Taylor O'BierRaphael Dwamena, a striker for the Ghana International football team, died at the age of 28 after collapsing during a match Saturday, the Ghana Football Association announced on its website.
"The Ghana Football Association is sad to hear of the death of our former player Raphael Dwamena and wish to express our deepest condolences to his family at this difficult moment," the association said in a statement.
"He served his country well and showed class anytime he represented Ghana," the team's President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku said. "This news is hard to take. Our best wishes goes to the family at this moment."
While no official details have been released on Dwamena's death, the association said reports from Albania - where the game was being held - claimed he suffered a heart attack on the field 24 minutes into the league match between Egnatia and Partizani. Those same reports said he was taken to a hospital where he later died.
According to German outlet DW, Dwamena had been diagnosed with a heart condition in 2017. Years later, he was given an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, which allowed doctors to monitor his heart during games.
Dwamena previously collapsed in October 2021 during a match between his then-team Blau-Weiß Linz, and Hartberg in the Austrian Cup - but his ICD helped him return to the game, DW reported.
During his career, Dwamena played for clubs in Spain, Switzerland and Austria.
FC Zurich, one of Dwamena’s former teams, wrote, "Rest in Peace Raphael Dwamena. You will always be on of us!" on their X account.
🕯️ Der FC Zürich trauert um Raphael Dwamena.
— FC Zürich (@fc_zuerich) November 11, 2023
Rest in Peace Raphael Dwamena. Du bleibst immer einer von uns!#fcz pic.twitter.com/rIwaMyYsKx
