Nigerians at home and abroad have continued to mourn the death of Saburi Adeniji, a Nigerian footballer also known as Ola, after it emerged that his wife and young daughter arrived in the United Kingdom barely a day after he died.
Adeniji, 26, was a left winger for Kings Park Rangers Football Club of Sudbury, an English non-league team competing in the Eastern Counties League Division One North. The club said he died on Friday, 6 January 2026, after battling a severe brain stem injury.
In a statement issued on Saturday, 7 February 2026, Kings Park Rangers confirmed the death and said Adeniji held on as long as he could while travel plans were being arranged for his family to fly from Nigeria, West Africa’s most populous country, to the United Kingdom.
“It is with great sadness that we must announce our number 17 Saburi Adeniji ‘Ola’ passed away yesterday morning,” the club said.
The club added that he had been determined to survive until his family arrived. “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 statement said. Okay News reports that the timing of the family’s arrival sparked widespread heartbreak online.
Across social media, Nigerians and members of the football community in the United Kingdom shared messages of grief, focusing on the painful detail that his wife and child were travelling while he was in his final hours.
In a community update shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, Benjamin Kuti, an influencer popularly called Oluomo of Derby, a city in central England, said the family missed the chance to say goodbye.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Saburi Olayinka Adeniji, who died yesterday following a severe brain stem injury,” he wrote.
“Sadly, his wife and daughter were unable to say their final goodbyes, as they only arrived in the UK today,” he added.
Kuti also said the family expressed appreciation to people who donated to a GoFundMe campaign set up during Adeniji’s illness. “We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who donated to the GoFundMe. The family is truly grateful and deeply appreciates your kindness, support and generosity during this difficult time,” he wrote.
Adeniji’s death also drew tributes from friends and acquaintances who spoke about his background and family life. A childhood friend, Oke Samuel, described him as selfless and committed to supporting his loved ones, recalling their shared upbringing.
“We were boys together, running through the same streets, laughing at nothing, dreaming of everything,” he wrote.
“You left Nigeria with hope in your hands, not for pride, but to take care of those you loved. You were brave. You were selfless. You were real,” he added, before saying that death could not erase his impact.
Other users on X said the account was difficult to read, with some focusing on the emotional weight of his wife and daughter travelling thousands of miles only to arrive hours after he died. Another influencer, EtiOba, shared photos with Adeniji, including childhood images, and posted a message of condolence on Instagram.
Before his death, Kings Park Rangers had publicly announced that Adeniji’s condition was critical and said the club was pausing fixtures in solidarity.
On Saturday, 17 January 2026, the club appealed for prayers, saying, “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 worsened, the club backed a GoFundMe campaign created by Joshua Pollard to raise money to bring Adeniji’s wife and four-year-old daughter from Nigeria to the United Kingdom.
A detailed statement on the fundraising page said Adeniji was admitted to the intensive care unit at Queen’s Hospital, Romford, an area in East London, England, on Thursday, 15 January 2026.
The statement said his medical team indicated his condition was getting worse and that he was close to death. “According to his consultant in critical care, his condition has continued to deteriorate, and he is now considered to be imminently dying,” it said.
It also said he had been medically classified as brain dead. “Due to the severity of his injury, Saburi has been medically classified as brain dead,” the statement added.
The fundraising statement further explained that changes in medical law in the United Kingdom 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 said.
By the time the report was filed on Sunday, 8 February 2026, donations on the GoFundMe page had reached £16,469, which the organisers said was 97 per cent of the £17,000 target, with more than 630 donations from Nigerians in Nigeria and in the diaspora.
Beyond helping the family travel, the club said the money would support Adeniji’s widow and help secure his daughter’s education.
