The Coventry City striker kept a promise he made to his father, earning a postgraduate diploma in global football sport directorship with merit.
Taiwo Awoniyi has added a third academic qualification to a football career that has carried him from Ilorin to the Premier League. The Coventry City striker graduated from the PFA Business School with a Postgraduate Diploma in Global Football Sport Directorship, passing with merit.
The 29-year-old announced the achievement quietly on Instagram, but the fuller story of why he keeps returning to the classroom came in an interview with BBC Sport, which covered the 2026 graduation ceremony at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.
"I say to people I'm a quiet dreamer. I always felt education was important. It was a promise I made to my dad that if I played football, I would keep studying. That is what I've done and I am proud of it."
The promise was to his father, Solomon, whose strict approach to education at one point nearly stopped his son from pursuing football altogether. Awoniyi held up his end. "I've got a degree in business management and another diploma, so this is my third qualification," he told BBC Sport.
Awoniyi's journey began at the Imperial Soccer Academy before he joined Liverpool in 2015, made his name in Germany with Union Berlin, then returned to the Premier League with Nottingham Forest. He moved to Coventry City this summer while remaining part of the Super Eagles squad as Nigeria chase qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
The studies are not a far-off retirement plan. Awoniyi knows how quickly a career can change; in May 2025 he was placed in a medically induced coma after rupturing an intestine in a collision with a goalpost while playing for Nottingham Forest against Leicester City.
"It's not like a 9-5 job in football. We go in and sometimes finish quite early and, although it is challenging, I think every footballer has time in the evening for something like this business school," he said.
He graduated alongside a cohort that included Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and former Chelsea and Spain captain César Azpilicueta. The PFA Business School schedules its seminars to avoid clashing with matches and training, so players study in their own time.
"Yes, football is our passion but we are normal human beings as well, and maybe that's something the world doesn't always see," Awoniyi said.
His closing words on Instagram after the ceremony: "Still playing. Still learning. The journey continues."
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