Nigeria loses sports marketer, Noel Okorougo

Noel Chukwuemeka Okorougo is dead. He fought valiantly, but he succumbed to cancer in Switzerland last week, on June 8. He was 69 years old at the time.

Noel marketed Nigeria to Nike, who signed a significant contract as Nigeria's kit sponsors shortly after the USA '94 World Cup, where Nigeria was named joint best entertaining team with Brazil and placed 5th in the world Fifa rating. The contract earned the Nigeria Football Association a large sum of money. The supply of kits was enormous, and all Nigerian teams performed admirably in their matches, particularly at the Atlanta Olympic Games, where the soccer team won gold, just 24 hours after Chioma Ajunwa had won Nigeria's first ever Olympic gold medal.

Noel was in charge of the major friendly matches that Nigeria played at the time. One of his sad moments came when Nigeria refused to honor a friendly match he had set up with Brazil because the Nigerian authorities feared a defeat would end the memory or euphoria of Nigeria's semifinal victory over the South Americans in Atlanta. Noel is survived by his wife, Nafisa, a former Kenyan beauty queen, and their four children, Terrence, Jasmine, Emmanuel, and Shawn. Noel held the Ozo title from Isuikwuato in Abia State. The family will announce the burial arrangements later.