The remains of Enugu Rangers midfielder Ifeanyi George was laid to rest on Saturday in Lagos, with teammates and the football family paying tribute to the late footballer.
George was killed in a ghastly road accident on March 22, alongside teammate, Emmanuel Ogbu, and friend Gabriel Eteka, after his car rammed into a parked articulated vehicle at Abudu along the Benin/Asaba Expressway.
Teammate Kehinde Adedipe is still heartbroken since he learnt of George’s death.
“I wept bitterly when I heard the news. For that kind of guy to just go like that is heartbreaking, on the Friday before the Sunday that the accident happened, we were still together with some of our teammates when he told me he would be travelling home and I told him I would travel on Saturday.”
Rangers defender Ifeanyi Nweke also paid tribute to George.
“This is still shocking and painful. I can’t believe my friend is no more. He was a very friendly guy on and off the pitch. May God grant his family and friends the gratitude to bear this loss.”
Former teammate and friend, Abu Azeez, described George as a player who left a legacy behind.
“When most people die you talk about them for some minutes and it is over, but George was a good friend who loved his job as a footballer. He was a family man. I wil miss my brother.”
Notable football administrator and seasoned journalist Godwin Enakhena also paid tribute to his former player.
“RIP Ifeanyi, my boy. He was with Fidelis (coach Ilechukwu) in MFM Headqaurters, Yaba.
I dragged him to MFM ikeja and then MFMFC. He was with me in the NNL before an agent took him to Enyimba and then Rangers,” Enakhena wrote on WhatsApp platform, Family United By Sports.
“He was clean shaven, the rule I insist on at MFMFC for all players, but the moment he joined Enyimba, he grew dreads. He started running away from me because of this.
“He was a gentle boy, the favourite of MFM youth pastors. His yoruba was impeccable
“Ifeanyi and I last met in December (2019), when MFM Women’s Basketball Club and Rangers travelled on same flight to Egypt.
He took pictures with me at the airport, which he promised to send to me. We chatted each time Rangers played a game and he was not dressed. I know he was injured for a while before the sad news of his demise.”
