Dan Evumena, the former head coach of Nigeria’s Falconets, has died after a brief illness. Evumena was in charge of the Falconets squad that advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals in Chile in 2008. According to reports, the former coach died at the Federal Medical Center in Asaba, Delta State.
Mansur Abdullahi, his coworker, verified the tragic news to Premium Times. The death of Dan Evumena, according to Abdullahi, was a painful one.“Well, he was a hardworking person, he was dedicated to his job, and he was a disciplinarian. He was a senior citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because he was retired from civil service as a senior immigration officer.”
He added, “He was my coursemate; just last year we graduated from London University in Sport Management. It is quite sad.” According to Coach Mansur, the late Dan Evumena fell sick just before Christmas and sadly never got over it. “He fell sick on the 24th of last month and a few days ago, he went into a coma and gave up.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has expressed “deep sorrow” at the death of the former U20 Women National team head coach.
“The news of Dan Evumena’s death is too hard to take. I am still in shock. This is a young trainer, who has done creditably well at club and national levels, and still had so much in his tank with which to fertilise and nurture the growth of many more women footballers.
“The death of every human being diminishes us, especially the death of every young person. He had his life in front of him. Our prayer is that the Almighty God will grant him eternal life and also grant those he has left behind, particularly his young family, the fortitude to bear the big loss,” NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said in Abuja.