The former
Nigeria goalkeeper died on Tuesday at the Hospital Universitario Príncipe de
Asturias in Alcalá de Henares, Spain after a protracted battle with cancer.
The former Rayo Vallecano shot stopper, 48, was initially
hospitalised in the USA, but the inability to pay an increasing hospital bill
led to his relocation to Spain for treatment last week.
The Spanish club had responded to Agbonavbare’s call for
financial help last week when it raised over €21,000 for his treatment.It said
on its website after his death, “El Rayo Vallecano informs that our ex- player
Wilfred Agbonavbare has died early this morning at the Prince of Asturias Hospital
in Alcalá de Henares.
The club shall, as
soon as possible, and with permission from the family confirm the place where
they can give him before their last Saturday’s game, Rayo Vallecano and their
La Liga opponents Atlético Madrid displayed a banner at the Vicente Calderón
Stadium, saying ‘You Can Do It Wilfred’, to motivate the former goalkeeper.The
club was in the process of assisting Agbonavbare’s three children to obtain
Spanish visas to allow them see their father, but the paperwork had to be completed
before his death.
The former New Nigeria Bank goalkeeper retired from football
at the age of 31 and became a delivery man in Madrid before taking up a
goalkeeper trainer job.
Agbonavbare’s former teammate in the Flying Eagles, Tajudeen
Disu, condemned the attitude of the Nigeria Football Federation and the sports
ministry towards the plight of ex-internationals, saying Agbonavbare could have
lived longer if help had come earlier from the sports bodies.
“Agbonavbare died with no help coming from Nigeria. He
served this country and deserved to be honoured, but it is clear the government
and the NFF prefer to recognise athletes when they are dead,” Disu said on the
telephone from the USA.
“The 1983 Flying Eagles, in which Agbonavbare and I played, were
the first Nigerian team to play in a FIFA-organised tournament. We were
promised money and scholarship but we got nothing eventually.”
Agbonavbare became the fourth member of that team now dead.
Other deceased members include Chris Anigala, Ali Jeje, who was the captain of
the team.
No comments:
Post a Comment