OBITUARY
Beckhams’ former bodyguard Craig Ainsworth found dead
A former bodyguard to David and Victoria Beckham has been found dead following a massive police search in Spain.
According to the UK publication, Mirror, the ex-Royal Marine Craig Ainsworth’s mum Sally revealed the tragic news in a weekend social media post after launching an urgent appeal for information about the missing war veteran.
She went public with her SOS appeal after revealing Craig, who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, had “posted a last message on Facebook to say goodbye” and said police were focusing their search for him in Alicante and the Barcelona area.
In an update on Saturday Sally confirmed the gut-wrenching news of his death, saying: “Craig has been found. With the greatest sadness, the world has lost Craig. He served in Afghanistan and he had PTSD.” She went on to publish a photo of him in military uniform, saying simply: “RIP Craig.”
Friends rallied round to offer her support, with one writing: “Sending hugs Sally, nothing we say would ease your pain.” Craig, believed to have been aged 40 when he died, worked for the Beckhams from 2013 to 2015 when they lived in London’s Holland Park.
Before he was found over the weekend, he had written a post on Facebook titled “Goodbye Beautiful People…” in which he spoke about having experienced “tremendous pain” over the last four years since the Covid lockdown. He wrote: “‘To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.’
“For most of you this will come as a shock but I’ve been in the most tremendous pain for the past four years since lockdown destroyed everything I had built and I lost some genuinely amazing humans I was proud to call friends and colleagues. Particularly Ryan and Jamie who were brothers to me.”
“Members of my family then attacked and humiliated me publicly despite knowing I was in a bad way, and I lost friends of 20 years who chose to talk about me, instead of talking to me. When I needed everyone most they chose to attack me instead of support me and this is something I’ve never recovered from. It just broke me.
“To Juniour, Ishy, Sonia, Clara, Chris Y, Tatts, Nick, Claire, Craig, and my beautiful sister, Lauren. Not to mention my Royal Marine brothers. I’m so so sorry! Please don’t be mad or sad, I’m free now. You guys were the light that kept me going all this time, words are primitive when it comes to how grateful I am for you all.”
“I lived the life of ten men. I lived with a pure heart and good intentions. Certainly not a perfect person but I lived life that’s for sure.
“I’ve been in agony but strived to project positivity into the world and help others. Imagine a silly boy from Enfield growing up to live a life of such adventure.
“I honestly couldn’t include half of my life in my biography but every story is true and my gift to you all to prove that you can achieve anything but you have to want it more than air! Plus life is just bonkers! Get involved.”
He continued: “Anyone thinking about hurting themselves please seek help. Don’t copy me as you’ve no idea what I’ve been through. Those closest to me will be happy I found peace. Think about that. Lilo & Stitch – I’m sorry to abandon you, it breaks my heart but I will see you both on the other side where we can play forever x.
“Until then, Ishkiran will look out for you. I am at peace now. Something I never found in life, but what a ride! He spoke about the couple after Netflix series Beckham came out, saying: “David was charming. Victoria kept to herself, she would be with the kids or working.
“With the spotlight they have been under, their kids are well-behaved. To have that level of fame and maintain their family unit, they must be doing something right.”
The former Marine, from Enfield, north London, was hired to protect the Beckhams via US security firm Gavin De Becker.
He had to pass tests including being pepper-sprayed in the eyes and tackling an MMA fighter in the dark. And before joining the Beckhams, he had to sign a 50-year Non Disclosure Agreement – one of 183 newspapers reported at the time he had inked.
As well as the former England captain and his fashion designer wife, Craig also protected Hollywood A-listers including Johnny Depp, Jennifer Lawrence and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was not immediately clear this morning where exactly he had been found and what the circumstances of his sad passing were.
Middlesex University professor Linda Duffy wrote in an online tribute: “I’m so sorry for your loss Sally. Condolences to all the family. Thank you for your service Craig. A brave Royal Marine.”
Susannah Washington added: “Sending hugs and you know everyone is thinking of you and sending their love at this devestating time for you.”
Craig’s body was found on Saturday morning at a park in Lliria, a medium-sized town off the CV35 motorway to the north of the east coast Spanish city of Valencia. The park – called Saint Vincent’s Park or Parque San Vicente in Spanish – is around two miles from Lliria town centre.
-Mirror
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
By Kunle Solaja.
Late Nigerian football tactician Adegboye Onigbinde left behind many legacies in the country’s game, but one of his most enduring contributions was the popular identity he gave to Shooting Stars Sports Club — the famous 3SC.
The former Nigeria national football team coach, who died on Monday at the age of 88, is widely credited with coining the abbreviation that has since become synonymous with the Ibadan-based club.
During his early years with the club, Onigbinde observed that the team’s name, Shooting Stars Sports Club, was often shortened in different ways in newspapers and football discussions. Seeking a simple and distinctive identity, he adopted the initials 3SC, representing the three words that make up the club’s name.
The abbreviation quickly gained acceptance among supporters, journalists and football administrators, eventually becoming the club’s official shorthand and a powerful brand in Nigerian football.
Over the years, the name 3SC has become inseparable from the club’s identity, appearing on jerseys, official documents and stadium chants from fans at the Liberty Stadium in Ibadan.
Shooting Stars is one of Nigeria’s most historic clubs and a dominant force during the golden era of Nigerian club football in the 1970s and 1980s. The team won several domestic titles and achieved continental glory when it lifted the African Cup Winners’ Cup in 1976 — becoming one of the earliest Nigerian clubs to win a major African trophy.
Onigbinde himself played a key role in shaping the club’s football philosophy and youth development culture during his association with the team.
Beyond club football, he later went on to coach the national team, guiding the then Green Eagles to the final of the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations and later leading Nigeria to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he became the first indigenous coach to take the country to the global tournament.
While his achievements with the national team are widely celebrated, many football followers also remember him for giving Shooting Stars a unique identity that has endured for decades.
Today, long after the coach first coined it, the simple abbreviation 3SC remains one of the most recognisable symbols in Nigerian club football — a reminder of Onigbinde’s lasting imprint on the game.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
By Kunle Solaja.
Another pall of grief descended on Nigeria’s sporting community on Monday night with the passing of veteran football tactician Adegboye Onigbinde, who died at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, just a short distance from his ancestral home in Modakeke, Osun State.
His death came amid a sombre period for Nigerian sport, following closely on the heels of the passing of Chamberlain Nnamdi Dunkwu as well as two respected sports journalists, Niyi Oyeleke and Tonex Chukwu.
For Onigbinde, football was not merely a profession—it was the defining passion of his adult life. Over several decades, he served the game in Nigeria and beyond as a coach, administrator and mentor, leaving an enduring imprint on the country’s football development.
In an interview with Sports Village Square in 2022, the late coach traced the turning point of his career to a chance encounter in the early 1960s with Nigeria’s legendary footballer Teslim Balogun.
Onigbinde regarded Balogun—popularly known as “Thunder”—as the greatest footballer Nigeria had ever produced.
According to him, it was Balogun who set him on the path to coaching.
“I was a Grade III teacher when he spotted me in Ife and advised me to take up football,” Onigbinde recalled. “Coincidentally, I went to Ibadan to do my Grade Two Teachers’ Course at St. Luke’s College in 1961 and became the captain of the team.”
Dateline: Liberty Stadium, Ibadan. 16 July 1961: Chief Onigbinde, arrowed, and the early generation of Nigerian coaches. On the far right is the legendary Tesilimi Balogun. On the far left is Moshe Jerry Beit haLevi, the Israeli national coach of Nigeria.
That moment would prove decisive.
At the time, Balogun, working alongside the national team coach Moshe-Jerry Beit haLevi, organised a Grade B coaching course under the Western Regional Council of the Nigeria Football Association.
The course took place at the iconic Liberty Stadium—now known as Obafemi Awolowo Stadium—from June 26 to July 16, 1961.
Among those trained were several individuals who would later shape Nigerian football, including Onigbinde, Niyi Akande, Ayo Adeniji and Godwin Etemeke.
Onigbinde continued his professional development years later when he participated in another coaching programme organised by Balogun in March 1969. Among the participants in that course was Yinka Okeowo, who would later serve as secretary of the Nigeria Football Association.
With those formative experiences, Onigbinde found his lifelong vocation.
He began coaching in the then Western Region, travelling from school to school and from town to town to impart football knowledge to young players.
His early club career included managing the now-defunct Water Corporation FC of Ibadan before he rose to prominence with Shooting Stars Sports Club, one of Nigeria’s most historic clubs.
Under his guidance, the Ibadan-based side reached the final of the 1984 African Cup of Champions Clubs, a major milestone in the club’s continental journey.
The same year, Onigbinde also led the national team—then known as the Green Eagles—to the final of the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations, where Nigeria finished runners-up.
His career later extended beyond Nigeria’s borders. In the early 2000s, he worked as a technical instructor and youth coach with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, helping to develop the country’s under-17 programme.
He left that position in late 2001 after assembling a promising youth squad that competed against local professional teams.
Shortly afterwards, he returned to Nigeria to take charge of the national team and led the Nigeria national football team to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first indigenous coach to guide the country to the global tournament.
Beyond trophies and statistics, colleagues and players remember Onigbinde as a disciplinarian, a thinker and a committed teacher of the game.
For a man whose journey began as a classroom teacher and was transformed by a chance encounter with a football legend, his life story became inseparable from the development of Nigerian football itself.
With his passing, Nigerian sport loses not only a pioneer coach but also a living bridge to an earlier era when the foundations of the country’s football culture were being laid.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Former head coach of Nigeria’s national football team, Adegboye Onigbinde, is dead. He passed away late Monday evening, four days after celebrating his 88th birthday.
His death was confirmed in a statement issued on behalf of the family by Mrs Bolade Adesuyi, who disclosed that the veteran football tactician had been ill for some time.
Onigbinde, one of Nigeria’s most respected football administrators and coaches, first took charge of the national team in 1983, succeeding Brazilian coach Otto Gloria. During his tenure, he led the then Green Eagles to the final of the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations, where Nigeria finished runners-up.
Nearly two decades later, Onigbinde etched his name further into Nigerian football history when he became the first indigenous coach to lead the national team to the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He guided the Nigeria national football team to the tournament co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.
Widely respected for his discipline, tactical knowledge and commitment to youth development, Onigbinde remained an influential voice in Nigerian football long after his coaching career.
Further details regarding funeral arrangements are expected to be announced by the family in due course.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- WAFCON1 week ago
BREAKING: CAF Postpones WAFCON 2026
- DIPLOMACY3 days ago
Trump calls on Australia to give asylum to Iranian women’s soccer players
- DIPLOMACY4 days ago
Morocco Backs Gulf Security, Condemns Iranian Attacks Against Brotherly Arab States
- OBITUARY3 days ago
Breaking! Former Super Eagles Coach Adegboye Onigbinde Dies Four Days After Clocking 88
- World Cup4 days ago
Iraq coach calls for delay to World Cup playoff amid travel shutdown
- OBITUARY3 days ago
Nigeria’s Sports Community Mourns Adegboye Onigbinde, A Life Devoted to Football
- OBITUARY1 week ago
Nigerian Sports Journalism Mourns Oyeniyi Oyeleke and Tonex Chukwu
- World Cup4 days ago
1990 World Cup Winner Riedle Backs Spain, France, Brazil for 2026 Glory