The camp of Nigeria’s national team, Super Eagles was thrown into mourning Tuesday night, when news filtered in about the death of the team’s former media officer, Ben Alaiya, megasportsarena.com reports.
Although Alaiya’s tenure with the squad came to an end in 2015, when he was replaced by Toyin Ibitoye, who then gave way to Babafemi Raji earlier this year, the former spokesman remains fond in memory of several players in the squad.
Among them are skipper Ahmed Musa and Kenneth Omeruo, together with which he won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, as well as Leon Aderemi Balogun, who got his first national team cap during Alaiya’s time with the squad.
Thursday’s encounter at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere will kick off at 5pm, and will go some way to confirm Nigeria’s readiness to leap into the knockout phase of the qualifying series early ahead of the March 2022 date for that all-important phase.
It is a pacesetter versus table-propper match-up, with the Les Fauves, whose 35-man contingent flew into Lagos on Tuesday evening, bottom of Group C with only one point and one goal as against two goals against. They trail the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde on inferior number of goals scored.
Leicester City of England’s Kelechi Iheanacho scored a brace to kickstart Nigeria’s campaign on fine footing early in September, before Victor Osimhen’s equalizer and a spectacular own goal by Blue Sharks’ defender Kenny Santos Rocha handed the Eagles all the points in the island of Mindelo to put them in firm control of the pool.
With the return encounter against the Les Fauves already billed for the Stade Japoma de Douala on Sunday afternoon, Gernot Rohr and wards countenance a possible six points that will make them unassailable in Group C, ahead of the last two games away to Liberia and home to Cape Verde in November.
CAF has appointed Mauritanian official Abdel Aziz Bouh as referee for Thursday’s encounter, in which he will be assisted by compatriots Hamedine Diba (assistant referee 1), Abderrahmane War (assistant referee 2) and Moussa Diou (fourth official).
The referee assessor is Jerome Efong Nzolo from Gabon and the match commissioner is Marcelin Gaha Djiadeu from Cameroon. Nigerian Dr Ozi Salami Abdulrahim will be medical officer, who will all be shocked to learn about Alaiya’s passing.
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) secretary-general, Dr Mohammed Sanusi expressed shock and sorrow over the passing on Tuesday night of the leading journalist, editor and general manager of SportsDay newspaper, was reported to have died in his hometown, Ososo, Edo State after a brief illness.
Sanusi said: “Ben worked very hard in his role as Super Eagles’ media officer and was always a jolly good fellow. He was very professional and dedicated. This is quite sad.
“Our hearts go out to his young wife and the children. We pray that God will grant him eternal rest and also give the family and other loved ones he left behind the fortitude to bear the loss. It is devastating.”
