The Nigeria Football Federation is mourning after being notified about the death of former Southampton and Royal Antwerp striker Victor Udoh. He was 21 years old at the time of his death.
Udoh was found dead in Abuja on Monday, having recently returned to Nigeria after the Czech league football season, where he played for Dynamo Česke Budějovice. The cause of death is not yet known, with reports indicating a potential cause of death as food or alcohol poisoning.
‘It is heartbreaking,’ NFF Director of Communications Ademola Olajire said after hearing the news.
‘We are utterly devastated and shocked that such a bright and promising young talent has been lost to us in such peculiar and tragic circumstances. We await further details but this is an extremely shocking incident’, Olajire said.
Tributes have been paid to the striker by former teammates and clubs. Both Antwerp and Southampton paid tribute to him via social media, with their former forward reportedly ‘devastated’.
He was first a player at Hypebuzz FC Abuja, where he started his playing career. Then he was signed by Antwerp in Belgium in 2023 before Southampton took him up on a 3 and half-year deal, where they loaned him to Dynamo Česke Budějovice for first-team football experience. He is seen as one of Nigerian football’s greatest young talents.
