Football
Exclusive: Hong Kong star Alex Akande Partners Ighalo to Make Affordable Boots for Nigeria Players
Nigeria-born Alex Akande and Odion Ighalo launch affordable Wura sports boots, aiming to empower African youth with accessible, quality football gear and create job opportunities in Nigeria.
Image Credits: Alex Akande
Nigeria-born Hong Kong international Alex Akande has put his football career on hold to make social impact in Africa with soccer boots production.’
Akande who has 10 goals in 29 matches for the Hong Kong national team, has partnered with former Super Eagles star Odion Ighalo to achieve his dream of giving back to the society.
He recalled how his experience before he left Nigeria at the age of 12 inspired him to start making “Wura” sports boots which means golden in English.
After years of distributing used boots as charity, the former Kitchee and Dalian Pro striker is now creating job opportunities in Nigeria with the production of quality and affordable boots.
Akande told SportsBoom: "I see a lot of families struggling to buy proper football gears including boots for their kids to play football so I thought of something to make life easier for our continent.
A lot of players in Nigeria and Africa are not using the real Nike or Puma boots, what they wear just carries the logo because they can't afford the original.
Alex Akande
“We launched Wura boots in 2023 with our design team in Nigeria and production facility in Hong Kong. Our launch was a result of a long-term conversation with Ighalo who is a major stakeholder in the company. The first thing we are doing is giving back to the society and the business side will follow.
"We are not killing people with the price. We want to make sure every child can have soccer boots with discounted prices.
"Ighalo said something that you are not the best player, there are a lot of people better than you, but they don't have the right shoes or opportunity. There are kids out there struggling to get their right size of shoes.”
Government Agencies & Footballers Adopting Wura Boots
Image Credits: Alex Akande
With four offices in Lagos, Dubai, London and Hong Kong, Wura sports boots is gradually gaining prominence in Nigeria with public and private entities showing interest and making purchases.
Government agencies including Oyo State Ministry of Sports, Katsina State Ministry of Sports as well as clubs including Shooting Stars, Enugu Rangers, FC Robo and Katsina United have taken steps to patronize the Nigerian business.
During the just-concluded women's international break, Folashade Ijamilusi scored a hat-trick for the Super Falcons with a pair of Wura boots in the 4-1 defeat of Algeria in Lagos.
Akande continued: “Last year, we reached out to Oyo State and Commissioner for Sports and came up with an agreement. They have plans to purchase once the female team is formed.
Shooting Stars captain with three other players in the Ibadan club and some NPFL players wear Wura boots. The management of Enugu Rangers are in constant talks with us while Katsina United are also looking to get the merchandise for their team and academy.
Alex Akande
“Women football stars are not exempted as the current NWFL top scorer Folashade Ijamilusi and FC Robo players wear the boots.”
Love for Hong Kong But Heart is in Nigeria
With a career that has spanned 17 years in Asia, Akande revealed that he is on a short break from football to focus on the growth of his business in Nigeria and Africa.
He maintained his love for Hong Kong, but his heart remains in Nigeria despite not having a chance to play for the three-time African champions. Akande opened up on how he got the chance to play for the 158th-team in the world.
“While I was in the UK, I was invited to the Nigeria U20 training camp in 2007 ahead of the U20 World Cup in Canada. I joined the team in training but I had to leave due to some reasons," he said.
“Hong Kong FA approached me because I was among the best players in the country at that time and immediately they showed strong interest in having me, I reached out to the NFF to finalise my documents and it went smoothly because the Nigeria FA responded really well.
“Playing for Hong Kong was a dream come true, I’m very happy to be celebrated where I find myself but no regrets even if I miss not playing for Nigeria."
I’m Taiye Taiwo, an experienced sports journalists in Nigeria with focus on Nigeria sports, African sports & athletes and creating SEO contents for betting sites and blogs. I boast of mentions in several international English online platforms and my works have also been translated into French and Turkish.