Rivers State Commissioner for Sports, Hon. Boma Iyaye has sympathised with the family of former national team goal keeper, Best Ogedegbe who died on Monday after an eye surgery.

This was contained in a statement signed by the press officer of the Ministry of Sports, Juliana Masi.

According to Iyaye, the death of former goalkeeper trainer of Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt was heartbreaking and he would be missed by all Nigerians, especially those in the sports industry in the country, particularly, Rivers State.

The commissioner prayed God to give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable lost.

He further urged them to be strong as the good legacies left by Ogedengbe would not be forgotten easily.

Until his death, Ogedegbe was in the employment of Dolphins FC, Port Harcourt as goalkeeper trainer.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation NFF and the Nigerian Premier League NPL have expressed deep shock and huge sense of grief at the death of former national goalkeeper Best Ogedegbe, last week.

Ogedegbe was reported to have died after an eye operation at the University College Hospital, Ibadan on Tuesday last week.

 In a letter to the family of the departed goaltender, signed by NFF General Secretary Dr Bolaji Ojo-Oba, the Federation wrote: “The death of the affable Best Ogedegbe, who was number one goalkeeper for the national senior team, Green Eagles, when they won the African Cup of Nations for Nigeria for the first time in 1980, has once again robbed our country of a true hero who worked hard and painstakingly for the growth and good of Nigeria football.

 “It is on record that late Ogedegbe conceded ONLY one goal in all of Nigeria’s five matches at the African Cup of Nations in 1980, helping in no small way to ensure that the Green Eagles lifted the trophy on home soil with aplomb. His excellent goalkeeping skills are still being lauded almost three decades after.

 “Late Ogedegbe was also a pivot of the national U-23 team, as Goalkeeper Trainer, as the team qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games in China and went to Beijing to dazzle the world, picking the silver medal in the process.

 “Our consolation at this period is that the late Ogedegbe left his giant footprints in the sands of time. We pray that the Almighty God will grant his very gentle soul eternal rest, and also grant the family he has left behind as well as the Nigeria football fraternity the fortitude to bear the loss.”

 Reacting to his death, the NPL Chairman Oyuki Jackson Obaseki,reflected on Ogedegbe’s commitment to his mother land and humility which handed him with many national laurels and concluded that his death has indeed closed another chapter of Nigeria national football heroes.