Another twist to Ogoli’s death uncovered

Late Ogoli © SuperSport.com

Following the death of Ocean Boys’ defender, Emmanuel Ogoli, on Sunday while running out against Niger Tornadoes in a Week 6 game in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), it is understood that the left-back had collapsed six weeks ago during a training session.

SuperSport.com was informed on Monday morning by an official of the former Nigerian champions that Ogoli in early November had suffered a relapse in a training session.

The official, who pleaded for anonymity, said the player was passed fit before Sunday’s tragic game in which Ogoli, 21, slumped just 39 minutes into the match before he was confirmed dead at an undisclosed hospital in Yenagoa.

“The late player actually fainted I think about six weeks ago if I’m not mistaken during one of the team’s training session. But after that time he was okay though he suffered a slight injury in between in one of our games, which he quickly recovered from. But before yesterday’s (Sunday’s) game he did not show any sign to suspect that such terrible occurrence will happen.

“For us, this is sad news because no one prays for anyone to die in this kind of way. We pray that God will grant the family the heart to bear this loss and also those of us remaining here at Ocean Boys,” the official disclosed.

Ocean Boys’ team doctor, Erefa Inengibo, had earlier been reported by SuperSport.com saying that late Ogoli and other players passed every routine check and pre-season medical tests.

“The management (of Ocean Boys) is always particular about the condition of our players. Even before the season started, we conducted tests on all the players. Emma (Ogoli) was no exception and we found him to be in perfect condition.

“Last month, he was also at the hospital for routine check-ups and we found him to be fit as fiddle. We ascertained his stamina and endurance levels and the results were satisfactory so this is clearly a shock,” Inengibo said.