Football Nigeria - A former star player of Nigeria's senior national football team, Okey Isima, has died at the age of 56, the local media reported Tuesday.
The report said Isima, a member of the then 'Green Eagles' team that won the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations for Nigeria, died Monday in the capital city of Abuja, after a brief illness.
The death came less than a year after another national football team star player, Rashidi Yekini, died at the age of 48.
Isima's death came as the nation continues to celebrate winning the its third Africa Cup of Nations title, which it clinched by beating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final of the 2013 edition of the tournament in South Africa 10 Feb.
Apart from the 1980 Nations Cup triumph, Nigeria also won the much-coveted trophy in 1994.
The name of the senior national team was changed from 'Green Eagles' to 'Super Eagles' after its victory at the 1994 Nations Cup, the same year the team also qualified for its first ever World Cup finals.
Pana 19/02/2013