Femi Opabunmi was just 17 when he faced England
and David Beckham at the 2002 World Cup
Femi
Opabunmi became the youngest player to
represent Nigeria at a World Cup when he faced
England in 2002. But just four years later his career
was over, finished by an eye problem. Here he tells
BBC Sport how the end of his football dream left him
considering taking his own life. I was 17 when I played for Nigeria at the 2002
World Cup - the youngest player at the
tournament. I played against England - David
Beckham, Michael Owen, Paul Scholes, all of
them. But three or four years later the story
changed. One minute flying; the next minute down. My eye problem started. I went for surgery. They said
I have glaucoma. Everything changed. Things just got
worse and worse and worse. I only see with one eye
now. I woke up one morning and found out that I couldn't
see well. I just saw cloud and had to go the specialist
to check. That's when they told me I had to have an
operation. After the operation, the problem remained
the same. Now I can only see with my left eye. I can't see
anything with my right. But I thank God that I can still
see with one eye. Giving up football is a very painful thing. Sometimes
you think that maybe you should kill yourself. You
think a lot, especially when your mates are still
playing. You look at them and you shed tears. You feel
bad. But in any situation, you have to be stronger.

His story is so sad