Football stakeholders and fans are paying glowing tributes to former Nigeria U-20 international Gift Atulewa, who passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 38.
The former Bayelsa United striker, who was part of Nigeria’s silver-winning squad at the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands, died following complications with blood pressure, just a month after losing his wife.
A spokesperson for the Delta State Football Association confirmed his death, revealing that Atulewa had been managing blood pressure issues before his condition worsened.
“He has blood pressure issues, but he has been managing them. The day before yesterday, the condition became bad, and he was taken to the hospital. They noticed he had malaria, but aside from that, the blood pressure kept going up; we lost him this morning by 7 a.m.,” the spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Award-winning journalist Shina Oludare led the tributes on X, writing, “I was heartbroken to hear of Gift Atulewa’s passing. Gift was part of Nigeria’s silver-winning squad at the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, but sadly, his career never fully recovered after that.”
Another fan, Abel Onuwa, wrote, “Atulewa’s death was a painful one. I happened to know him in person; he was a jolly fellow and a free giver.”
“That set is the most enterprising Cadet team in terms of performance. Death is inevitable; it’s sad it came early,” Lawrence Opeyemi remarked.
Yomi Caesar remembered him for his set-piece abilities, writing, “So sad, coach Atulewa free kick merchant. Rest in peace.”
“Never knew Isaac promise was dead. Wow!!! RIP Atulewa. The Siasia boys,” SpenDescartes wrote on X.
“D*mn, RIP Gift Atulewa,” Amoda Tinubu added, while Amourab wrote, “Sad news indeed. May God rest his soul.”
“My God. This person’s thought came to me a few days ago. His last attempt to sign for a club was when he went to Brazil for trials. He did a few coaching courses afterwards. I knew him and his little brother closely. This is so sad,” @Onome1759 added.
The Delta FA spokesperson noted that Atulewa had remained active in football until his death, recently scoring from a trademark free-kick in a tournament featuring ex-internationals.
“As we are speaking, there is an international football tournament going on in Delta State. He scored the first goal of the tournament from a wonderful free kick that he is known for about three weeks ago when the competition began,” he added.
Atulewa’s death marks the third loss among the 2005 Flying Eagles squad members, following the passing of Olufemi Adebayo and team captain Isaac Promise.
Before his death, Atulewa had recently completed a coaching course in Ivory Coast. He retired from professional football in 2016 after spells with a few Nigerian clubs, including Ocean Boys and Warri Wolves.
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