Thompson Oliha (4 October 1968 – 30 June 2013) was a Nigerian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for clubs in Africa and Europe during an injury-shortened career.

Club career

Oliha played for Bendel Insurance (1985–1987),

Iwuanyanwu Nationale Heartland Football Club founded as Spartans F.C., later known as Iwuanyanwu Nationale from 1985 to 2006 is a Nigerian football club based in Owerri. The team play their home games at Dan Anyiam Stadium (but currently use the new Okigwe Stadium ...

(1988–1991),

Africa Sports Africa Sports d'Abidjan is an Ivorian multi-sports club founded in 1947 and based in Abidjan. The club fields teams in the sports of track and field, handball, basketball and association football, of these the football team is the most promine ...

(1992–1993), Maccabi Ironi Ashdod (1993–1994) and

Antalyaspor Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Antalya. The club's colours are red and white. They play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the club won the First League twice in 1982 and ...

(1994–1995). As a player, he was known for his powerful shots and abilities in the air. Oliha retired at the age of 27, as a result of a serious knee injury.

International career

Oliha made a total of 31 appearances for the full Nigeria national team, scoring two goals. He made his international debut in 1990, in a game against

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

and made his last appearance at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

, as a late substitute against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Oliha also played at the

1987 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Chile from 10 to 25 October 1987. The 1987 championship was the 6th contested and won for the first time by Yugoslavia. Remarkably, in the course of the tournament the Yugoslavs defeated each of ...

Death

Oliha died due to complications from malaria on 30 June 2013. At the time of his death he was an assistant coach for the Kwara Football Academy.Thompson Oliha is dead
- Supersport.com

References

External links

* 1968 births 2013 deaths Sportspeople from Benin City Association football midfielders Nigerian footballers Nigeria under-20 international footballers Nigeria international footballers Africa Cup of Nations-winning players 1990 African Cup of Nations players 1992 African Cup of Nations players 1994 African Cup of Nations players 1994 FIFA World Cup players Bendel Insurance F.C. players Heartland F.C. players Africa Sports d'Abidjan players Maccabi Ironi Ashdod F.C. players Antalyaspor footballers Süper Lig players Nigerian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Ivory Coast Expatriate footballers in Israel Expatriate footballers in Turkey Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Ivory Coast Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Deaths from malaria {{Nigeria-footy-midfielder-stub