Nigeria Football Federation Mourns Late Coach, Brodericks-Imasuen

The Nigeria Football Federation has expressed deep shock at the demise of former national team coach Sebastian Brodericks-Imasuen.

Brodericks-Imasuen who was the first man to lead an African team to win a FIFA World Cup when the Golden Eaglets became the inaugural U-16 world champions at the 1985 cadet World Cup in China died at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital in Benin City, Edo State on Wednesday, 3 January 2024.

The Golden Eaglets team defeated West Germany 2-0 at the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing to lift the title which was then known as an Under- 16 tournament.

Two years later in Canada in 1987, Brodericks-Imasuen known by the nickname ‘Sabara’ led the Golden Eaglets to runner-up position after a penalty shootout defeat to the former Soviet Union.

The then Nigeria Football Association retained his services and he led the team to the tournament in Scotland in 1989 where his team lost to eventual winners Saudi Arabia on penalties in the quarter-finals.

FIFA upgraded the tournament from U-16 to U-17 in 1991 although Nigeria failed to qualify before returning in 1993 to win its second title under the tutelage of Fanny Ikhayere Amun.

According to the late Brodericks-Imasuen family, the 85-year-old tactician was undergoing treatment for stroke and diabetes at the hospital.

“The NFF and the entire Nigeria Football fraternity are sorely pained by the demise of Coach Sebastian Brodricks-Imasuen,” the NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi said ruefully.

“He worked very hard at his craft and was tireless in his efforts to bring honour to the homeland through the various National Teams he worked with. No one can ever forget how he led an unsung group of boys to China to win a first-ever FIFA World Cup for Nigeria and Africa,” Sanusi added.

The soft-spoken, easy-going tactician also assisted Dutchman Clemens Westerhof as Nigeria finished as runners-up at the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Algeria.