Charles Bassey: NFF announces death of Green Eagles 1980 AFCON winner

Charles Bassey, a member of the Green Eagles team that won the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations, passed away on Saturday, April 12, 2025.

The Nigeria Football Federation said it is "deeply saddened" by the passing of Bassey at seventy-one.

After a lengthy illness, Bassey passed away at his hometown of Eket, Akwa Ibom State, just hours after it was announced that the team's captain, "Chairman" Christian Chukwuemeka Chukwu, had died in Enugu.

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Charles Bassey, a forward, was part of the 22-man team that defeated Algeria's Fennecs 3-0 at the National Stadium in Surulere on Saturday, March 22, 1980, to become Nigeria's first Africa Cup of Nations champions.

He then served as a coach for a number of clubs around the nation, including Wikki Tourists of Bauchi, Calabar Rovers, BCC Lions of Gboko, Flash Flamingoes of Benin, and his hometown team, Mobil Pegasus.

After the deaths of goalkeepers Best Ogedegbe and Moses Effiong, defenders Christian Chukwu, Okechukwu Isima, and Tunde Bamidele, midfielders Aloysius Atugbu and Mudashiru Lawal, and striker Martins Eyo, his death increases the total number of departing members of that squad to nine.