News
Ex-Super Falcons Coach, Godwin Izilein Is Dead
Godwin Izilein, a former international football player and highly accomplished coach from Nigeria, passed away in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, at the age of 81, SportXparte learnt.
According to The PUNCH, sources revealed that Izilein, who successfully led the Super Falcons to victory in the 2004 WAFCON held in Johannesburg, succumbed to complications related to abdominal issues.
A family member, who preferred to remain anonymous, informed the news platform that Izilein breathed his last in a hospital located in Benin.
Kehinde Osagiede, the Media Officer of Bendel Insurance, a football club owned by the Edo State government, has also confirmed this unfortunate news.
“He died today (Wednesday) after a brief illness. He was a former Insurance coach who gave everything to discovering and nurturing football talents, both male and female, in Nigeria. The club (Insurance) is saddened by his death,” Osagiede said.
Izilein, recognized as one of the nation’s top local coaches, led the Falcons to victory in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa in 2004, amidst controversy. Following their triumph, the Falcons players protested and demanded their camp allowances and winning bonuses in Johannesburg before returning home. However, furious federation officials accused Izilein of inciting the players to go on strike.
The Nigeria Football Association board, led by Ibrahim Galadima at the time, refused to pay Izilein his rightful entitlements of $12,000 after the protest. Subsequent boards also failed to honour the payment for 20 years, even after his passing.
Despite his agility and outspoken nature until his demise, Izilein, in his final interview with journalists, implored the Nigeria Football Federation to settle his outstanding allowances.
“Since 2004 that they have owed me, I have not heard from the NFF,” Izilein had told the PUNCH last year.
He added: “It’s a pity that I may not get the money again. It’s over 19 years that the NFF has yet to pay me the $12,000 and the N2m promised me by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“What is my offence, since they refused to pay me my money? I did not do anything wrong. The girls said they were not coming back to Nigeria because they were owed by the NFF. I was on my knees begging them, I did not care if they were my daughters.
“I told them that a different meaning would be read into this action. It is easy to say the coaches are responsible, and that was exactly what it turned out to be, but it’s not fair to me, and I feel very bad.”
The 81-year-old also took charge of local teams NNB FC and Bendel Insurance at the club level.
