Former Ghana midfielder Yakubu Abubakari has passed on after battling an illness at the Tema Government Hospital in Ghana. The 36-year-old who spent his first decade with Ajax in Netherlands had been put on Oxygen at Tema hospital up-to yesterday Tuesday 31st when he lost the fight.
Born in the outskirts of Tema, Abubakari started his career at 17 with Ghana Premier League side, Great Mariners. He got a rare chance to join the prized Ajax academy in 1999 where he stayed for one full decade.
The central defender made his Eredivisie debut a year later in a 1–1 away draw against FC Den Bosch but finished his first season with only five appearances. He continuously improved going on to average 15 league games in the following four years, helping the Amsterdam side to two national championships and the 2002 edition of the Dutch Cup in the process.
Abubakari forced a loan move to Vitesse Arnhem in the ‘05/‘06 campaign where he played in 31 games that season, earning him another national team call-up. After hitting it off with the then coach Edward Sturing, Abubakari made his switch to Vitesse permanent that summer and was a first-team regular up-to 2009.
He was also part of the Ghanaian national team and played a crucial role in taking Ghana to its first World Cup, to the surprise of many despite not making it to the finals shortlist.
He moved back to Tema after an unsuccessful trial with TSV 1860 München from Germany and has been helping children who dream playing professional football like he did.
The two-time Eredivisie winner will be remembered as a charitable man who loved his country, his hometown and will surely be missed by many. May his soul rest in peace.
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