Sad day for football as former Super Eagles defender dies in Lagos hospital

- Yisa Sofoluwe won 40 caps and scored one goal for Nigeria as a member of the Eagles in the 80s

- He was earlier diagnosed for mild cerebral atrophy and spent several days at the hospital

- The ‘minister of defence’ has passed away at a Lagos hospital at the age of 53

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A former Nigerian defender Yisa Sofoluwe died on Tuesday, February 9, after being in coma for five days at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

The 53-year-old went through a brain magnetic resonance imaging scan as doctors battled to identify his actual status.

He had been diagnosed for mild cerebral atrophy and spent several days at the hospital before he eventually passed away.

Sofoluwe’s death was announced by an ex-international Waidi Akanni and former player Jide Oguntuase who had been taking care of him before he died.

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“Sofoluwe didn’t make it. We tried our best to save his life but unfortunately he has gone to be with the Lord,” an emotional Akanni told Sporting Life.

Sofoluwe won 40 caps and scored one goal for Nigeria as a member of the Eagles squads which reached the final of the 1984 and 1988 AFCON tournaments.

At club level, he featured for Ibadan giants 3SC between 1982 and 1983, winning the domestic league title, before moving to Abiola Babes, where he spent four seasons and won the FA Cup twice in 1985 and 1987.

And this is coming barely two weeks that Jamaica’s record goalscorer and former Sheffield United star Luton Shelton has passed away at the age of 35, according to a statement by the club.

It was gathered that the former striker had battled Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis for some time but he, sadly, lost the fight.

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He spent a season at Bramall Lane between 2007 and 2008 and left the club with remarkable contributions as he remains a cult hero there.

Shelton will be remembered for his debut display against Premier League giants Manchester United having joined Sheffield from Swedish side Helsingborgs.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Sheffield Wednesday legend and former England player Peter Swan was confirmed dead at the age of 84.

The centre-half was pronounced dead on Thursday, January 21 at the Chesterfield Royal Hospital after battling with Alzheimer's disease since the mid-2000s.

Swan made over 300 appearances for the Owls having started his career with the Hillsborough Stadium outfit's youth team in 1952.

He also featured 19 solid times for the English national team but his career was cut short because of his involvement in a betting scandal.