Ghanaian striker, Raphael Dwamena passed away on Saturday 11th November while playing for the Albanian Superiore club KF Egnatia.

The 28 year old international player collapsed midway through his first half in a match against Partizani.

His team mates and rival team members all rushed to his aid as he was stretchered from the field for first aid before driving to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The Albanian football federation said in a statement that they had tried their best including getting specialists and the best doctors but none could resuscitate the player.

”Despite the immediate intervention from specialist doctors and all efforts to bring him back to life the footballer unfortunately passed away.” the statement read in part.

The Ghana Football Association president Edwin Okuraku mourned the player who has made 7 recent appearances for his country.

He praised Dwamena for representing his country with grace and class.

”He served his country well and showed class.” Okuraku stated,

According to reports, the player has had a long history of heart conditions and illnesses and this is not the first time the player has  faced health struggles while playing.

Dwamena’s predicaments begun in 2017 after he  was diagnosed with a heart condition.

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,  during a match in Austria at the first half of Blau-Weiss Linz’s game against Hartberg, Dwamena collapsed on pitch and was shocked by the ICD and stabilized quickly.