Two celebrated professional African footballers died this week in the prime of their lives.
Former Zimbabwe international goalkepper George Chigova collapsed and died at his home in South Africa after having survived a heart attack back in July. He was 32 years old.
Chigova, who was capped 32 times for Zimbabwe, suffered a heart attack in July before attempting to return to football. He last played for South African pro team SuperSport United.
His death was confirmed on Wednesday.
In a statement the club said, ‘George was a great club man, a gentle giant loved by current and former players and everyone at the club. Even though his official time with SuperSport ended in June 2023, he was a regular visitor to the training ground and stadium to support the team. We convey our deepest condolences to his family and friends both in South Africa and in Zimbabwe during this difficult and very sad time. May his soul rest in peace.’
Meanwhile there were distressing scenes in the Albanian national league this week when 28-year-old Ghanaian international footballer Raphael Dwamena collapsed and died on the field of play. The moment was captured on live TV.
Dwamena was a popular figure in the Albanian league as captain of FK Egnatia, having previously played for FC Zurich and Real Zaragoza in Europe. The last of his three international caps was in 2017.
Dwamena had previously used an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), which had been removed at his request at the time of his death. He was diagnosed with ventricular arrhythmia in 2017.
The football world has been rocked by a spate of highly publicised sudden deaths of young, healthy players over the past three years, with many blaming the COVID mRNA gene therapy marketed to the public as a ‘vaccine’ for the increase. The mRNA medication is known to have caused unprecedented rates of heart conditions, such as myocarditis and periocarditis. FIFA do not list mRNA medication as a risk in their Sudden Cardiac Arrest policy.
In Iran a player was filmed suddenly collapsing on field this week in what appeared to be another cardio-related event, though his death could not be confirmed.
فوت کرد یک فوتبالیست ایرانی بر اثر سکته قلبی در زمین فوتبال درگذشت
An Iranian football player died due to a heart attack on the football field pic.twitter.com/o0NNRMBeDb— اصغرقاتل (@A_GHATEL1981) November 16, 2023
Ghana 🇬🇭 Distressing scenes as 28 year old Former Ghana striker Raphael Dwamena dies on the pitch after suffering a heart attack during an Albanian league game….He joins the growing list, becoming another 𝙐𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚…💉 pic.twitter.com/v5M0Ho9dSw
— 𝙍𝙄𝙎𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙇𝘽𝙊𝙐𝙍𝙉𝙀 (@Risemelbourne) November 12, 2023
