Monica Iheakam
Tragedy has struck again in the Nigeria football scene as former Flying Eagles and U-23 national team captain, Isaac Promise, dies at the age of 31.
According to FOX Sports, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Silver medalist gave up the ghost after collapsing at his apartment’s gym in Austin, Texas.
Promise was playing for the Austin Bold of the USL and the team said yesterday that he died Wednesday night. Police said authorities were called after a report of a deceased person at Isaac’s apartment building, but no further details were immediately available.
Austin Bold, owner of Bobby Epstein, said Promise collapsed at the apartment’s gym and no foul play was suspected.
A message from Epstein shared on the Club’s twitter handle @AustinBoldFC reads;
“The greatest loss a team can suffer is not on the scoreboard, it’s the death of a fellow teammate.
“It’s with shock and grief that we acknowledge the sudden death of Promise Isaac.
“On behalf of the BOLD organization, we wish his wife, children and family strength and peace as they struggle to cope with his death.
The ex-Genclerbirligi and Trabzonspor striker, played for Nigeria at the 2005 World Youth Championship and captained the Under-23 national team that lost the 2008 Olympic final 1-0 to Lionel Messi and Argentina. He also appeared in three matches for Nigeria’s senior national team.
Promise played for seven clubs in Turkey, appearing in more than 350 matches. He spent a season in Saudi Arabia before signing with Austin Bold, where he had three goals in 20 matches this season.
He was captain of the Nigeria teams that finished as runners-up at the 2005 Under-20 World Cup and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Promise first appeared on Nigeria’s senior national team in 2009 . He earned 3 caps and scored one goal.
Meanwhile Austin Bold FC, has rescheduled their weekend match in honour of the late striker.
The Club on their twitter handle wrote; .@USL_HQ announced that Austin Bold FC’s contest at @RealMonarchs, originally scheduled for Saturday, 10/5 at 2:00 p.m. CST, has been postponed to a Wednesday, 10/16 following the tragic news of Bold forward Promise Isaac’s passing on Wednesday night.