Teslim Balogun
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tesilimi Olawale Balogun | ||
| Date of birth | 1927 | ||
| Place of birth | Nigeria | ||
| Date of death | 30 July 1972 (aged 45) | ||
| Place of death | Nigeria | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| – | Apapa Bombers | ? | (?) |
| 1947– | Marine Athletics | ? | (?) |
| – | UAC XI | ? | (?) |
| 1949– | Railways XI | ? | (?) |
| 1951– | Jos XI | ? | (?) |
| 1952 | Pan Bank Team | ? | (?) |
| 1953 | Dynamos Club | ? | (?) |
| – | SCOA XI | ? | (?) |
| 1955–1956 | Peterborough United | 0 | (0) |
| 1956 | Skegness Town | ? | (?) |
| 1956–1957 | Queens Park Rangers | 13 | (3) |
| 1957–1958 | Holbeach United | ? | (?) |
| 1959–1961 | Ibadan Lions | ? | (?) |
| Total | ? | (?) | |
| National team | |||
| 1948–1960 | Nigeria | ? | (?) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1968 | Nigeria (coach) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
|||
Tesilimi Olawale "Teslim" Balogun (1927 – 30 July 1972) was a Nigerian football player and coach. Balogun played at both professional and international levels as a striker, before becoming Africa's first qualified professional football coach.
Balogun played in his native Nigeria for a number of teams, including Apapa Bombers, Marine Athletics, UAC XI, Railways XI, Jos XI, Pan Bank Team, Dynamos Club and SCOA XI. During his time in Nigeria, Balogun won the Challenge Cup a total of five times in seven finals. He was the first player to have a hat-trick in the competition, in Pan Bank's 6-1 rout of Warri in 1953. After originally touring with a Nigerian select team in 1949, Balogun returned to the UK in August 1955 to sign with Peterborough United. However, Balogun never made a league appearance for Peterborough, and spent time with Skegness Town before signing with Queens Park Rangers, scoring 3 goals in 13 appearances in the Football League during the 1956–57 season. After leaving QPR, Balogun returned to non-League football, playing with Holbeach United.
Balogun was also a member of the Nigerian national side for 12 years.
Balogun became the first African to qualify as a professional coach. He was a coach for Nigeria at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
The Teslim Balogun Stadium in the Nigerian city of Lagos is named in his honour. The Teslim Balogun Foundation was founded after his death to assist the families of Nigerian ex-international footballers who may have fallen on hard times.
Balogun was nicknamed "Thunder" because of his powerful shot, and was also known as "Balinga" for a similar reason. During his time touring schools to coach youngesters, he was nicknamed "Baba Ball."
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