Nigeria’s ex-Super Eagles player, 1980 AFCON hero Henry Nwosu, dies

Nigeria’s ex-Super Eagles player, 1980 AFCON hero Henry Nwosu, dies 

 

Nigeria’s football community has been thrown into mourning following the death of former Super Eagles midfielder Henry Nwosu, a key member of the squad that won the historic 1980 Africa Cup of Nations. He was 62.

The sad news was confirmed on Saturday by his former national teammate and football legend, Segun Odegbami, who disclosed that Nwosu died in the early hours of the morning after battling for his life in hospital.

According to Odegbami, the former midfielder passed away around 4am at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja, Lagos, where he had been receiving intensive care since Wednesday.

“Henry Nwosu passes on! After five days in hospital battling for his life, the one I call ‘Youngest Millionaire’ passed on at 4:00 a.m. this morning,” Odegbami wrote on social media.

“It is with deep pain in my heart that I have to be the conveyor of the news of the death of Henry Nwosu, MON. May he rest peacefully with our Creator in Heaven.”

Nwosu carved his name into Nigerian football history as the youngest member of the legendary Green Eagles squad that lifted the country’s first-ever continental trophy at the 1980 tournament hosted in Lagos.

Playing before a packed National Stadium, the team defeated Algeria 3–0 in the final to secure a landmark victory for Nigeria and ignite decades of football passion across the nation.

Renowned for his technical ability, vision and composure in midfield, Nwosu played a crucial role in that golden generation of Nigerian footballers who laid the foundation for the country’s rise as a continental powerhouse.

After his playing career, he remained involved in football development and was widely respected among teammates, fans and administrators for his contribution to the game.

Tributes have begun pouring in from across the Nigerian football community, with many remembering him as one of the heroes who delivered the country’s first Africa Cup of Nations title.

His death marks the passing of another member of Nigeria’s celebrated 1980 squad, whose triumph remains one of the most defining moments in the nation’s sporting history.