18th April, 2011
Tragedy befell Nigerian football early today when news from Greece confirmed that Super Eagles’ defender, Adefemi Olubayo died in an auto crash.
Reports say, the former Bendel Insurance of Benin star, who played for Greece’s Skoda Xanthi lost control of his car on the Egnatia motorway while driving from Xanthi to Salonika in the Kavala region of Northern Greece.
The Greek police who confirmed the tragic incident said, Olubayo was on his to Nigeria to finalise details of his wedding when the accident happened.
The 25-year-old former Rapid Bucharest defender signed for Xanthi last summer and made 24 appearances for the club, scoring twice. He has also played three times for Nigeria.
The death of the Nigerian international caught the Greek football family by surprise with the country’s league body releasing a statement to express its condolence.
“The Super League and the entire Greek football family would like to express its deepest condolences and sympathy for the family of Olubayo Adefemi who died tragically in a car accident,†league organisers said.
The late Olubayo had always been a delight to watch on the field of play especially when he featured in the Samson Siasia led team to the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, WYC, in The Netherlands. He won silver medal with the team in the tournament. He was also with Siasia in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games where Nigeria won silver medal.
With his previous performance in his teams in the past, Coach Siasia was at home calling him to the senior national team, the Super Eagles when he took over from Austin Eguavoen last December.
The Lagos State-born Olubayo played in Siasia’s first competitive match as the handler of the Eagles. The former Hapoel Tel-Aviv star featured in the international match against the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos. The Eagles beat their visitors 2-1 in the friendly.
He also played in Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia in Abuja and the international friendly against the Harambee Stars of Kenya.