Cheick Tiote, a former Newcastle and Ivory Coast midfielder died at the age of 30years. His sudden death on Monday, June 5 came as rude shock to everyone. He was reported to have collapsed at the training ground and died within an hour at the local hospital in China. This player described as a ‘’wonderful presence in the dressing room’’ with excellent performance on the field was a huge loss to the football community. He is one of 80 young, apparently healthy, physically active football players that have died suddenly in the past.

Nigerians will never forget Samuel Okwaraji, who collapsed and died at the age of 25 while playing against Angola in a World Cup Qualifier. There are also other Nigerian footballers such as Benjamin Owusu, Emmanuel Ogoli, Victor Omogbehin, Chinoso Henry who all fell into the grim, cold hands of death during football matches.

The huge loss of these young, healthy players in their prime raises the question:
Why are footballers prone to sudden death?

Many of the footballers experienced what can be described as Sudden death syndrome which refers to different causes of heart attacks in young people. It occurs within hours of sudden deterioration of the person’s health. In Tiote’s case, he died within one hour of developing the symptoms.


Read more: http://www.healthx24.com/2017/06/09/sudden-death-syndrome-losing-young-healthy-african-footballers/

Check Tiote

Cheick Tiote