A UK-based Nigerian footballer, Saburi Adeniji, has died after battling a severe brain stem injury, his club, Kings Park Rangers Football Club, has announced.
The club, in a statement on Saturday, said the left winger, popularly known as Ola, passed away on Friday morning after spending weeks in intensive care.
It disclosed that the footballer held on until arrangements were concluded for his family to travel from Nigeria to the United Kingdom, although his wife and young daughter arrived a day after his death.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that our number 17, Saburi Adeniji ‘Ola’, passed away yesterday morning,” the club said.
The statement described the late footballer as a devoted family man and a cherished member of the team, noting that his impact went beyond the pitch.
Adeniji’s death followed weeks of public appeals by the club for prayers and financial assistance after he was admitted into intensive care with a critical brain injury.
On January 17, Kings Park Rangers had announced that all club matches would be suspended as players and officials rallied around the winger at his hospital bedside.
As his condition deteriorated, the club launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to enable his wife and four-year-old daughter to travel from Nigeria to the UK.
The club later revealed that Adeniji was admitted to the intensive care unit at Queen’s Hospital on January 15, where medical specialists confirmed that his condition had worsened significantly.
According to the club, doctors classified him as brain dead, while changes in UK medical procedures delayed the withdrawal of life support to allow a brief window for his family to be with him.
Adeniji is survived by his wife and daughter, with the club saying funds raised would also support the bereaved family and help secure the child’s education, as it called on the football community to rally around them in their moment of loss.
