Nigerian football enthusiasts have been thrown into mourning following reports that former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Peter Fregene (aka Flying Cat) has died after a protracted illness.
Fregene, also called Apu, by his teammates, reportedly succumbed to the cold hands of death on Sunday, in Sapele, Delta State.
His lifelong friend and former Eagles colleague, Segun Odegbami, who announced his death on Sunday, said Fregene, who had been on life support, died in the presence of his wife and two children.
The late Eagle star had been battling illness for nearly a decade and his fate highlights the lack of care for former former players who have sacrificed and won laurels for the country.
Fregene was born in Sapele and played club football for footballing rivals ECN of Lagos and Stationery Stores FC in his two-decade career.
He won the Nigerian Football Association Cup, FA, with ECN and Stores.
He was the Super Eagles’ first-choice goalkeeper from 1968 to 1971. He was recalled to the national team for the 1982 African Cup of Nations finals and represented Nigeria at the 1968 Summer Olympics game in Mexico.
