Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Not Good. Not Good At All.

Normally when we see death in soccer, it comes in one of three forms: fan suicide, a player killed for doing poorly, or players dying on the pitch during a game. No death is palatable or pleasurable to hear about, and this story commingled with soccer is way off the radar.

The Nigerian Premier League title was won over the weekend by Bayelsa United, who clinched the trophy with a 2-2 draw, and captain Abiel Tabor was an integral part of their winning season.

On his way to visit family hours after the victory, Tabor's car was intercepted by armed robbers, and he was shot and killed.

"We were told he was (killed) by the armed robbers close to Warri," said the club assistant, Ebi Ayah, and it's unsure whether it had anything to do with his club allegiance (the 2-2 draw was with the local team, the Warri Wolves), but any way you slice it, this is fucking sad, depressing awful news.

The Niger Delta is overrun with violent crime as gangs seek to get their fair share of the country's resources, and this is the end result, roaming criminal gangs robbing people and hijacking cars along major highways.

And so Bayelsa is without their 24-year-old captain, his family is without their husband/brother/father, and for nothing. Heartbreaking stuff.

No comments: