MOHAMED ALLIE NGAYENGA –SOCCER HERO GHANA WILL NEVER FORGET- PASSES AWAY
By KABS KANU
Last week , some family members of Mr. Mohamed Allie Ngayenga called me to give me the bad news that the soccer hero, who had been critically ill and on life support in Maryland, will have the machine switched off by the family. Ngayenga’s family stopped short of declaring him dead and we were waiting for an official announcement of his passing by his daughter, Miss Sia Ngayenga.
However, last Friday morning, it was confirmed that, indeed , one of Sierrra Leone’s greatest football heroes — The inimitable Mohamed Allie Ngayenga— had gone to join his ancestors and late soccer colleagues Max Macauley, King Kama Dumbuya, Manneh Peters, Amadu Kargbo, Abu Syrian, Daniel Diamond Toes Koroma, Abdulai Garrincha Sesay , Umaru Din- Sesay and others .
Mohamed Allie Ngayenga ‘s death is a blow to the nation .
Ngayenga started his soccer career as a schoolboy in Bo in the mid- 1970s , along with the sizzling dribbler Max Macauley. Both men, after becoming very popular in Bo, then moved to Freetown and starrred for MIGHTY BLACKPOOL and the national team, Leone Stars in the late 1970s.
Ngayenga was famously known for the humiliation meted out to the great Ghanaian soccer team, ACCRA HEARTS OF OAK in Freetown in 1979 in the Africa Club Champions Cup , which Blackpool won 2-0 , with a remarkable second goal by Ngayenga himself after a lovely penalty scored by Alusine Terry for the first goal.
The result stunned Ghana and was the talk of Africa that year. It was an era when Ghana was the Brazil of Africa in football . It was not an easy feat to beat an unbeatable team like Accra Hearts of Oak. Blackpool’s and Ngayenga’s names spread throughout Africa .
The dramatic tie was decided sensationally by a penalty shootout at the Accra Sports Stadium where Hearts of Oak won 2-0 in the second leg for a 2-2 aggregate score. Blackpool could have inflicted more havoc on the Ghanaians during open play but missed many golden opportunities to score. I watched the game myself in Accra and saw Hearts barely manage to eliminate Blackpool 4-2 from the postgame spot kicks ( I was also lucky to watch Sierra Leone beat Ghana 2-1 at the same Accra Sports Stadium in 1987 in the Africa Nations Cup ).
Ngayenga came to the U.S and studied Engineering and had a very prosperous and successful career. He returned to Sierra Leone and put up a palatial home that he loved and many times produced photos of himself entertaining friends and soccer colleagues there. He lived a very good life in Sierra Leone where he was hailed wherever he appeared.
But tragedy hit the soccer icon three or so years ago when he suffered a massive stroke at home, after entering his car. If he had been discovered earlier, much damage could not have occurred. But he was found lying on the floor hours later by which time it was much too late for a speedy recovery. He was brought to the U.S for treatment by his daughter but he never recovered from the stroke. He had recently been on life support until family decided to remove him from the machine this week.
Ngayenga’s soccer colleagues in America and family are planning a fitting funeral for a football ambassador who brought pride to his nation.
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