Ghana international footballer Raphael Dwamena dies aged 28 after collapsing on the pitch

[Bigpokey24]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/11/sport/ra ... index.html

CNN
—
Raphael Dwamena, who played for the Ghana international football team, has died at the age of 28 after collapsing during a match, the Ghana Football Association announced.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Raphael Dwamena at this difficult time,” the association said in a statement.

“Raphael represented Ghana wholeheartedly and paid his dues to the country until his unfortunate passing. We will forever miss him for his dedication to the National Coarse.

“Rest In Peace Raphael.”

While no official details have been released on Dwamena’s death, video appears to show him collapsing on Saturday in the 24th minute of an Albanian top division match between Dwamena’s team KF Egnatia and Partizani.

Video footage posted to X, formerly Twitter, shows Dwamena collapsing on the pitch, before players from both teams rushed to his side. He was then attended to by medical personnel as an ambulance was brought onto the pitch.

Dwamena previously collapsed in October 2021 during a match between his then team Blau-Weiß Linz and Hartberg in the Austrian Cup, but recovered and returned to action.

During his career, Dwamena played for clubs in Spain, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark.

Levante, one of Dwamena’s former teams, paid tribute to the forward.

“On behalf of Levante, we would like to express our sincere condolences for the death of our former player, Raphael Dwamena,” the club said in a statement.

RIP

[Bigpokey24]

Dwamena was diagnosed with a heart condition in 2017. In January 2020, while at Levante UD he had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implanted through surgery, which enabled his club to monitor his heart during matches.[17][21] In October 2020, the ICD showed values which were considered too high, and his club at the time, Vejle Boldklub, withdrew him from team activities as a result.[21]

In October 2021, in Austrian Cup match during the first half of Blau-Weiss Linz's game against Hartberg, Dwamena collapsed on pitch and was shocked by the ICD and stabilized quickly.[31]

Death
On 11 November 2023, Dwamena collapsed again on the field in the 23rd minute of the first half of the round 13 match between Egnatia and Partizani in the Kategoria Superiore. He suffered cardiac arrest and died on the way to Kavajë Hospital. After his death, all sports events in Albania were either postponed or suspended.[32][33

[Coach]

Tragic. Very surprised he was still permitted to play football following activation of the ICD. Something for the authorities to think about. Condolences to his family and loved ones.

[Bigpokey24]

Tragic. Very surprised he was still permitted to play football following activation of the ICD. Something for the authorities to think about. Condolences to his family and loved ones.

My thoughts exactly

[packerland]

Tragic. Very surprised he was still permitted to play football following activation of the ICD. Something for the authorities to think about. Condolences to his family and loved ones.

I understand him still trying to play with the ICD like Eriksen but he should’ve quit in 2021 after than medical incident. Based on where he plays, maybe he was trying to make a little bit more money and call it quits. RIP

[Bigpokey24]

[balo]

RIP.
The signs were there.

[Bigpokey24]

[gosh]

What makes this case even more tragic is that unlike for some other footballers, he was lucky to have discovered there was an issue at least 1-2 years before his demise. Why he did not retire is a mystery to me.
At his age, he still had time to hang up the cleats and pursue a different career, or if still interested in football, branch into football management (including coaching), for example. It did not have to end this way at all. RIP to the brother.