FIFA pays tribute to Nigerian goal king, Rashidi Yekini

INDEPENDENT 

Eleven years ago today, Nigeria was plunged into mourning. The sense of grief was matched only by shock as news emerged that Rashidi Yekini, at just 48, was dead.

World Football governing body in its Twitter handle paid tribute the striker who was the first Nigerian player to score at the World Cup.

Nigeria’s qualification for that edition of the World Cup was largely dependent on the goal-scoring exploits of the tall and bulky footballer.

Last year, Sunday Oliseh led the tributes, eulogising his former Super Eagles team-mate as “one of the best African players and legends to ever walk this earth”.

And while the praise was lavish, it was justified by Yekini’s achievements.

The man dubbed Nigeria’s ‘Goalsfather’ remains, by some distance, his country’s greatest and most prolific marksman. No one has even come close to matching his impressive haul of 37 strikes from just 58 appearances.
Yekini also specialised in historic goals, from the efforts that propelled Nigeria to their first FIFA World Cup™ and earned them a second African crown to, most famously of all, the one that opened their…