Former Cameroon captain Theophile Abega has been reported dead. He passed away in the early hours of Thursday, November 15 at a hospital in Yaoundé. He was 58.

Abega nicknamed "Doctor" during his playing days was revered locally and internationally and is highly rated as one of the best talents ever to have come from Cameroon. As captain of the Indomitable Lions, he guided the team to win the title at the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations held in Cote d'Ivoire. Later in the same year, he was named the African Footballer of the Year by the France Football Magazine.

He was also a key figure for the Indomitable Lions in their campaign at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, featuring in all three matches as the team exited at the group phase.

After ending his playing career which included spells with French side Toulouse, he returned home and served as President of his boyhood club, Canon Sportif de Yaoundé. In 2006, he was named by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years.

Until his death, he was the mayor of Yaoundé VIème, a district in the capital.