A promising talent and a former striker of the Ghana national team, Raphael Dwamena on Saturday met his untimely death when he collapsed on the field in the 24th minute during an Albanian league match.
The 28-year-old Raphael Dwamena, who suffered a heart attack during the game was representing his club, FK Egnatia, in a match against KF Partizani in the Albanian Superliga.
The match, which had kicked off at 12:30 GMT, took a devastating turn when Dwamena collapsed on the field in the 24th minute.
The late Dwamena was the leading scorer in the Albanian league this season with nine goals. He had won nine caps and scored two goals for his country.
Saturday’s match was abandoned and the federation had postponed all games scheduled in Albania this week.
A statement from the Albanian Football Federation (AFL) stated that “Despite the immediate intervention of specialist doctors he unfortunately passed away,”
“The AFL expresses its deepest condolences to the Dwamena family and the Egnatia club for this great loss that has shocked the entire Albanian football community,” the federation added.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Kurt Edwin Simeon Okraku said in a statement: “Our deepest condolences to his family at this difficult moment”.
“He served his country well and showed class any time he represented Ghana,” In 2017 a proposed £14m move to Brighton fell through after Dwamena failed a medical. He went on to represent Levante in La Liga and also played for Real Zaragoza on loan.
In 2021, he collapsed during a cup match in Austria between his side Blau-Weiss Linz and Hartberg, but recovered and continued his playing career.
He reportedly had a heart operation and had an automatic defibrillator implanted.
“Our thoughts are with his family and his loved ones in these difficult moments. His legacy in our club will last forever,” Levante said on social media.
Zaragoza also paid tribute, saying: “We are devastated by the sad news of the passing of our former player Raphael Dwamena. You will always be in the memory of Zaragoza´s fans. Rest in peace.”
History
The late Raphael Dwamena was born on 12th September 1995 in Nkawkaw, the Municipal capital of Kwahu West in the Eastern Region.
Dwamena played and trained with the Red Bull Ghana developmental program. At the International Tournament in Croix, France in 2013, Dwamena helped the RB Ghana U17 team to a silver medal performance and was named the tournament’s Best Player.
Before returning to Ghana, Dwamena and his teammate, David Atanga, first traveled to Austria for a one-week trial with FC Red Bull Salzburg.
Dwamena joined the Salzburg youth team in January 2014 and immediately made an impact on the U18 squad.
In one tournament in June, he racked up seven goals in four games. Although Salzburg finished in third, he won the Golden Shoe.
In July 2014, Dwamena was promoted to FC Liefering, the Salzburg farm team playing in the Austrian Football First League.
He made his professional debut on 18 July, where in the 82nd minute of a 3–0 win over Hartberg, Dwamena was substituted in for Nikola Dovedan.
He was one of the six Liefering players making their professional debuts that day.
He played in one more game that season.
During the 2015–16 season, Dwamena made his first start for Liefering on 21st August against Wiener Neustadt.
He played the 90 minutes in place of Smail Prevljak.
On 18th September, in his fifth straight start, Dwamena scored his first professional goal.
He scored in a 4-1 win over Austria Klagenfurt.
-BY Daniel Bampoe