The Nigeria Football Federation has congratulated Alex Iwobi after the Fulham midfielder matched Mohamed Salah’s record for the second-highest number of Premier League appearances by an African player.

Iwobi reached 328 top-flight appearances in England after playing in Fulham’s 1-0 win over Coventry City on Saturday. The 30-year-old is now level with Egypt forward Salah and is within reach of the competition’s African appearance record.

That record is held by former Ivory Coast international Kolo Toure, who made 353 Premier League appearances. Iwobi is therefore 25 matches away from drawing level with the former Arsenal and Manchester City defender.

NFF Acting General Secretary Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, MON, praised Iwobi’s consistency and his contribution to Nigerian football.

“The NFF celebrates Alex Iwobi for this new achievement, and we wish him even greater glory. We will be very happy to see him become the African with the most appearances in the Premier League in the near future,” Ikpeme said.

Iwobi has played for Arsenal, Everton and Fulham in the Premier League, establishing himself as one of the most experienced Nigerian players in English football.

He also marked his 100th appearance for Nigeria during a friendly against Portugal in Leiria earlier this year. At international level, the midfielder has been part of Nigeria’s recent Africa Cup of Nations campaigns, helping the Super Eagles win one silver medal and two bronze medals.

His latest appearance milestone came after a 73-minute outing against Coventry. Iwobi recorded 60 touches, completed 51 passes and finished the match with a passing accuracy of 86.3 per cent.

The performance helped Fulham secure victory while moving Iwobi closer to Toure’s long-standing record. With the season continuing, he can now move beyond Salah’s total and reduce the gap to Toure.

The NFF said it was confident Iwobi could eventually become the African player with the most Premier League appearances.