Charles Bassey is a retired football legend and famous coach, who has served Nigeria meritoriously for many years. Born in 1954, he hails from Akwa Ibom State which, until September 23, 1987, was part of Cross River State. He was a member of the national team, the Green Eagles, that won the African Cup of Nations title in Lagos in 1980.
A talented, brilliant, disciplined and bold youngster, Bassey was discovered in 1972 when he played for the erstwhile South-Eastern State (renamed Cross River State) Academicals. He became the captain of the Academicals in 1973.
On his graduation from college, Charles Bassey continued with his football exploits. He played for then famous Rovers Football Club of Calabar from 1977 to 1979. That was when he was called up to the national team to play in the 1980 African Cup of Nations as an attacking midfielder.
Charles Bassey is also a well-trained, qualified and certificated coach. After his active years as a footballer, Bassey took to coaching. He equipped himself with world-class coaching skills by attending coaching courses in Nigeria and abroad, among them the National Institute of Sports, Lagos and the Brazilian Football Academy, Rio de Janeiro.
He also participated in training programmes put together by former Nigeria Football Association (NFA), the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).
He had coaching jobs with the following clubs: Rovers FC, BCC Lions, Akwa United, Customs FC, flash Flamingoes, Jetimo FC, Mobil Pegasus, Wikki Tourists, Kwara United, and Ananthiga Warriors. At the national level, he was an assistant coach with the national under-23 men squad.
In his long career, Bassey also served as a football administrator, having served as President of the All-Stars Football Clubs in Calabar and Uyo, organizer of the National Coaches Association in the South-South, and Technical Director of the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Sports.
A recipient of numerous laurels, including the national honour of Member of the Order of the Niger (MON), Charles Bassey currently resides in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital. However, he is not enjoying his retirement because of health challenges, dating back to 1986 when he was involved in a car accident. He had sustained a spinal cord injury in the accident, which has since then left him in pains, with attendant huge hospital bills.
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