1993 African Footballer of The Year Rashidi Yekini Passes On

Former Nigeria international Rashidi Yekini  (pictured) passed away on Friday in Ibadan after suffering from mental illness for the past two years.
The ex-striker, who was only 48, is Nigeria's all-time record goalscorer after netting 37 times in 58 matches for the Super Eagles.Yekini will be famously remembered for his iconic goal celebration after scoring Nigeria's first-ever World Cup goal against Bulgaria in the 1994 edition of the competition in the USA.
The former forward started his career at UNTL Kaduna in 1981 before spending the next nine years in his native Africa. Yekini then moved to Europe, where he enjoyed a successful four-year spell at Vitoria Setubal in Portugal.He later enjoyed spells in Greece, Spain, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia before eventually calling time on his playing career in 2003 with Nigerian club, Julius Berger.Yekini did come out of retirement briefly in 2005, when at 41 years of age he joined Gateway United for a short spell.His body will be taken to Offa to be buried, Yekini's home town in Kwara State.

Rashidi Yekini biography

Rashidi Yekini (born 23 October 1963) was a Nigerian retired footballer who played as a striker. He scored Nigeria's first goal in a FIFA World Cup. He died on 4 May 2012.Yekini was born in Kaduna. After starting his professional career in the Nigerian league, he moved to Côte d'Ivoire to play for Africa Sports National. From there he went to Portugal and Vitória de Setúbal, where he experienced his most memorable years, eventually becoming the Portuguese first division's top scorer, in 1993–94, as hisperformances (32 matches, 34 goals) earned him the title of African Footballer of the Year in 1993, the first ever from the nation.

In the 1994 summer, Yekini was bought by Olympiacos FC, but did not get along with teammates and left. His career never really got back on track, not even upon a return to Setúbal, which happened after another unassuming spell, in La Liga with Sporting de Gijón. He successively played with FC Zürich, Club Athlétique Bizertin and Al-Shabab Riyadh, before rejoining Africa Sports. In 2003, at 39, he returned to the Nigerian championship with Julius Berger FC. In 2005, 41-year old Yekini made a short comeback, moving alongside former national teammate Mobi Oparaku to Gateway FC.

Scoring 37 goals for Nigeria's national side in 58 appearances,[1] Yekini is the national record goalscorer. He was part of the team that participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup (where he scored Nigeria's first-ever goal in a World Cup, in a 3–0 win against Bulgaria) and the 1998 World Cup. Additionally, Yekini also helped the Super Eagles win the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations, where he also topped the goal charts, and participated at Olympic level, in Seoul 1988......