Ebenezer Harcourt
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ebenezer Ifeanyi Harcourt | ||
| Date of birth | 21 October 2009 | ||
| Place of birth | Umunteke-Asa, Ukwa West, Abia State, Nigeria | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sporting Lagos | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2019–2025 | Sporting Lagos Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2025– | Sporting Lagos | 1 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2025– | Nigeria U20 | 9 | (0) |
| 2025– | Nigeria | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:00, 22 December 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:00, 22 December 2025 (UTC) | |||
Ebenezer Ifeanyi Harcourt (born 21 October 2009) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Nigeria National League club Sporting Lagos and the Nigeria national team.
Harcourt was born in Umunteke-Asa, Ukwa West in Abia State, Nigeria. He played youth football with Sporting Lagos Academy before starting his professional career with Sporting Lagos. Harcourt won his first cap with the Nigeria national team in 2025, becoming the youngest player to represent Nigeria. He was also the youngest player at the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
Early life
Ebenezer Ifeanyi Harcourt was born on 21 October 2009 in Umunteke-Asa, Ukwa West, Abia State, Nigeria.[1][2] His father is Ifeanyi Harcourt, a goalkeeper trainer for Nigerian football club Enyimba.[2]
Club career
Harcourt joined the Sporting Lagos Academy at 10 years old.[1] He played in the Nigeria Nationwide League.[3] Harcourt won the Gothia Cup with the academy in 2024.[4]
On 28 November 2025, Harcourt debuted for Sporting Lagos in the Nigeria National League.[3]
International career
He was selected for the Nigeria national under-20 football team at 15 and was the youngest player in the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.[1] In the quarter-final, Harcourt saved two penalties in Nigeria's shoot-out victory over defending champions Senegal, ensuring Nigeria's qualification for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[1] In five games, he kept three clean sheets and conceded two goals in normal play,[5] being named in the CAF Best XI for the tournament[4] and attracting interest from Nigeria Premier Football League and foreign clubs.[1][5]
Harcourt saved a penalty in the shootout with Niger in the semi-final of the 2025 WAFU Zone B U-20 Championship, contributing to Nigeria's victory.[6] Ivory Coast defeated Nigeria 1–0 in the final, in which he spilled a free kick.[7]
Prior to the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Premier League club Manchester United sent scouts to observe Harcourt in Chile[4][5] and ESPN named him as one of the five Nigeria players to watch at the championship.[8]
Harcourt won his first cap with the Nigeria national team on 19 August 2025, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory over Congo in Group D of the 2024 African Nations Championship to become the youngest player to represent the Nigeria senior team at 15.[9][10] Harcourt was named in Éric Chelle's provisional squad for World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and South Africa in September.[3][4]
Style of play
Harcourt's coaches at Sporting Lagos Academy lauded his mentality and technical prowess.[1][2] An academy director noted that Harcourt trained hard and with purpose.[2] Infonews stated that his work ethic was why he was directly called up to the U20 national team.[2]
Harcourt has been described as courageous and imposing by ESPN,[8] a "teenage wall" by the CAF,[1] and a general by Infonews,[2] whose abilities and mentality are on par with older, experienced players.[1][2][6] Following his performances at the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, a scout said Harcourt could be among the best African goalkeepers in the next five years.[1] Infonews deemed him a prospect for the Nigeria national team and its future keeper.[2] After Harcourt's senior debut, head coach Chelle praised his "talent and maturity".[5]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 28 November 2025[3]
| Club | Season | League | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting Lagos | 2025–26 | Nigeria National League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
International
- As of match played 19 August 2025[11]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Honours
Sporting Lagos Academy
- Gothia Cup: 2024
Individual
- U-20 Africa Cup of Nations CAF Best XI: 2025
Records
- National team youngest player: 15 years old
- 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations youngest player: 15 years old
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Teenage wall: How 15-Year-Old Harcourt became Nigeria's AFCON U20 hero". U-20 Africa Cup of Nations. Confederation of African Football. 16 May 2025. Archived from the original on 10 November 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Sampson, Orji (May 2025). "From Umunteke-Asa Ukwa West To Stardom: Enwereuzo Harcourt's Heroic Outing For Nigeria @ U-20 AFCON". Infonews. Owerri. Archived from the original on 24 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d Areo, Samuel (29 November 2025). "NNL: Ebenezer Harcourt makes Sporting debut in home draw". ACLSports. Archived from the original on 24 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d Ikhazuagbe, Duro (26 September 2025). "Manchester Utd to Spy on Ebenezer as Flying Eagles Land in Chile". This Day. Apapa. Archived from the original on 28 September 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Manchester United scouts watch Nigeria's teenage goalkeeper Harcourt". SportsRation. 25 September 2025. Archived from the original on 23 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
- ^ a b Abel, Kelechi (21 July 2025). "Flying Eagles Keeper Ebenezer Harcourt Reflects on WAFU U-20 Semi Final". Football in Nigeria. Archived from the original on 5 August 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
- ^ Olsson, Andrew (24 July 2025). "WAFU U-20: Ivory Coast pounce on late mistake to emerge as champions". Pan-Africa Football. Archived from the original on 23 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
- ^ a b Udoh, Colin (29 September 2025). "Nigeria's Terrific Teens – Five Flying Eagles players to watch at the FIFA U-20 World Cup". ESPN. Archived from the original on 23 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
- ^ "CHAN 2024 : 15-Year-Old Ebenezer Harcourt Makes History with Clean Sheet". Africa Top Sports. 20 August 2025. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
- ^ Oguntade, Victor (22 August 2025). "Harcourt reflects on dream Super Eagles' debut at 2024 CHAN". The Nation (Nigeria). Mushin, Lagos. Archived from the original on 8 September 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ "Ebenezer Harcourt Stats". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 24 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.