en Theophilus Afelokhai

Theophilus Afelokhai
Personal information
Full name	Joel Theophilus Afelokhai
Date of birth	7 April 1988 (age 36)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Rivers United
Senior career*
Years	Team
2015	Kano Pillars
2015–20	Enyimba
2020–	Rivers United
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Joel Theophilus Afelokhai (born 7 April 1988) is a Nigerian professional football goalkeeper for Rivers United of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL). Before playing for Rivers United, Afelokhai played for Kano Pillars and Enyimba.^[1]

Career

Afelokhai joined Rivers United from Enyimba in 2020.^[2] He became the highest paid footballer in the Nigeria Professional Football League.^[3]

In the 2021–2022 NPFL title, he won his 7th Nigerian League title as a player with Rivers United.^[4] Afelokhai has also represented his clubs in African continental competitions including both the CAF Champions League,^[5] and the CAF Confederation Cup.^[6]

International career

Afelokhai received his first call up to the Nigerian national football team in 2018 after an injury ruled out first choice Francis Uzoho.^[7] He was part of the Nigeria squad for the 2018 African Nations Championship,^[8] but was on the bench as they lost 4-0 in the final to Morocco at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.^[9]