Ghanaian striker Dwamena dies during game in Albania

Former Ghana forward Raphael Dwamena, 28, died on Saturday on the pitch while playing for a local team in Albania, the Albanian Football Federation said in a statement.

Dwamena lost consciousness and after doctors gave him first aid he was sent to hospital.

“Despite the immediate intervention of specialist doctors and all efforts to bring him back to life, the footballer unfortunately passed away,” the federation said in a statement.

The federation has postponed all games scheduled in Albania this week.

Dwamena was diagnosed with a heart condition in 2017 and during a game in Austria in 2021 he collapsed on the pitch but was soon stabilised.

“He served his country well and showed class anytime he represented Ghana,” Ghana Football Association President Kurt Edwin Simeon Okraku said in a statement.

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.

Dwamena played for Ghana nine times and scored two goals.