Sports
Dwamena, choose life over football!
This is not how a top striker may want to hang his boots and bid an untimely farewell to the beautiful game.
But sometimes, much as one may try to fight off the tempest in the most bravado of styles, nature also has its way of dealing with matters.
It may fair; it might be unfair. But that is nature.
So, it came to pass that one of the nation’s fine strikers – Raphael Dwamena, nearly three weeks ago, collapsed while in action for Blau-Weiß Linz in an Austrian Cup match against Hartberg FC.
The player reportedly clutched his chest in the opening half and slumped onto the turf – battling desperately for survival. Heartily, paramedics on duty salvaged the situation and he was whisked to the hospital for further attention. He survived the scare!
This is not the first time Dwamena had been hit by such a heart-related incident.
In 2019, the striker suffered a new heartbreaking setback to his career as Spanish club Zaragoza detected an unknown heart problem during a routine medical check.
Indeed, this is the third time Dwamena had faced serious health problems – with English side Brighton pulling out of a deal to sign the striker from Swiss side FC Zurich because he failed a medical earlier.
Indeed, he had to stop playing for a while because of the risk of suffering a heart attack.
In 2017, Dwamena’s desire to play in the English premiership fell through because of his heart problem. He had agreed on personal terms with the English Premier League side Brighton and Holves Albion after they had a bid, reported to be around 15m euros (£13.8m), accepted by his Swiss club.
Sadly, Brighton had no choice but to back out and wished Dwamena well, having realised his situation was grave.
This latest incident in Austria must be the strongest possible warning to the player to, perhaps, stay off the game lastingly before it becomes a day late and a dollar short.
Dwamena is said to have been advised to hang up his boots permanently, but after a year, he doggedly decided to throw caution to the wind. Now, a renewed warning has been thrown in.
“After what has happened, Raphael will have to seriously assess his future as a player. He has already realised all this,” Sporting Director of Blau-Weiß Linz, warned.
The former Ghana Red Bull Academy top goal-poacher was called into Black Stars’ 30-man squad for the 2017 African Cup of Nations but was dropped after the squad had been slashed.
Dwamena, however, made his international debut in June 2017 in an African Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia, where he scored a brace to mark the new era of youngsters being introduced into the national team. But just as he was being tipped to take over from legend scorer Asamoah Gyan, his heart issue popped up strongly – leaving the national selectors with a Hobson’s choice.
Much as we would have loved Dwamena to recover fully, dash to the field, pick a fine fettle of form and possibly make a triumphant return into the Black Stars, it is limpidly clear, destiny would not allow him any further as medical reports had suggested.
In March 2012, 24-year-old Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba announced his retirement from football, after he collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest during his club’s FA Cup quarter-final tie with Tottenham Hotspur.
After being discharged from the hospital, Muamba traveled to Belgium to have minor heart surgery, which was said to have been routine and had no bearing on whether the player would return to action.
But Muamba said he received advice during his time there, prompting his retirement.
“Since suffering my heart attack and being discharged from hospital, I had remained utterly positive in the belief that I could one day resume my playing career and play for Bolton Wanderers once again,” said Muamba in a statement.
“As part of my ongoing recovery, I traveled to Belgium to seek further medical advice from a leading cardiologist. But the news I received was obviously not what I had hoped it would be and it means I am now announcing my retirement from professional football.”
Hope this would serve as timely advice for Dwamena.
Certainly, it was not the way he had envisaged to end his career, but sometimes, that is how hard and unfair life can be. It is a difficult decision to take, especially when the player believes he has lots of energy and football bottled up in his willing body.
Dwamena, it is over to you to choose life over death! Please, choose life – like Muamba did.
PlainTalk with John Vigah
Captain of Ghana’s National U-15 Boys team, Abdul Aziz Issa, says the exposure gained at the FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival 2026 in Azerbaijan will be vital for the development of the squad.
Ghana finished 7th out of 189 countries after an impressive campaign, winning eight of ten matches.
“I think we played well, the exposure was good for our development, and we can’t thank FIFA and the GFA enough for this amazing platform,” Issa said.
“I’m so very happy to be part of this FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival 2026 in Azerbaijan. I want to thank my colleagues for how far we have brought Ghana in this tournament.”
The captain believes the experience will prepare the group for future challenges at U-17 and U-20 level.
Ghana enjoyed an outstanding tournament, scoring 44 goals and establishing themselves among the top seven teams.
Their dominant group stage saw them score 27 goals while conceding just three. Salifu Fatawu’s side opened with a commanding 4-1 win over Uzbekistan, thrashed Myanmar 7-1, recorded emphatic 7-0 wins over Guam and the Bahamas, before rounding off the group with a 2-1 triumph over Kazakhstan.
Their pursuit of a higher finish suffered a setback in the knockout phase after elimination by Paraguay in a dramatic encounter.
The team bounced back to finish 7th, including a commanding 4-0 victory over Colombia in their final game, despite suffering a 7-1 defeat to Brazil in the Tier A Ranking Play-Offs.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Spanish Police have opened an investigation into the death of CD Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel following his on-field collision with FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono.
The 30-year-old forward died on Tuesday, November 3, at age 30, after suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest during a LaLiga 2 match at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López on Monday. f350
According to police sources cited by EFE, the case is under judicial supervision. The incident occurred in stoppage time when Owono rushed out of his penalty area to challenge for a long ball near midfield and collided heavily with De Miguel, striking him in the chest. The goalkeeper was shown a straight red card.
De Miguel was taken to Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria where he remained in intensive care until his death on Tuesday morning. CD Tenerife confirmed the passing in a statement: “Racked with pain… we communicate the tragic passing… of Jesús de Miguel Alameda”.
The National Police’s Homicide Group in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is leading the inquiry. Judicial authorities in the Canary Islands clarified that such an investigation is automatically opened whenever a death occurs from non-natural causes and does not by itself establish criminal responsibility.
While reports indicate police are examining possible involuntary manslaughter under Article 142 of Spain’s Penal Code, chief prosecutor José Luis Sánchez-Jáuregui believes it is highly unlikely that criminal proceedings will be brought because the collision occurred during normal play.
Authorities will review the referee’s match report, match footage, medical reports and the findings of the sports disciplinary committee to determine whether the challenge constituted dangerous play.
For now, no judicial ruling has established criminal responsibility on the part of the Andorra goalkeeper and the investigation remains open as Spanish football mourns De Miguel.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
