Nigerian footballer Gift Atulewa has died at the age of 38.
The forward was a former youth international who represented Nigeria’s Flying Eagles at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands in 2005, when they reached the final, with Mikel Obi and Taye Taiwo also in the squad.
The spokesperson for the Delta State Football Association, Azuka Chiemeka, confirmed Atulewa’s passing on Tuesday, stating that he died in the morning due to complications from high blood pressure.
“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 Delta State FA spokesperson said, according to Premium Times.
“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 7am.”
Atulewa reportedly completed a coaching course in Cote d’Ivoire recently, having played most of his career in Nigeria with Bayelsa United, Ocean Boys and Warri Wolves.
He is the third member of the 2005 U-20 World Cup squad to die, after Olufemi Adebayo and captain Isaac Promise.
