Ghanaian strike Raphael Dwamena dies during game in Albania

Former Ghana striker, Raphael Dwamena, died on Saturday after suffering a heart attack on the pitch during a match in Albania.

The 28-year-old was the leading scorer in the Albanian league this season, scoring nine goals for his team Egnatia.

He had won nine caps for Ghana and was once considered one of the country’s rising stars, but encountered several cardiac problems over the course of his career.

In 2017, a proposed move to Brighton fell through after Dwamena failed a medical, and in 2021 he collapsed on the pitch during a game in Austria.

Albanian football analyst, Endi Tufa, said Dwamena “lived for football”.

He underwent a heart operation in 2020, having an automatic defibrillator implanted to allow him to continue playing.

Following this operation, he played in the Danish, Austrian, and Swiss leagues before joining Albanian team KF Egnatia in January this year.

The Albanian Football Federation said his death has shocked the football community and it has postponed all games scheduled in the country this week.