Raphael Dwamena, a former Black Stars attacker, died after fainting on a football ground on Saturday, Citi Sports can reveal.
The 28-year-old died after having a heart arrest during a game between his Albanian club, Egnatia Rrogozhine, and Partizani.
The unfortunate tragedy occurred in the 23rd minute of the Superliga Match Day 13 game, forcing it to be halted.
Dwamena was diagnosed with a cardiac problem in 2017 and had an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to monitor his heart rate in 2020 while playing for Levante in Spain.
Despite this medicinal intervention, Dwamena experienced a recurrence in October 2021, when he fell on the field during an Austrian League match between Blau-Weiss and Harterg.
He did, however, live after being swiftly stabilized and healed in the hospital; the game was abandoned. The club later released him.
His heart problem was the major reason his move to Danish Superliga side Velje Boldklub fell through after an agreement was reached, with the club’s sports director expressing concern over Dwamena’s cardiac measurement.
Dwamena was part of a 30-man Black Stars team that was called up for the 2017 AFCON competition, however he was left out of the 23-man squad that was chosen for the biennial event.
He scored on his international debut against Ethiopia in a 2017 AFCON qualification under Kwasi Appiah.
