The Deputy Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly Rt Hon Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu has commiserated with the management and staff of Heartland Football club over the demise of Coach Christian Obi, who passed away, Friday, August, 23, 2024, following a ghastly motor accident involving a Heartland football club bus at a point near Okigwe.
Describing the news as “terrible and traumatic”, Iwuanyanwu expressed his profound shock and sorrow over the unexpected incident. “I and all members of the House of Assembly Committee on Sports send our deepest condolences. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family in this difficult period”, he stated, highlighting the deep sense of loss felt by the entire local and national sporting community.
The situation according to reports, unfolded as players and officials of Heartland FC were en route to Abakaliki for a pre-season competition, a trip that was meant to set the tone for the upcoming football calendar. The incident has left not only the team but the broader sports fraternity in mourning, grappling with the sudden loss of a man who had become an invaluable figure in Nigerian football.
Christian Obi’s legacy in the sport is significant. A former member of Nigeria’s U-20 bronze medal-winning team in 1985, Obi had dedicated his later years to nurturing talent and promoting the values of teamwork and perseverance within the game. In his most recent role, he led the Heartland FC team during the 2023 season to an impressive feat—guiding them from the Nigeria National League (NNL) to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) without suffering a single defeat, an achievement emblematic of his coaching prowess and ability to inspire young athletes.
Rt. Hon. Iwuanyanwu while praying for the speedy recovery of the players, prayed for the peaceful repose of Coach Obi and asked that God Almighty should grant his family the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss.
