PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has paid glowing tribute to renowned football administrator and former Super Eagles head coach, Festus Adegboye Onigbinde, who died on Monday, March 9, at 88.
On Monday night, his passage was announced via a message signed by a member of the family, Bolade Adesuyi, saying: “With great gratitude to God for a life well spent, we announce the passing of this great man, a Modakeke High Chief, the first indigenous Super Eagles football coach, father, husband, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother and friend, Festus Adegboye Onigbinde, who passed unto the great beyond a couple of minutes ago.
“We thank God for the fulfilled life and your contributions to the Nigerian nation and the world as an unequalled football coach.”
“We pray that your soul will rest perfectly in the bossom of your and our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Good night till we meet to part no more.”
The statement said final funeral arrangements for the coach, who marked his 88th birthday on March 5, will be communicated later.
Onigbinde, who took the senior national male team to the 2002 World Cup, coached Nigeria between 1982 and 1984, winning Silver in 1984 after losing 1-3 to Cameroun in the final in 1984, after replacing the late Shuaibu Amodu.
He later served as special adviser to Osun state Government on football, as well as technical instructor for both the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA.
Tinubu, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tuesday, March 10, sympathised with the family, friends and associates of the late coach, describing his death as a great loss to Nigerian football and the country’s sporting community.
The President also extended his condolences to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), National Sports Commission (NSC), professional colleagues, former players and football fans who benefitted from Onigbinde’s decades of service to the development of the game in Nigeria.
He recalled that he distinguished himself as the first indigenous coach of the Super Eagles in 1982, thereby opening a new chapter for local coaches in the management of the national team.
Tinubu commended Onigbinde’s unwavering commitment to grassroots football development and his significant role in strengthening football administration in the country, adding that he will be remembered for his discipline, integrity, foresight and enduring passion for football, saying his legacy in Nigerian football would continue to inspire future generations of players, coaches and sports administrators.
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