The Nigerian football community has been struck by another tragic loss with the death of former youth international Gift Atulewa.
The talented forward passed away at the age of 38.
Azuka Chiemeka, spokesperson for the Delta State Football Association, confirmed the heartbreaking news to PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr. Chiemeka stated that Atulewa died at around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, after suffering complications from high blood pressure.
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“We just buried the wife last month, that may have contributed to this development. He has blood pressure issues but he has been managing it, just day before yesterday, the condition became bad and he was taken to the hospital, they noticed he had malaria but aside from that, the blood pressure kept going up, we lost him this morning by 7 a.m.” The Delta State FA spokesperson told PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr Azuka reflected on Atulewa’s recent involvement in football, saying, “As we are speaking, there is an ex-international football tournament going on in Delta State and he is part of the ex Uwei where he comes from, he is part of their team, he scored the first goal of the tournament from his wonderful free kick that he is known for, he scored that goal like three weeks ago when the competition began.”
Atulewa had recently returned from Côte d’Ivoire, where he completed a coaching course, though tragically, he will not have the opportunity to put his new qualifications to use.
A gifted player, Atulewa began his career with Bayelsa United F.C., before moving on to Ocean Boys F.C. and later Warri Wolves F.C., where he made a significant impact. He was also part of the Nigerian U-20 team that competed in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands.
Sadly, Atulewa’s passing marks the third loss from the 2005 U-20 squad, following the deaths of Olufemi Adebayo and Isaac Promise.
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