Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina has shared a touching story about the childhood challenges his family faced while growing up.

The Super Eagles defender, who was born in London to Nigerian parents, recently revealed in an interview that he never visited Nigeria as a child because his mother couldn’t afford a flight ticket.

The 28-year-old disclosed that his first visit to Nigeria came through an invitation from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) after he committed his international future to the Super Eagles.

"When I was younger, my mother did not have the funds to take me on holidays back home," Aina explained.

"So, I hadn't gone back to Nigeria until the first time I actually played for the Super Eagles, which was crazy. It was a surreal moment for me. She always wanted to take me back when I was younger, but I guess she couldn't.

"When I was getting older, football was becoming more serious, and I didn’t have the time. I went back to Nigeria when I started playing for the Super Eagles, and it was an amazing feeling. I still remember that first trip."

Aina is among the players former NFF president Amaju Pinnick persuaded to commit their international future to Nigeria.

The Chelsea academy graduate received his first international call-up in May 2017 and has since earned 46 caps for the Super Eagles.

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