Rashidi Yekini

Yekini was born in Kaduna, of Yoruba origin. After starting his professional career in the Nigerian league, he moved to Ivory Coast to play for Africa Sports, and from there he went to Portugal and Vitória de Setúbal where he experienced his most memorable years, eventually becoming the Primeira Liga's top scorer in the 1993–94 season after scoring 21 goals; the previous campaign he had netted a career-best 34 in 32 games to help the Sadinos gain promotion from the second division, and those performances earned him the title of African Footballer of the Year once, the first ever for the nation. In the summer of 1994, Yekini signed for Greek club Olympiacos, but did not get along with teammates and left soon after. His career never really got back on track, not even upon a return to Setúbal which happened after another unassuming spell, in La Liga with Sporting de Gijón; he successively played with FC Zürich, CA Bizertin and Al Shabab, before rejoining Africa Sports. In 2003, aged 39, he returned to the Nigerian championship with Julius Berger. In April 2005, 41-year-old Yekini made a short comeback, moving alongside former national teammate Mobi Oparaku to Gateway United.

Scoring 37 goals for Nigeria in 62 appearances, Yekini is the national record goalscorer. He was part of the team that participated in the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups. In the 1994 tournament, he scored Nigeria's first-ever World Cup goal in a 3–0 win against Bulgaria; his celebration, crying while holding the net, became one of the iconic images of the competition. Additionally, Yekini helped the Super Eagles win the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, where he topped the goal charts and was named player of the tournament. He also represented Nigeria at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

International goals

Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yekini goal.

Yekini married three wives. He had three daughters, named Yemisi, Omoyemi and Damilola.