TRAGEDY: Nigerian Referee Dies During Fitness Test

Osita Nwadashi, a member of the Lagos State Referees Council, was taking part in the exercise and was on the verge of completing the running exercise when stopped and called for medical attention. But he slumped soon after and failed to respond to all attempts to revive him.

He was taken in an ambulance to the National Hospital, Abuja where he was pronounced dead. Ahmed Maude, President of the Nigeria Referees Association, confirmed the incident. "It is a sad day for all of us," Maude said. "He was one of our more promising young referees."

It is the second time in three years that tragedy will follow the referees annual training. In 2010, two referees Oyetola Oatunde from Oyo State Referees Council, and Faloye Matthew from the Ogun State Council both collapsed and dies in similar circumstances.

According to an obviously traumatised Maude: “It was quite unfortunate. He has been certified dead by the medical personnel.” Absorbing the NRA of any complicity, Azeez insisted that his death was not lapses on the part of the association, stressing: “We had the best of everything.


The medical personnel are from NSC. All of them pass medical test before we allow them to participate in the exercise. If the family are interested in doing autopsy on him we cannot stop them. It was a very sad day for me in particular and an unfortunate situation.”

One of the referee, who would not want his name in print told said that the weather was not favourable as the scorching Abuja sun might have contributed to his death. “It’s really sad that Nwadashi is no more. He left his homes fit and healthy and now his dead Everyone knows that the Fitness test is very strenuous, but all the same no one expected these to happen,” he lamented.

The remains of the deceased has since been deposited at the mortuary of the Jabi Medical Hospital in Abuja while the NRA are making effort to contact his relatives.