Nigerian Football Legend Adegboye Onigbinde Dies At 88

Spread the love

By Sedara Philip

Nigeria’s football community has been thrown into mourning following the death of former Super Eagles coach High Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, who passed away on Monday at the age of 88.

The family confirmed his passing through a WhatsApp broadcast message signed by Bolade Adesuyi, expressing gratitude to God for a life they described as impactful and fulfilled.

The statement read in part: “With great gratitude to God for a life well spent, we announce the passing of this great man a Modakeke High Chief, the first indigenous Nigerian Super Eagles football coach, father, husband, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother and friend, High Chief Festus Adegboye Onigbinde who passed unto the great beyond a couple of minutes ago.”

Born on March 5, 1938, Onigbinde was widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern football coaching in Nigeria. Over several decades, he played a significant role in shaping the country’s football development and mentoring a generation of players and coaches.

Onigbinde made history as the first indigenous Nigerian to coach the national team, the Super Eagles. One of the highlights of his coaching career came in 1984 when he led Nigeria to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. The team eventually finished with a silver medal after losing to Cameroon in the final.

He later returned to the national team setup in 2002 following the dismissal of the coaching crew led by Shuaibu Amodu after Nigeria’s disappointing outing at the Africa Cup of Nations that year. Onigbinde was tasked with rebuilding the team ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.

At the tournament, he assembled a squad largely made up of young and relatively inexperienced players. However, Nigeria endured a difficult campaign, failing to record a win and exiting the competition at the group stage — the country’s worst performance at the World Cup.

The Super Eagles opened their campaign with a narrow 1–0 defeat to Argentina, courtesy of a goal from Gabriel Batistuta. Nigeria then lost 2–1 to Sweden despite taking the lead in the match, a result that sealed their early elimination from the tournament. The team ended their campaign with a goalless draw against England.

After the World Cup, some players including Jay-Jay Okocha and Julius Aghahowa publicly criticised Onigbinde over what they described as questionable selections for the tournament squad.

Despite the controversies that followed the World Cup campaign, many players from that squad went on to build long and successful careers with the national team.

Beyond his role with the Super Eagles, Onigbinde remained a respected authority in football development. He later served as a technical instructor for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA, contributing significantly to coaching education and football growth across Africa.

His passing marks the end of an era for Nigerian football, leaving behind a legacy of dedication, leadership and service to the game.