How Ben Iroha went from Super Eagles star at USA ’94 to Dallas businessman - Premium Times Nigeria

For many footballers, retirement comes with a difficult question: what next?

For Ben Iroha, that question had an answer long before he played his last professional game.

The former Super Eagles defender already knew where he wanted to live, what business he wanted to pursue and how he wanted life to look after football.

“I planned my future already before the end,” Iroha told PREMIUM TIMES during a recent reunion of members of Nigeria’s celebrated 1994 and 1996 football generations.

It was not a decision he made after his playing career ended. He had seen the city years earlier and felt it could become home.

When Nigeria made its World Cup debut in 1994, Iroha was one of the players who helped the team make history. He started at left-back in Nigeria’s opening match against Bulgaria in Dallas, a game the Super Eagles won 3-0.

For him, however, that trip to Dallas would leave a lasting impression for another reason.

“When I first came to Dallas, I saw a lot of Igbos, a lot of Nigerians,” he said.

The support for Nigeria during the World Cup also surprised him.

“During the game, our first game, Bulgaria and Nigeria, it was as if we were playing in Lagos. You see the whites, the Mexicans, everybody wearing green and white. It was unbelievable.”

The atmosphere convinced him that Dallas was a place where he could build a future.

“I told my wife, this is where we’re going to live after my retirement.”

Iroha did not wait until his career was over before putting his plans together.

He bought a house before retiring and eventually moved to Dallas with his family.

“I bought a house already before I quit. So I moved to Dallas with my family,” he said.

He also had an idea of what he wanted to do for a living.

“I told my wife, it was like a dream. I said, in Dallas, I’m going to live here and I’m going to do spare parts and cars business. I’m going to make it.”

“And that’s what I do today. I’m doing very well. Thank God for that.”

For Iroha, life after football was therefore not about suddenly figuring out what to do when the matches stopped. He had started preparing while he was still a player.

That preparation has also shaped his view of what today’s footballers should do with the money they earn.

Football can provide young players with money and a lifestyle that many people only dream about.

But Iroha knows that the income does not last forever.

He believes this is one of the biggest lessons footballers need to learn before their careers end.

“It is a little better now because now they have managers, now they have financial advisors,” he said. “I think most of them are doing much better now.”

But having advisers is not enough, he warned.

“You see, the life you’re living, when you’re safe to complain, is different from the life you will live when you retire. The money’s gonna go.”

Iroha’s advice to today’s players is to save, invest, and, more importantly, do it early.

“The money you put apart by doing real estate or doing good investment will help you.”

He also warned players against allowing their spending to rise with their earnings.

“When you’re top tier, the kind of life you’re living, if you don’t control it, you’re gonna be bankrupt.”

For Iroha, investing in property and other businesses can provide a cushion when the football money stops coming.

“You start living, listening to financial advisors, doing a lot of, you know, service and also investing on real estate on many things. That will help you win in return.”

Iroha’s own career gave him a wide view of football and life outside Nigeria.

He began his professional career in Nigeria before moving abroad and later played in the Netherlands, the United States, Spain and England. He was also part of Nigeria’s squads at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.

His move to the United States coincided with the birth of Major League Soccer in 1996. Iroha played in the league’s inaugural match for the San Jose Clash against D.C. United on 6 April 1996.

His career also took him to Watford in England before he eventually called time on his playing days.

But football was only one part of the life he wanted to build.

“I have three children,” he said. “My daughter is a medical doctor. My son is 28. My last one is 21. They’re all doing very well.”

The former defender is now looking back at a career that took him to the biggest stage in the game.

He was part of the Nigerian team that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations and later represented the country at two World Cups.

But he is equally proud of what happened after football.

He has built a life in Dallas, raised a family and moved into business.

That experience has changed the way he sees retirement.

“You really have to apply yourself very well,” he said when asked what he would tell young players.

Tunde Eludini is a graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria where he studied International Relations. He is a Senior Correspondent coordinating the sports section for PREMIUM TIMES. Twitter: @tundeyeludini