He was playing football in the street in Kaduna when the violence began. In 2002, during riots in the northern Nigerian city, Victor Moses’ parents, a pastor and his wife, were killed. The 11-year-old was hidden by friends and then sent to England, where he claimed asylum. He would go on to win the Premier League and the Africa Cup of Nations.
Arrival in England and Chelsea
Moses arrived in London as a child and was placed with a foster family in south London. He enrolled at a local school, where his football talent stood out. He won a scholarship to Whitgift School in Croydon, known for its sports programme. He scored dozens of goals for the school team. Moses joined Crystal Palace’s academy and made his first-team debut as a teenager. He then moved to Wigan Athletic in 2010.
Chelsea signed him in 2012. He spent several seasons on loan at Liverpool, Stoke and West Ham before returning.
Wing-back, AFCON and World Cups
Under Antonio Conte in 2016-17, Moses was converted into a right wing-back. He was a key part of the team that won the Premier League title that season. Moses chose to play for Nigeria, despite representing England at youth level. In 2013, he helped the Super Eagles win the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa under Stephen Keshi, scoring important goals and providing assists.
He played for Nigeria at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups. He retired from international football after the 2018 tournament. He later played in Turkey, Italy and Russia, including spells at Fenerbahçe, Inter Milan and Spartak Moscow.
His story, faith and Wigan
Moses has rarely spoken in detail about his parents’ deaths, but has said football gave him a way forward. The 2002 riots in Kaduna, linked to tensions over a planned Miss World pageant in Nigeria, left many people dead. Moses has spoken about his Christian faith, which his parents passed on to him, and its importance in his recovery from loss.
At Wigan Athletic, Moses became a regular in the Premier League, impressing with his pace and dribbling before Chelsea paid to sign him in 2012. Victor Moses left Kaduna as an orphan with almost nothing. He returned to the Nigerian story as one of the players who brought the Africa Cup home in 2013.
