AFC Totton
FORMER REPUBLIC OF IRELAND youth international Tega Agberhiere has flown in from Scandinavia to sign for AFC Totton on a permanent deal.
The 22 year-old left-back, whose full name is Oghenetega Agberhiere — surname pronounced Ag-ber-HERE-ay — was born and raised in Waterford in the province of Munster, in the south-east of Ireland. He played in the youth set-up at League of Ireland football club Waterford, progressing to their Under-19s squad before crossing the Atlantic early in 2021 to attend Western Texas College on a soccer scholarship.
In May 2023, he was all set to go to Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania but instead, he ended up signing for Florø SK in the Norwegian Third Division. Tega, as he is now referred to throughout his new club, played the majority of the 2024 Norwegian season which began in April and runs until the end of October, before arriving at the Snows Stadium just in time to make his AFC Totton debut in last Saturday’s Isuzu FA Trophy Third Round Qualifying victory over Merthyr Town.
Named in the starting XI and playing at left-back, Tega put in a compelling display of both defensive resolve and offensive threat, prompting the club’s Media team to nominate him as the ‘Star Man’ in our match report for The Non-League Paper.
That Tega is here today to continue his football journey is all the more remarkable given the adversity that he was forced to overcome in April 2019 when, as a 16-year-old, he was the victim of an acid attack while walking with friends in the Earlsfort Estate in Waterford. In a senseless, unprovoked assault, Tega and two of his friends had drain fluid thrown on them during a scuffle with strangers. While one of his friends suffered burns to his back and the other to his leg, Tega was hit full in the face.
His friends were able to carry him to a nearby petrol station to splash water on his face before the emergency services arrived to rush him to hospital. Fortunately, and contrary to the expectations of the specialist doctors working on him, Tega managed to retain his eyesight and, through countless skin grafts and endless rounds of medication, made a full recovery.
During this horrific ordeal, Tega didn’t kick a ball for six months. But shortly after returning to the game, he earned himself the opportunity to take up a soccer scholarship at Western Texas College in the town of Snyder, a four-hour drive away from Dallas. At that point, an Irish couple who had been moved by Tega’s story got in touch with the family and offered to pay for his flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
Tega’s mother, Christie Agberhiere, told The Irish Times:
“It was just out of the blue. Whoever it is, they bought him his flight to America. The ticket was sent here and that’s what he used. That’s why I always told Tega, ‘Look, there are good people in Ireland. People are good.’”
As he demonstrated with his impressive AFC Totton debut, Tega does not want the incident to define him or to determine how people treat him.
“There’s a time when you have to move on. I wanted to start over, not just in terms of my life but in terms of my football, as well. That has been in my head for a while,” he explained. “I just do my best to train hard, stay focused and concentrate on my health. My intention is 100 per cent to make a living in football and to be a footballer.”
Speaking exclusively to the AFC Totton Matchday Programme during a hastily-arranged photography session prior to joining up with the rest of the suqad for training at Southampton FC’s Staplewood training complex in Marchwood, Tega said:
“I really enjoyed my experience in Norway, which gave me my first real taste of men’s football. I’d say the Norwegian game relies more on the technical side of the game while here in the UK, we have more of a mix between the technical and physical aspects. It showed me that I still have a lot to learn, but I’m here to do that and I think this is the right place to be.
“I was buzzing to be making my debut in the starting line-up last weekend, against the team at the top of the league. I thought I got off to a bit of a shaky start but settled into the game. Then we go and get a player sent-off, and I’m suddenly thinking we were going to be in for a really long and difficult afternoon.
“But the whole team responded really well. We defended like our lives depended on it and when we created the chance to win the game, we took it — and I think you have to say that, in the end, we really deserved the win.”
Asked what brought him to the Snows Stadium, Tega explains:
“The goals of the club are obvious — we’re obviously targeting promotion and to be playing at a higher level next season. I spoke to Jimmy Ball and he told me about the direction the whole club is moving in, and when I had the chance to come and visit for the first time to see the place for myself, I could see straight away this was the place to come to continue my growth and development as a footballer.”
After everything he has been through, Tega retains a lot of love and gratitude for all those who have helped him to get to where he is today — nobody more so than his mother, Christie:
“Live is hard, y’know? I could have lost my eyesight and, even after that, I could have folded up as a person and given up on football. But I had a lot of people around me who gave me the support that I needed.
“My mum, especially, never put any pressure on me to make any decisions one way or the other; she just let me take my time and when I was ready to get back out there, and I decided I wanted to play football again, she backed me all the way.
“It would mean the world to her for me to make it as a footballer, and my ambition to pay a proper testament to her for everything she has ever done for me — throughout my whole life — drives me on to work hard and to achieve as much as I possibly can.”
His new manager, Jimmy Ball, said:
“Tega is a very exciting young player. I watched several of his performances on video from his games in Norway, and then spoke to his agent about bringing him here and I’m pleased to say we were able to get the deal done.
“He’s good on the ball, calm under pressure and aggressive in one-v-one situations, while also being more than capable higher up the pitch, where he can help us to create chances and score goals. He’s a promising all-round player and, I’m sure, will be a valuable asset to this football club.”
By Ben Rochey-Adams
