Former Green Eagles defender Sofoluwe dies, sports minister ‘devastated’

FORMER Green Eagles defender Yisa Sofoluwe is dead.

The ‘Dean of Defence’ passed away on Tuesday at the Lagos State hub University Teaching Hospital on Tuesday night after a protracted illness.

He was said to be afflicted by mild cerebral atrophy, a loss of brain cells that can lead to neurological malfunction.

The full-back was a Nigerian great who had 40 international caps and won silver with the Green Eagles (now Super Eagles) in the 1984 and 1988 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

He was hugely popular when he played for Abiola Babes of Abeokuta in the mid 1980s and won the Challenge Cup.

He was doing grassroots coaching work before he got ill and eventually died aged just 53.

Sports minister Sunday Dare has expressed deep shock and sadness over the demise of Sofoluwe, describing the star’s death as ‘devastating’.

“The news of Yisa Sofoluwe’s death is quite devastating and one that hit me like a tornado,” the minister said in a statement released by his media office on Wednesday morning.

“He was a great, committed, disciplined, humble and patriotic player. He came ahead of his time. No wonder he was nicknamed the Dean of Defence by ace commentator Ernest Okonkwo. 

“My condolences and prayers goes to his wife, children, teammates and the football  community. 

“He died just when help was on the way to pay for his surgery. His death is a huge loss. Rest in peace Dean of Defence.”

Sofoluwe played for the Flying Eagles at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Mexico 1983 before making the senior squad for AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire the following yearvalong with some of his teammates.

The minister’s office claimed that he had last week sent money to one of Sofoluwe’s former teammates to offset part of his hospital bill.

Sofoluwe’s date of birth is listed as 28 December, 1967 in the official squad list for the 1983 U-20 World Cup, making him only 15 years old at the time and the youngest player in the Nigerian squad.