"Even when he wasn't even thinking of making an international decision, I'd already made up my mind that he is going to play for America." That's Florence Balogun — Folarin's mother — and she said it with the kind of certainty that makes sense once you know the backstory.
Folarin was born in Brooklyn in 2001 under circumstances that were more logistical accident than grand plan. Florence was seven months pregnant when she flew to New York to visit relatives. No doctor's letter, heavily pregnant — the airline wouldn't let her fly back to London. She ended up staying at her sister-in-law's two-bedroom apartment until the baby arrived and they could travel. By the end of August, mother and son were back in London. The whole episode lasted barely two months.
But it stuck with Florence. Both she and Folarin's father Ben were born in Nigeria, and Folarin grew up in London — meaning he had three legitimate international options: England, Nigeria, or the United States. It was Florence who kept the American door firmly open.
The decision that shaped his career
"She's a big believer that you should go to where your heart is desired," Folarin told ESPN. What helped tip the scales was the response from American fans — the warmth of their support made the choice feel less like a calculation and more like something genuine. Florence saw that too.
Ultimately Folarin made the call himself. "It was about me naturally just feeling that this is the best thing, and that this is what I wanted to do." Not a commercial decision, not a pathway-to-minutes decision. His words, at least.
Since committing to the USMNT, his international journey hasn't been without turbulence. A red card suspension during the team's win over Bosnia and Herzegovina generated real controversy — and real headlines when FIFA reversed it after a Presidential appeal. Ahead of the Belgium fixture on July 6, FIFA's appeal committee also dismissed a Belgian objection to his eligibility. There's clearly an appetite from opponents to find administrative ways to disrupt his involvement, which in its own way signals how seriously he's being taken.
Family still in his corner
While he was playing for Reims in France, his parents and two siblings — older brother Royce and a younger sister — would travel from London for nearly every home match. Sometimes showing up when he thought they wouldn't be there at all.
"I definitely needed them in the beginning to just encourage me and motivate me to keep going," he said.
Florence works as an accountant. She took an unplanned detour through New York in 2001 and never quite let go of what it meant. Twenty-something years later, her son is playing World Cup football for the United States — and she'd mapped that out long before he had.
