| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mudashiru Babatunde Lawal | ||
| Date of birth | 8 June 1954 | ||
| Place of birth | Abeokuta, Nigeria | ||
| Date of death | 6 July 1991 (aged 37) | ||
| Place of death | Ibadan, Nigeria | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1975-1984 | Shooting Stars F.C. | ||
| 1985-1986 | Stationery Stores F.C. | ||
| 1987-1988 | Abiola Babes | ||
| 1989-1991 | Shooting Stars F.C. | ||
| National team | |||
| 1975-1985 | Nigeria | 86 | (12) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Mudashiru Babatunde "Muda" Lawal (June 8, 1954 in Abeokuta – July 6, 1991 in Ibadan) was a Nigerian football Midfielder.
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He worked as a mechanic when his football talents were discovered, making his national team debut in 1975. The same year he joined Shooting Stars F.C. of Ibadan, where he would play for many years, winning the African Cup Winners Cup as the first Nigerian team. In 1985 the team was ordered disbanded by a military governor, but after four seasons he returned to Shooting Stars F.C. as a playing assistant coach.
He won 86 caps and scored 12 goals for his country, and is still the most capped Nigerian player. The only player ever to appear at five consecutive Nation Cup final rounds (1976-1984), Lawal guided Nigeria to its first African Nations title, at the 1980 African Nations Cup.[1] The team also competed at the Summer Olympics the same year.
Lawal died in his home in 1991. The Ashero Stadium in his hometown Abeokuta was named after him upon his death.