African Football Icons That Passed Away In 2020

  African Football Icons That Passed Away In 2020 By Sampson Adedeji 1. Pape Bouba Diop ( Senegal) In 2002, twelve after the feat of Cameroon, another African selection managed to reach the quarter-finals of a World Cup: Senegal. An equally exciting team, also victorious against the defending champion in the opening match. The Senegalese won against the France team (1-0) thanks to an achievement by Papa Bouba Diop , first scorer in the history of the " Lions of Téranga " in the World Cup, who died on November 29 after a long illness, at 42 years old. Papa Bouba Diop, former midfielder of RC Lens had scored three goals during this World Cup in Japan and South Korea which stopped against Turkey. He is still today the Senegalese top scorer in the World Cup. 2. Stephen Tataw, Eternal Captain After Louis M'Fédé in June 2013 and Benjamin Massing in December 2017, a third Cameroonian hero of the 1990 World Cup died, on July 31, “ as a result of an illness ”, at the age of 57. Stephen Tataw was the captain of the “ Indomitable Lions ” who advanced to the quarterfinals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. A historic first for an African selection. With Stephen Tataw, Roger Milla or François Omam-Biyik, Cameroon notably beats the title holder Argentina during the opening match of this World Cup which will end against England at the gates of the semi-finals. Diego Maradona, also deceased this year, had also paid tribute to Stephen Tataw whom he had therefore faced at this World Cup. 3. Augustin Sidy Diallo ( Ivorian Football Federation Presisent) He was at the head of the Ivorian federation when the “ Elephants ” won the second African Cup of Nations in their history, in 2015 , after 23 years of famine. Augustin Sidy Diallo , Ivorian football boss from 2011 to 2020, was swept away by the Covid-19 on November 21. “He was a real enthusiast, a great man, a great president. He has done a lot of good for Ivorian and African football , ”said Patrice Beaumelle, current coach of Côte d'Ivoire and assistant during the 2015 coronation. Augustin Sidy Diallo, who was not a candidate for a new mandate at the head of the FIF, had also received a tribute from Didier Drogba who is seeking this post. 4. Amr Fahmy ( Former CAF Secretary General) Like him, his grandfather and his father had held the post of Secretary General of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The Egyptian Amr Fahmy , who died on February 23 of cancer at the age of 36, was head of the administration of the instance from 2017 to 2019, and dreamed of becoming president of CAF in 2021. This great supporter of Al Ahly SC wanted to run for the post following his dismissal on April 11, 2019 for " professional misconduct ". Amr Fahmy had been dismissed for having assembled a case against Ahmad sent to the Ethics Committee of the International Football Federation (FIFA), in which he accused the president of CAF of corruption, in particular. FIFA has since suspended Ahmad for five years