Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu has commended the President, board and fans of El Rayo Vallecano Footbal Club for immortalising the late Nigerian international goalkeeper, Mr. Wilfred Agbonavbare.
She expressed delight in their immense support and solidarity to the deceased, who was buried in Madrid, Spain on January 29, at a Cemetery in Meco, Alcala, a suburb of Madrid.
Mrs. Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who led other officers of the embassy and some members of the Nigerian community to the stadium to pay their respect and tributes to the deceased, said his club stood firmly behind him in his hours of need.
She acknowledged the selfless contributions and sacrifices made by the late Agbonavbare to his fatherland in his prime during his playing days.
She condoled with the children and family members over the untimely death of their patriarch and enjoined them to take heart, as well as find strength in the fact that he was resting peacefully in the bosom of the Lord.
It was gathered that the Nigerian Community in Spain was not happy with the way the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and National Sports Commission (NSC) treated the late goalkeeper.
According to the aggrieved members of the community, the late goalkeeper would have been alive if the NFF or NSC had intervened earlier when he was diagnosed with cancer.
They decried the negligent attitude of the sporting bodies in Nigeria towards the welfare of ex-internationals and sportsmen, some of whom were living in abject poverty.
They advised the sports authorities to take a cue from the deceased former club, El Rayo Vallecano in Spain, who not only assisted him in his hour of need, but also honoured and immortalised him even when he played last for the club almost 20 years ago.
“The late Agbonavbare last played for El Rayo Vallecano Football Club in 1996, yet the club remembered him, picked his medical bills, procured visas for his children, paid their tickets, paid for the funeral expenses and honoured him by immortalizing his name. These gestures go a long way in motivating the living to give their best in every endeavour,” they said.
He died at the age of 48, after a battle with esophageal cancer.
His death came days after his former club in Spain, El Rayo Vallecano raised money for his surgery.
The late Agbonavbare, 48, who lost his wife to breast cancer three years ago, died on January 27, at the Principe de Asturias University Teaching Hospital in Alcala de Henares, Madrid.
He was diagnosed with cancer in the United States of America last year and was brought back to Spain in early January, when he could not pay for his treatment in the US.
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