Chairman of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye has commiserated with Kano Pillars and Nasarawa United on the deaths of their players.
Chinedu Udechukwu of Nasarawa United was reported to have slumped and died in Jos on Wednesday while Ebuka Odenigbo of Kano Pillars reportedly died in the early hours of Saturday after complaining of fever.
“We are saddened by the reports of the deaths of the two young men and are extending our heartfelt condolences to the clubs and the immediate families .
“Their death is a big loss to the NPFL and their clubs in general but also to their immediate families in particular.
“We pray for the repose of their souls and for the family to have the fortitude to bear the loss,” the IMC Chairman said.
Elegbeleye said that deaths such as the recent ones make it imperative for clubs to comply with the mandatory life insurance policy for players, coaches and backroom staff.
“We do not pray for untimely death but death is inevitable and makes the case for insurance policies very imperative”, he further said.
Last month, the NPFL set a benchmark of N10 million insurance policy for death of/or permanent disability to players of the 20 Premier League clubs, beginning from the 2022/2023 league season.
Ebuka won the 2019 NPFL title with Enyimba and made over 50 appearances in the topflight and scored 13 goals. He was said to have complained of fever for a few days and then passed on before he got to hospital
Udechukwu, a striker, joined Sunshine Stars in mid season of 2019/20 before linking up with Nasarawa United midway into the last season.
