TheCable

President Bola Tinubu has mourned the passing of Sebastian Brodericks-Imaseun, former head coach of Nigeria’s U-17 male team.

The former Golden Eaglets head coach died on Wednesday at the age of 85 after battling with a “long terminal illness”.

In a statement issued on Sunday by Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, Tinubu said he received the news of Brodericks-Imaseun’s death — one of Nigeria’s finest football coaches — with a “heavy heart”.

Tinubu said Brodericks-Imaseun “brought hope and inspired national pride by his industry, devotion, and diligence on and off the pitch”, describing him as a “true Nigerian hero”.

The president sympathised with the Brodericks-Imaseun family, and the football community, and prayed for the repose of the soul of the departed.

Brodericks-Imaseun, nicknamed Sabara, was Nigeria’s coach when the country won the maiden FIFA/Kodak U-16 World Cup in China in 1985.

He also led Nigeria to the second edition of the age-grade World Cup in Canada in 1987, where the team won the silver medal after losing to the defunct Soviet Union in the final.

You can read Brodericks-Imaseun’s obituary here.