Black Stars shot-stopper Lawrence Ati-Zigi paid a touching tribute to his late childhood friend Raphael Dwamena in the FC St. Gallen six-goal thriller win over FC Winterthur in the Swiss Super League.
Ati-Zigi and Dwamena began their football career at RedBull Academy Ghana (now West African Football Academy SC). Both were transfered to RedBull Salzburg in Austria on permanent basis.
Football fans across the globe were handed a devastating news on Saturday, November 11, 2023 when Ghanaian striker Raphael Dwamena collapsed and passed away during a football game in Albania.
Dwamena went unconscious after just 23 minutes in KS Egnatia game against FK Partizani in the Albanian top-flight league, he was confirmed dead after being rushed to the hospital.
The ex-UD Levante and Real Zaragoza forward was diagnosed with a heart condition in 2017 and had an implantable cardioverter-defribillator (ICD) to monitor his heart rate in 2020 during his time with Spanish side Levante.
Despite this medical intervention, Dwamena suffered from a relapse in October, 2021 when he collapsed on the pitch in a game involving Blau-Weiss and Harterg in the Austrian League.
His heart condition was the main factor behind his collapsed move to English outfit Brighton and Hove Albion and Danish Superliga side Velje Boldklub falling through after a deal was agreed with the club’s sporting director expressing concern over Dwamena’s heart measurement.
