Nigerian Footballer Dies After Suffering Brain Injury

A Nigerian footballer has died after suffering a brain injury.

NewsRain Nigeria reports that Nigerian winger Saburi Olayinka Adeniji passed away from a brain injury before his wife and young daughter could reach his hospital bedside on Friday.

Adeniji, who played for Kings Park Rangers, a club based in Halstead, Essex, died in hospital just a day before his wife and four-year-old daughter arrived from Nigeria.

Following the injury, the club and its supporters rallied around Adeniji’s family. A fundraising page was launched to support them with travel expenses, raising over £16,000 of its £17,000 target.

In recent weeks, Kings Park Rangers suspended gate fees for fans, encouraging them instead to donate to Adeniji’s family fund, a gesture that has been widely praised within the local football community.

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The 31-year-old was admitted into intensive care at Queen’s Hospital on January 15, after suffering a severe brain stem injury.

He was placed on life support while doctors fought to stabilise him. According to reports, the hospital placed him on a life support machine, hoping his family would arrive in time to say their final goodbyes. Sadly, they did not make it.

In a statement released on Saturday, Kings Park Rangers confirmed the devastating loss.

“It is with great sadness that we must announce our number 17, Saburi Adeniji ‘Ola’, passed away yesterday morning,” the club wrote.

“He fought so hard to still be here for when his family arrived. His wife and daughter, unfortunately, arrived this morning, a day late. He will always be a King.

He will always be loved — as a friend, as a dad, as a husband, as a brother, and as a son. R.I.P Saburi Adeniji.”

Grief has continued to trail the death of Nigerian footballer, Saburi Adeniji, popularly known as Ola, following revelations that his wife and young daughter arrived in the United Kingdom barely a day after he passed away.

Adeniji, a left winger for Kings Park Rangers Football Club of Sudbury, a non-league side competing in the Eastern Counties League Division One North, died on Friday morning after battling a severe brain stem injury.

The club confirmed his death in a statement on Saturday, noting that the 26-year-old footballer had fought to stay alive until arrangements were completed for his family to travel from Nigeria.

“It is with great sadness that we must announce our number 17 Saburi Adeniji ‘Ola’ passed away yesterday morning.

“He fought so hard to still be here for when his family arrived. His wife and daughter, unfortunately, arrived this morning, a day late,” the club said.

The announcement triggered an outpouring of grief across social media, with Nigerians and members of the UK football community expressing heartbreak over the timing of his family’s arrival and the circumstances surrounding his death.

Earlier, Kings Park Rangers had publicly disclosed Adeniji’s critical condition and announced the suspension of all club matches in solidarity.

On January 17, the club said, “We are asking everyone to pray for our left winger Saburi Adeniji (Ola). All Kings Park Rangers games will be on hold as we look to support him at his bedside until he is better.”

As his condition deteriorated, the club endorsed a GoFundMe campaign created by Joshua Pollard to raise funds to bring his wife and four-year-old daughter from Nigeria to the UK.

In a detailed statement on the fundraising website, it was revealed that Adeniji was admitted to intensive care at Queen’s Hospital, Romford, on January 15, 2026.

“According to his consultant in critical care, his condition has continued to deteriorate, and he is now considered to be imminently dying.

“Due to the severity of his injury, Saburi has been medically classified as brain dead,” the statement read.

The statement further explained that changes in UK medical law initially delayed the withdrawal of life support, pending further assessments.

“The hospital has compassionately allowed a short window of time to enable Saburi’s family to travel to the UK so they may be with him before he passes naturally on life support or life support is withdrawn,” it added.

Checks on the GoFundMe page showed that donations had reached £16,469, representing 97 per cent of the £17,000 target, with over 630 donations, many from Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.

Beyond facilitating the family’s travel, the club said funds raised would support Adeniji’s widow and help secure his daughter’s education.