Katsina United have confirmed the death of Chinedu Ozor, who slumped during a pre-season friendly match on Tuesday.
The club announced the player’s passing in a statement on Wednesday.
Katsina United noted that Ozor’s body was moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the state’s General Hospital due to his family “refusing to give up hope”, dismissing the reports of the player suddenly regaining consciousness at the morgue after he had earlier been pronounced dead by doctors.
Ozor, who recently signed for Katsina United, collapsed during the club’s match against Niger Tornadoes at the Gusau/Ahlan Pre-season Cup at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Katsina.
A few hours after the incident, Nasir Gibe, the club’s media officer, had told TheCable that the player was taken to two hospitals where he was pronounced dead, adding that “we don’t know where or who saw his hands shaking, which makes his relatives say he is still alive and that we should take him to the ICU.”
In the latest statement on the situation, Katsina United said that “moment of hope” for the family “must not be turned into a story that Chinedu survived”.
“They were a family desperately hoping that somehow, against all odds, their loved one was still with them,” the statement reads.
“He did not regain consciousness. He passed away.
“We know how difficult this is to accept. We know many people are still trying to process what happened. His teammates are grieving. His friends are grieving. The club is grieving. And somewhere, a family is facing a pain that words cannot begin to describe.”
Jerome Ochigbo, a childhood friend of Ozor, also confirmed the death to TheCable.
He said the player’s body showed no sign of consciousness after 24 hours in the ICU and has finally been transferred to the morgue.
Ochigbo said Ozor’s brother is to retrieve the body for a journey back to Okpokwu Local Government Area, Benue, where the late footballer built a house for his mother, wife and his kids.
The childhood friend clarified that Uzor had no underlying health problem before the fatal incident.
Ozor was previously with Kano Pillars FC before joining Katsina United ahead of the forthcoming Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season.
