₦airaland Forum

The match will be live on Kwese and Startimes, while Supersports will show it later.

1) Nigeria

2) China

Nigeria takes on China today at 3:30pm in the FIFA Under 20 Women's World Cup.

The Super Falconets lost 0-1 to Germany in their first game and defeated Haiti 1-0 in their second game. A win against China today will gaurantee the Falconets' qualification to the quarter finals.

2 picture) Falconets' goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie with her player of the match award after the game against Haiti.

3rd picture) Rasheedat Ajibade scores from the penalty spot after Anam Imo was fouled in the penalty box.

MartinCorridon:
Thanks naptu2. I really like your threads. You are the resident Chief Historian

Thank you.

Beremx:
Samuel Okwaraji is an Orlu man. When I was much younger when I traveled to my village for Xmas, my uncles do show me Okwaraji's house... A white magnificent house back then. I dunno when I will travel again but if I do I will bring pictures of his house in the village

Thank you very much. I'd love to see the pictures.

Macon1212:
It was around 38 not 29 years, Samuel dies around 1980, I was in secondary School then.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha

stagger:
My brother,
This match was played at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu and featured Nigeria against Algeria. We won it 2-0 with goals from Ademola Adeshina and Henry Nwosu. Nigerians celebrated well because the Algerian goalkeeper, Drid Nasseridine was regarded at the time as the best in Africa after his heroics against Brazil in the 1986 World Cup (a match Algeria lost 1-0 but totally outplayed the Brazilians).

Thanks bro.

histemple:
"He was a devout Christian and was STUDYING for his law degree at an Italian university"

The above was what you wrote.

I did not write that he was studying for his law degree when he died.

That post was about why his death hurt me more than usual and that was because, unlike other professionals, he always came back to play for Nigeria

1) Even when the NFA did not pay for flight tickets

2) Even when he was studying for his law degree

3) He was always the first to show up in camp even when others showed up late

4) He never made demands or gave conditions before playing for Nigeria

5) He was simple and a devout Christian, even when other professionals were showing up with girls and flashy cars.

Read my post again

I hate this Cloudflare.

kingkoboko:
I challenge u 2 read d full story 1st & den arrive at ur own conclusion. Whatsapp my agent on +2349095000603

He'll send it 2u FREE.

I've already heard that fictional story of August 15th, 1970, Mobilaji Johnson and each Indian goal counting as 3 goals. I heard it a long time ago. It's not new to me.

The BBC had a programme in which listeners could ask any question and they would get the answer for you.

A Nigerian wrote into the programme c1994 to ask if the story was true and if Nigeria actually played India in a 99-1 match.

The BBC World Service got their reporter in India to interview soneone from the Indian FA and they said that no such match took place (that was the first time that they were hearing about it).

The BBC then got their reporter in Lagos to interview the then NFA spokesman and he confirmed that it's a myth.

There have been many similar myths, eg, the myth that the Civil War was stopped because of a football match.

histemple:
You may need to research more about Okwaraji studying at the time of his death.

Okwaraji was already a lawyer and had also received his masters degree in law (LLM) from the university of Rome.

And there was no record that he had enrolled for his doctorate degree.

You might need to read my post again in order to understand it

Yokiti, COOLDK, MartinCorridon.

Kollington Ayinla - Megastar Album (1989).

O Okwaraji! is the 5th track.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8WgQtQPBeU

I had heard of that mythical match between Nigeria and India long before Samuel Okwaraji died.

Teslim "Thunder" Balogun scored Nigeria's only goal in the version that I heard. There was also another myth that Thunder Balogun killed his brother by playing a shot (with his left leg) that went through his brother's stomach.

I didn't believe the myths because they sounded too fantastic.

My uncle (the one that told me that Okwaraji was dead) played with Thunder Balogun and I thought of asking him if the stories were true, but I never summoned the courage too ask him (I didn't want to ask him a ridiculous question).

Edit. kingkoboko, no such match took place.

naptu2:
Okwaraji's death was especially painful because of the nature of the man. At that time there was a dichotomy between the professional players and the home based players.

The professionals made a lot of demands before playing for the national teams. They often arrived camp and training sessions late (in flashy cars) and were always involved in one scandal or the other (eg Etim Esin).

Okwaraji was the opposite. He never caused any problems, often paid his own travel expenses, was always the first to get to camp and was never involved in any scandals. He was a devout christian and was studying for his law degree at an Italian university. He was actually playing in Italy (which most nigerians felt had the best league in the world at the time).

1) Samuel Okwaraji, Stephen Keshi, Peter Rufai and Coach Yusuf Salami during a Seoul '88 Olympic qualifier at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu.

naptu2:
My dad and others were at the stadium, but I watched the match on tv at home. I saw when Okwaraji collapsed, when one of the players (I've forgotten who) put his hands on his head in alarm and when Okwaraji was stretchered into the ambulance. I assumed that he was alive and expected to read updates on his condition in the papers the next day.

I also saw as some fans were being carried over the fence and stretchered to the athletics track where Red Cross officials were attending to them. The stadium was too full and it seems that the gates were opened during the second half and there was a scuffle between people who were trying to get into the arena and people who were trying to get out. Some people suffocated, while others were trampled.

But my uncle (who played for Nigeria in the '50s and '60s) showed up at the house after the match. "Where is ****" (my dad). "He's not back", I replied.

"They've killed this boy o!", my uncle exclaimed. I asked who and he replied that Okwaraji was dead. I didn't believe him. "But they put him in the ambulance", I replied. My uncle grew angry. "Which ambulance? Which ambulance? The boy was dead on the pitch. The ambulance was just for show, so that the crowd wouldn't panic".

I still refused to believe him, but I didn't argue, because I could see that he was upset. Instead, I went to my room and prayed, hoped and wished that Okwaraji was still alive. But unfortunately, it was reported on the NTA News that Okwaraji was dead.

Okwaraji's super goal

This is my favourite goal by Okwaraji. I searched YouTube for a video of this goal from 2008 till 2016 before I eventually found one. That's because most people on YouTube prefer to post videos of the final, which was also between Nigeria and Cameroon.

This is a group stage match at the 1988 Nations Cup (Maroc '88) between Nigeria and Cameroon. Okwaraji scored in the second minute via a rocket shot from outside the penalty box (this is the kind of shot that Ernest Okonkwo would describe as an "intercontinental ballistic missile). It was the fastest goal at the Nations Cup at that time. The player that dribbled down the right and passed to Okwaraji was Rashidi Yekini.


Roger Milla equalised in the 21st minute, via a bullet header that beat Peter Rufai and it ended

Nigeria 1-1 Cameroon.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY9ZYHyTVwU