felt absolutely surreal and it’s a moment that I’ll never forget.”