Joel Embiid wishes he was a football player.
No, not the NFL kind of football. But the kind played by more people around the world than any other sport. The kind of football Americans call “soccer.”
Embiid talked about his love for the beautiful game on an episode of the “Men in Blazers,” one of the top soccer podcasts in North America.
“That was my first love,” Embiid said as he reminisced about watching his home country of Cameroon win back-to-back African Cup of Nations tournament wins in 2001 and 2002. “To be honest, I love football more than basketball. So I wish I was a football player.”
It’s not clear exactly how Embiid’s football dreams could have played out as soccer is not exactly a tall person’s game. According to TopEndSports.com, the tallest professional soccer player was German goalkeeper Simon Bloch Jorgensen who was 6 feet, 10.5 inches tall.
“I always wanted to be a striker, but I was just way too big,” the seven-footer said. “I was more physical and people were actually scared of me because I would just make some move and act like I’m going to kick you in the foot and everybody would be scared.”
Embiid is not the first NBA MVP to pine for the pitch. Kobe Bryant talked about his love for soccer while attending the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“I am actually [a huge fan]. I grew up in Italy. From the age from six to 14 I played soccer every day. It is actually my favorite sport,” Bryant said in an interview with FIFA.com.
Just like Bryant, Embiid said playing soccer helped develop his basketball skills.
“You can kind of see that football had a lot to do with how much I develop, whether it’s the footwork or the hand-eye-coordination, I think football played a huge role in me becoming what I am now.”
Now as Philadelphia prepares to host games in the 2026 World Cup, one of the city’s biggest sports stars is helping drum up support for the game.
“There’s nothing close to a bigger sport in the world. There’s nothing close to it.”
Before 2026, Embiid himself will step onto the international stage, playing for Team USA at the Paris Olympics this summer. Embiid could have chosen to play for France or Cameroon, but decided to play for the US.
“When it came down to it, I’m all about family, and my son being American was a big part of this decision,” he said. “Ultimately, what my dream combined with what I would present, and my family being in the U.S. just made a lot more sense to play for the U.S., which I’m extremely excited about.”
You can hear the full Embiid interview on the latest Men in Blazers podcast.
