By: Oma Akatugba
Nigerian footballer, Ezekiel Henty has joined the growing list of African celebrities who are giving back to society.
The bulky no 9 who plays for Videoton FC in the Hungarian top flight told omasports in his home in Budapest: “I see on social media regularly all kind of interesting videos of young people in Africa, who do wonderful things, in sports, music and general art and like we all know, there are not a lot of opportunities for these young people to showcase their talents for the world to see, hence my decision to start the Henty hentysportsfoundation.org in other to give these young talents the platform to be seen.”
The Henty sports foundation as the foundation is known will not only focus on sports but music, art and everything that has to do with talent. The foundation’s website is www.hentysportsfoundation.org.
Henty Ezekiel already has a football league he sponsors in Lagos. The league is known as the Henty Football League, it comprises 16 teams and at the end of the competition, Henty gives out prize money and other rewards to participating teams and players.
“I want the world to see that Africa has abundant talents in all areas, this for me is the biggest goal. I believe that the biggest investment you can make is in human beings, this is better than building houses or anything material” Henty said.
Henty Ezekiel started out at flying sports academy in Lagos, the same academy where current super eagles midfielder John Ogu also started out. He joined AC Milan on 15 September 2012, and was assigned to Milan Primavera
ahead of the 2013-14 season, Henty was loaned out to Serie B side Spezia for the remainder of the 2013-14 season.
Shortly after the end of his loan spell at Spezia, Henty joined Lega Pro side Perugia on loan for the rest of the season on 9 January 2014.
Henty moved to neighbouring Slovenia to join Gorica on loan on 29 August 2014.
The Lagos born striker joined Olimpija Ljubljana on 31 January 2015 on loan for the rest of the season and the deal was later made permanent. Henty moved to Lokomotiv Moscow of Russia in December 2015 for €5.5 million, which is believed to be a record-breaking transfer.
After a not too good spell at Locomotive Moscow, it was announced on 16 January 2017 that Henty would be loaned out to UAE Arabian Gulf League side Baniyas for the rest of the season. The move also included an option to sign him on a permanent basis.
Henty made 12 appearances and scored 5 times for the United Arab Emirate side, Baniyas SC before he returned to his parent club Lokomotiv Moscow.
On the 19th of July 2017, Henty moved to Hungarian side Videoton, signing a three-year contract for a fee reported to be €1 million. Henty shall be visiting orphanages around Lagos during the Christmas period as observes his holidays in Nigeria.
“Christmas is a season of love and sharing. It is for me not a time to celebrate alone with your family, I believe it is a time to also lend a helping hand to the less privileged. This is the reason I want to go round orphanages, giving out my widows myth so these people can also enjoy the good tidings of the yuletide season” Henty said.
