Peter Rufai, Nigeria’s 1994 AFCON‑winning goalkeeper and two‑time World Cup hero, passed away in Lagos at dawn on Thursday, aged 61.
Friends say the former shot‑stopper had shuttled quietly between Nigeria and Spain for specialist treatment over the past 24 months, determined to keep the ordeal away from the public eye.
Initial reports merely cited a “prolonged illness,” but Spanish outlet Cadena SER has since reported that Rufai suffered a cardiac arrest at home after struggling with a chronic heart condition.
Rufai’s health issues were not entirely without precedent. Back in October 2012, he collapsed in his Lagos office and was hospitalised overnight, an incident many dismissed as fatigue at the time, Channels TV reported.
Medical records from that episode were never made public, but family insiders had disclosed it was the first red flag of a heart‑related ailment that would resurface a decade later.
In the last two years, close friends noticed the once‑energetic academy owner scaling back pitch sessions, delegating on‑field drills to younger coaches and appearing visibly winded after light activity.
According to Cadena SER, Rufai experienced chest discomfort late Wednesday night but opted to “sleep it off.”
He went into cardiac arrest around 6 a.m. and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
