Teslim Balogun
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tesilimi Olawale Ayinde Balogun[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 March 1931[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Date of death | 30 July 1972 (aged 41) | ||
| Place of death | Nigeria | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Apapa Bombers | |||
| 1947 | Marine Athletics | ||
| UAC XI | |||
| 1949 | Railways XI | ||
| 1951 | Jos XI | ||
| 1952 | Pan Bank Team | ||
| 1953 | Dynamos Club | ||
| SCOA XI | |||
| 1955–1956 | Peterborough United | 0 | (0) |
| 1956 | Skegness Town | ||
| 1956–1957 | Queens Park Rangers | 13 | (3) |
| 1957–1958 | Holbeach United | ||
| 1959–1961 | Ibadan Lions | ||
| International career | |||
| 1948–1960 | Nigeria | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Tesilimi Olawale Ayinde "Teslim" Balogun ⓘ(27 March 1931 – 30 July 1972) was a Nigerian football player and coach. Balogun played at both professional and international levels as a striker, before becoming Africa's first qualified professional football coach.
Educated in Port Harcourt and graduating from St. Mary's Catholic School,[3] Balogun played in his native Nigeria for a number of teams, including Apapa Bombers, Marine Athletics, UAC XI, Railways XI, Jos XI, Pan Bank Team, Dynamos Club and SCOA XI.[4] During his time in Nigeria, Balogun won the Challenge Cup a total of five times in seven finals.[4] He was the first player to score a hat-trick in the competition, in Pan Bank's 6–1 rout of Warri in 1953.[5]
After originally touring with a Nigerian select team in 1949, Balogun returned to the UK in August 1955 to sign with Peterborough United.[6] However, Balogun never made a league appearance for Peterborough,[7] and spent time with Skegness Town before signing with Queens Park Rangers, scoring 3 goals in 13 appearances in the Football League during the 1956–57 season.[8] After leaving QPR, Balogun returned to non-League football, playing with Holbeach United.
Balogun was also a member of the Nigerian national side for 12 years.[5]
Coaching career
Balogun became the first African to qualify as a professional coach.[4] He was the coach for the Nigeria football team at the 1968 Summer Olympics.[4]