NFF celebrates Okala at 70, hails champions Oshoala, Aribo, Balogun, Iheanacho, Ndidi

THE Nigeria Football Federation has felicitated with former Green Eagles goalkeeper Emmanuel Okala, who clocked 70 years on Monday.

NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, praised the former national team goalkeeper for his glorious service to Nigeria by giving his best anytime he featured for both the Green Eagles and Enugu Rangers.

“We all remember the heroic feats and unforgettable deeds of the great Emmanuel Okala,” Sanusi said on Monday.

“He served Nigeria to the best of his ability and we commend him for his patriotism, discipline, dedication and sense of duty. We wish him a happy Platinum anniversary celebration and pray that he lives many, many more years in good health and in joy.”

The towering Okala earned was in the Green Eagles team that won the All-Africa Games football gold in Lagos in 1973, took bronze medals at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1978 and finished as runners-up at the All-Africa Games in Algiers four months later.

He was also in the Green Eagles squad that won Nigeria’s first Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil in 1980.

He was named Africa’s best goalkeeper by the Africa Sports Journalists Union in 1975 and was in the Rangers squad that won the Africa Cup Winners’ Cup in 1977.

Sanusi, on behalf of the NFF, also sent messages of congratulations to Super Falcons captain Asisat Oshoala whose club Barcelona Femeni defeated Chelsea to win their first UEFA Women’s Champions League title on Sunday.

Oshoala, a four-time winner of the Africa Women’s Player of the Year award, became the first African player ever to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League, two years after losing in the final with the same Barcelona Femeni.

She has also won successive Women’s Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2014, 2016 and 2018 with the Super Falcons.

“We felicitate with Asisat (Oshoala) on the victory of Barcelona and wish her many more medals and honours in her career with club and country,” Sanusi added.

The NFF also celebrated the pair of Leon Balogun and Joseph Aribo, who both helped Glasgow Rangers win the Scottish Premiership this season, as well as Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City.
Sanusi said: “We celebrate with Balogun and Aribo for their success in the Scottish Premiership. They are our worthy ambassadors and we are happy for them as we are happy for Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho who won the English FA Cup with Leicester City on Saturday.”

Iheanacho and Ndidi drove Leicester City to their first-ever FA Cup triumph on Saturday with a 1-0 win in the final over Chelsea.