“Man of D Year”: Nwabali’s IG Before and After S.Africa Match Gains 300k Followers Within 24-Hrs

• Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has been the biggest revelation at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON)
• His performances over the last six games have endeared him into the hearts of so many Nigerians
• Nwabali's penalty heroics in the Eagles' semifinal match against South Africa saw his profile on all his social media pages explode beyond recognition

Super Eagles goalkeeper and the team's current number 1, Stanley Nwabali, has been the name on the lips of most Nigerians since his recent heroics at the 2023 AFCON.

Since the start of the African Nations Cup, Stanley Nwabali has given an excellent account of himself, conceding only one goal from open play in the first five matches in the tournament.

Despite playing with an injured knee, his outstanding performance against Angola earned him many accolades.

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But his heroics in the semifinals against South Africa took his profile to a new level. His saves during regular time and the two penalty stops during the shoot-out earned Nigeria a place in the finals.

Nwabali gains over 300k followers on IG

Before going into the AFCON, Nwabali had less than 6k followers on IG. Gradually, it kept increasing during the course of the tournament as his profile grew.

As of Wednesday morning, February 7, 2024, Nwabali had just a little above 45k followers. However, after his fantastic performance against South Africa, his profile exploded so much that he gained over 300k followers.

From 52.5k followers as of Wednesday night and Thursday evening, Nwabali's followers had hit 352k, and at the time of publishing, it was already at 369k.

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See a confirmation of the massive growth below:

What are netizens saying about Nwabali's growth?

Here are some of the reactions Legit.ng gathered:

@big.zina:

"Is like I’m the only one not following."

@chef_amaa:

"When God enters your case, all protocols are ruled out."

@maxwella___j:

"Saw it when it was 36k sef during that Angola match Nigerians Dey para oh."

@ariecollectionsucjeweler:

"I Am So Proud Of Him I Followed Him immediately."

@princessekwuribe:

"He was 4k before the beginning of the competition."

@sola.adetola:

"He was on less than 10k before the tournament."

@pre_pre_2023:

"After winning the cup, they’ll verify his acc and he’s gonna hit a million followers."

@donbashylee:

"Mad I saw it at 6k followers first day of afcon Twas 6k."

@eazyoutside:

"His handler posted recently. He has 361K likes against 353K followers. First time I will be seeing likes more than followers. Is that not mind-boggling? Even the world known celebs do not have such IG record. This guy is not only the man of the match but also man of the year."

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"Thank you to everyone": Video shows emotional moment Nigerian keeper, Nwabali, almost cried

@soothsayer_de2:

"He needs to be verified immediately....Before Afcon his page was less than 10k which i saw..Divine Grace."

AFCON 2023: Nwabali speaks about playing South Africa

Meanwhile, Legit.ng recalls reporting Stanley Nwabali's comments ahead of Nigeria's match against South Africa.

During an interview with a Nigerian journalist, the goalkeeper bragged that he knows many of the South African players well.

He noted that as much as they knew him, he knew them too, and he was pretty sure that his team would be able to defeat them.

Source: Legit.ng