‘Appiah Died Thinking of 3SC Job Loss’

Joe Appiah

Wife of Joe Appiah, the deceased defender of the defunct IICC Shooting Stars, Juliet Monday revealed that her husband died thinking of his loss of the technical crew job of the 3SC feeder team.

Appiah was relieved of the job in the shake-up carried out in the team November last year.

The late defender, who was the last of the great Ghanaian players who plied their skills with the Oluyole Warriors, died on Saturday morning in a private hospital in Ibadan aged 62 years.

Juliet who spoke with THISDAY amidst tears at the Oke-Bola residence of the Appiahs, said that her husband’s illness became worse following the loss of his job.

Oyo State Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Dapo Lam-Adesina, sacked the entire technical crew of the 3SC feeder team where Appiah was an assistant coach.

He joined the defunct IICC in 1972 in the company of Phillip Boamah, Sam Ashante, and Sam Saka Abose who were all brought into the country by the late Lekan Salami.
Appiah is survived by his wife, Juliet and four children Nana, (13 years), Douglas {11 years}, Isaac (9 years) and Daniel (8 years).

He was part of the squad that won the maiden continental trophy for the country in 1976. The team captained by Sam Ojebode won the African Cup Winners Cup. He was voted by CAF as best Right full back in Africa the same year IICC won the African Cup of Winners.

Late Appiah won the laurel alongside the likes of Samuel Ojebode, Philip Boamah, Segun Odegbami, Folorunso Gambari, Idowu Otubusen, Best Ogedegbe, Muda Lawal, Moses Otolorin, and Nathaniel Adewole among others.

Desperate to ensure that Appiah survived the ailment, the management of the 3SC about three weeks ago visited him on his sick bed and gave him a cash donation of N500,000 to alleviate his medical bill.

According to Juliet, the defender was diagnosed with typhoid fever when he was first admitted in the hospital on January 19 and ever since he had been battling with his survival until the time he gave up the ghost early on Saturday.

He was re-admitted at the same hospital on February 8, 2012 when his condition worsen. Since then, his family has been struggling to keep him alive.

His wife who was been left to cater for the four children the defender left behind has cried out to government and spirited individuals to come to the aid of the family, saying her petty business had been ruined since the bread winner of the family had been bedridden in the past five months before he eventually passed on.

3SC General Manager, Mutiu Adepoju expressed shock and sadness at the exit of Appiah which he said was coming barely a week after the death of striker, Rashidi Yekini.