Stanley Nwabali mourns mother’s demise

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, revealed the demise of his mother on 2024 New Year’s Day.

The Choppa United save hands on his X handle posted the update about the death of his mother on Wednesday.

“Rip mom, the worst year of my life already,” He posted on his X handle.

The journey of Nwabali’s mother to the great beyond is coming a few weeks after the death of his father.

It was also announced that Nwabali’s father died during Matchday five of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers, which ended 1-1 between Super Eagles and Benin Republic in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.

The news made Nwabali miss Nigeria’s 2-1 loss to Rwanda in the matchday six AFCON Qualifying match in Uyo.

The save hands had a superb 2024 on the field of play with four straight clean sheets at AFCON 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire as the three-time African champions reached the final of the tournament.

The silver medal feat at the AFCON earned players and officials of the team including Nwabali national honor, Member of Order of Niger (MON), and a chieftaincy title in his hometown.

He was also nominated for the CAF Goalkeeper of the Year award, which was won by South Africa and Mamelodi Sundowns goalie Ronwen Williams.

The former Enyimba FC goalkeeper will hope to recover from heartbreak of parents demise to help Super Eagles qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and attempt to win AFCON 2025 title in Morocco.