Faces of Migration - Benjamin, 27-year-old Nigerian footballer living in Batumi

Benjamin arrived in Georgia 9 years ago, when he was only 18. He spent his first six years in Georgia playing for local football teams - Tbilisi, Lanchkhuti, Khoni and Martvili, before leaving for Latvia to play for FK Liepaja. Benjamin returned to Georgia in 2018 and signed with Football Club Dinamo Batumi.

According to Benjamin, Georgia was not as advanced in 2012 and people were not open to migrants. In addition, Benjamin had language barrier, which hindered his communication with his teammates and was blocking his road to success. In parallel to learning Georgian, Benjamin started to adapt to local lifestyle and now he considers Batumi to be his new home. In fact, Benjamin is quite well-known in Batumi; he does not mind when locals stop him in the city to take selfies - as Batumi is the city where football is admired.

“I have never lived in a city as comfortable as Batumi. It can be difficult for foreigners, as many locals don’t speak English, but then you look at the children here and you know, that this country has a bright future.”– says Benjamin. Benjamin spends his free time with teammates and local friends; together they go out for dinners, play video games, and visit museums - Benjamin is very much interested in art; he also studies marketing and business management. However, he believes that his future will always relate to football in some form.

Benjamin grew up admiring Ronaldinho and Yaya Toure playing at the highest level and has always dreamt about playing Champions League and winning trophies. Dinamo Batumi has won the championship race this year for the 1st time in its history and will be playing UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds next summer. Benjamin believes that Dinamo will have its chances and is optimistic about playing either UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League, as the city, fans and the team combined create perfect atmosphere for players to achieve major success.
 

Photo by Eric Gourlan