3m360 can confirm this evening that former African Player of the year, Rashidi Yekini is dead. He died at the age of 49,
Family sources said he died after a brief illness.
P.M.Sports gathered that Yekini would be buried in his hometown, Offa, in Kwara State Saturday.
PROFILE OF LATE RASHIDI YEKINI
Rashidi Yekini (born 23 October 1963) was a Nigerian retired footballer who played as a striker. He scored Nigeria’s first goal in a FIFA World Cup. He died on 4 May 2012.
Club careerYekini was born in Kaduna. After starting his professional career in the Nigerian league, he moved to Côte d’Ivoire to play for Africa Sports National. From there he went to Portugal and Vitória de Setúbal, where he experienced his most memorable years, eventually becoming the Portuguese first division’s top scorer, in 1993–94, as his performances (32 matches, 34 goals) earned him the title of African Footballer of the Year in 1993, the first ever from the nation.In the 1994 summer, Yekini was bought by Olympiacos FC, but did not get along with teammates and left. His career never really got back on track, not even upon a return to Setúbal, which happened after another unassuming spell, in La Liga with Sporting de Gijón. He successively played with FC Zürich, Club Athlétique Bizertin and Al-Shabab Riyadh, before rejoining Africa Sports. In 2003, at 39, he returned to the Nigerian championship with Julius Berger FC.In 2005, 41-year old Yekini made a short comeback, moving alongside former national teammate Mobi Oparaku to Gateway FC.International careerScoring 37 goals for Nigeria’s national side in 58 appearances,[1] Yekini is the national record goalscorer. He was part of the team that participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup (where he scored Nigeria’s first-ever goal in a World Cup, in a 3–0 win against Bulgaria) and the 1998 World Cup.Additionally, Yekini also helped the Super Eagles win the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations, where he also topped the goal charts, and participated at Olympic level, in Seoul 1988.
Years Team App and Goals
1981–1982UNTL Kaduna1982–1984Shooting Stars1984–1987Abiola Babes1987–1990Africa Sports1990–1994Vitória Setúbal108(90)1994–1995Olympiacos4(2)1995–1996Sporting Gijón14(3)1997Vitória Setúbal14(3)1997–1998Zürich28(14)1998–1999Bizerte1999Al-Shabab1999–2002Africa Sports2002–2003Julius Berger2005Gateway
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