The management of Katsina United Football Club has begun arrangements to transport the body of late player Chinedu Ozor to his hometown for burial after he died during a pre-season friendly match.
Nasir Gide, the club’s media officer, stated that members of Ozor’s family had come to Katsina to confirm his death.
Gide stated that the deceased player’s relatives were transported to Katsina General Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where they saw his body and accepted his death as God’s will.
He stated that the family then requested that Ozor’s remains be relocated to the morgue of the Federal Teaching Hospital in Katsina pending burial arrangements, which the club promptly allowed.
“They completed all the necessary documentation at Katsina General Hospital before obtaining a referral to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina. The mortuary officials accepted the body for preservation,” Gide said.
He also stated that the club had provided accommodation and other required support to the bereaved family while conversations about moving the late footballer’s remains to his homeland for burial were ongoing.
Ozor fell nine minutes into Katsina United’s preseason encounter against Niger Tornadoes in the Gusau/Ahlan Pre-season Cup on Tuesday.
He was initially brought to K-Dara Specialist Hospital in Gidan Dawa, where he was proclaimed dead, before being confirmed at Katsina General Hospital.
However, uncertainty arose when Ozor’s roommate claimed seeing movement in one of the player’s hands as his body was being transported to the morgue.
The development prompted medical personnel to return the player to Katsina General Hospital, where he was placed on life support in the intensive care unit for 24 hours at the family’s request.
The family also requested that the body not be deposited at the morgue until they arrived to personally confirm the facts.
Despite emergency medical treatment and a period of monitoring, Katsina United later confirmed Ozor’s death.
The club’s management has reaffirmed its commitment to assisting the dead player’s family and ensuring that the arrangements for his final journey are handled respectfully.
The death has put the Nigerian football community into sadness since Ozor fell during a preseason match against Niger Tornados.
Earlier, the Katsina State Government offered condolences to the player’s family and Katsina United.
In a statement issued by Governor Dikko Radda’s Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Mohammed, Uzor’s death was regarded as a tragic loss to the club, the football world, and Katsina State.
He expressed his sympathies to the player’s family, Katsina United FC, his teammates, coaches, management, fans, former club Kano Pillars FC, and the Nigerian football community.
