Emmanuel Adebayor: "How I was able to walk after visiting a church in Ghana"

Emmanuel Adebayor’s Exclusive interview on Planet Sport Football Africa is one of the most emotional interviews one could ever listened to.

The 2008 African Footballer of the Year on Planet Sport Football Africa’s podcast show revealed to Pierce Edwards and Steve Vickers about how he was unable to walk until age five and how he nearly lost the ability to walk but a sight of football helped him spring up to his feet.

Emmanuel Adebayor, 40, spent more than 20 years as a striker for several elite teams, including Metz, Monaco, Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, and Crystal Place.

I believe I began walking at the age of five. I was fine, normal, crawling, and healthy at the age of two, but I simply couldn't stand on my own two feet. African parents took me everywhere, so it's clear that you know them. In order to allow me to walk, we went to Iman, a place for spiritual people. Someone suggested to my parents that they take me to a pastor in Ghana, where I would have to spend a week. They assured my parents that I would be able to walk within two or three days.

Adebayor was born in Lome, the capital of Togo to Yoruba parents from Nigeria but he has been staying in Ghana for a long time now.

“At the moment, my parents were doing everything and anything to find a solution.

So one Tuesday or Wednesday, they took me there. Naturally, since I was young, they would place me in the centre and invite many powerful pastors or spiritual leaders to come and offer prayers for me. Clearly, I could hear them praying and yelling in a variety of languages. And they brought me to the church one Sunday, where everyone was present. Everyone was standing in front of the church, and they were all sending me prayers.

“The pastors themselves prayed for me on top of all people’s prayer. When everything was okay, they took me out and i saw people that are ill, sick and people that need deliverances were all in the church.

“So my time came, they finished mine. They took me outside. I saw

Some boys playing right infront of the church but it was not in the camp of the church.

"I observed that the ball did, in fact, cross the wall. The length of the wall was around 1.5 meters. I started rushing as soon as I saw the ball after it flew over the wall and bounced inside the house. It was an exclamation of salvation. "He's walking, he's walking," everyone said. Since I had no idea what was going on, I began to panic.

“My mum came and carried me, everybody was happy, they were delighted.

“Whenever my mum shares that story, she weeps because she witnessed it and it brings her memories about what she went through.

“The story touches me and also make me sad always. I always remember my mum when i remember my story.

After a year of fighting illness, Emmanuel Adebayor lost his mother, Alice, in August 2021. "I joke with a lot of things, but I don't joke with God because if I tell you everything that I have been through, spiritually, physically, and emotionally, and I still have a way to find peace, I will say that God has been so good for me," the Togolese international stated about his religion. "If I tell you my tale, you can't turn it into a movie; instead, you may turn it into a series. because you'll be astounded by how lengthy and poignant it is.

Nicknamed ‘Baby Kanu’, many think Adebayor is a muslim but he disclosed that he is a christian.

“My name is Emmanuel, it means Jesus is with me, Jesus is with you.

I’m a proper Christian guy”.

Adebayor attributes his recognition by FIFA, CAF, Togo, and the world to his belief in God. The former attacker for Arsenal keeps his Bible beneath his pillow while he sleeps.

One of his greatest professional accomplishments was leading Togo to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.