Former Falconets Coach, Daniel Evumena, Dies, NFF Mourns

By Akinwale Kasali

The nation’s football family has been thrown into mourning following the death of a former Falconets Coach, Daniel Evumena.

The late Evumena led the Falconets to the Under-20 Female FIFA World Cup in Chile where Nigeria was booted out in the quarterfinals.

The former Head Coach of Delta Queens Football Club in the Nigeria Women’s Football League was said to have died of an undisclosed illness which he has battled since December 2022.

Mansur Abdullahi broke the news of Evumena death.

Abdullahi is another respected women’s football coach and former Technical staff of the Nigeria U-20 Women’s team, said the death was painful.

“Well, he was a hardworking person, he was dedicated to his job, and he was a disciplinarian. He was a senior citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because he was retired from civil service as a senior immigration officer,” Coach Mansur said.

“He was my coursemate; just last year we graduated from London University in Sport Management. It is quite sad.”

According to Coach Mansur, the late Evumena fell sick just before Christmas and sadly never got over it.

“He fell sick on the 24th of last month and a few days ago, he went into a coma and gave up,” he lamented.

“Though pained by his death, the legacies of Evumena who led the Falconets to the quarter-final stage at the 2008 World Cup will be remembered by all.

“When it comes to coaching, he’s a sound tactician. There are no two ways about it and he is a disciplinarian.

“In every aspect of life, if one is not disciplined, then you should forget about it. It is quite sad.

“He was a former president of the amalgamation of women football coaches of Nigeria and former Chairman of Delta State Football Coaches Association. In fact, he was the immediate past Chairman.” Coach Mansur recalled.

Lamenting the demise of Evumena, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, expressed “deep sorrow” at the death, saying the loss is so sudden.

“The news of Dan Evumena’s death is too hard to take. I am still in shock. This is a young trainer who has done creditably well at Club and National levels, and still had so much in his tank with which to fertilize and nurture the growth of many more women footballers.

“The death of every human being diminishes us, especially the death of every young person. He had his life in front of him. Our prayer is that Almighty God will grant him eternal life and also grant those he has left behind, particularly his young family, the fortitude to bear the big loss,” NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, said in Abuja.

According to the NFF, it learnt that the former Falconets’ chief strategist was hospitalized for a few days but did not recover from the ailment.

Evumena served as Assistant Coach of the Super Falcons before his upliftment as Head Coach of the U20 Girls.

As Head Coach of the Falconets, he steered the team to the quarter finals of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Chile in 2008, before the squad lost to France.

The late sportsman was also a government employee. In 2021, he retired from the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

Until his death, the deceased was the Chairman of the Nigeria Football Coaches Association – Delta State Chapter.