How 6 Foreign-Based Ghanaian Footballers Died

On February 20, 2023, 11:23 AM

IBRAHIM DOSSEY

Dossey had signed with FCM Târgovişte two days before he crashed his car on 13 September 2008, near Breaza, Prahova County, and fell into a coma. His wife and two children were not hurt in the accident. He was in a coma for nearly three months, before he died in Bagdasar Arseni Hospital-Bucharest, Romania on 9 December 2008, aged 36. He was buried in Hârşova, Romania on 10 December. August 22, 2019. Dossey was born in Accra, Ghana. He played in Romania for Rapid Bucuresti FC, FC Brasov, Pandurii Targu Jiu, and Unirea Sannicolau. Dossey was brought to Romania by former Ghana and Accra Hearts of Oak coach Petre Gavrilla in 2000. The goalkeeper featured for Real Tamale United, Sekondi Eleven Wise, and Accra Hearts of Oak on the local scene before leaving for Romania. He was part of the Ghana U-23 team, the Black Meteors in the Barcelona ’92 Olympics.

JUNIOR MANUEL AGOGO

Agogo’s death: Junior Agogo died on August 22, 2019, after battling a stroke for four years. He died in a hospital in London. He had earlier revealed his struggle with the stroke when Ghanaians became aware of his condition in 2018.

Junior Agogo was said to have had a tough time raising funds for his complicated medical conditions. At a time, friends and families were asked to donate cash so that the player can undergo some surgeries. Junior Agogo’s lack of cash to cater for himself alluded to the fact that his former club Zamalek owed him some cash. He was signed by the Egyptian giants after his stupendous display for the Black Stars in the AFCON 2008 hosted by Ghana. Earlier he had played for Nottingham Forest in England.

STEPHEN OWUSU

Stephen Owusu (26 October 1982 – 24 October 2020) was a Ghanaian footballer who played for the Kenyan Premier League side Tusker as a striker. He was born in Prestea, Ghana, on 26 October 1982. He was part of the team that won the 2016 Kenyan Premier League. He died on 24 October 2020 after a long illness at the age of 37, two days before his 38th birthday. He actually flew back to Ghana for medical attention and was admitted to the 37 military hospital. The striker’s last assignment in Kenya was with NSL side Nairobi Stima. The burly forward started his football career with Ghanaian lower-tier side Prestea Mine Stars in 2001 before he switched to Asante Kokoto in 2002. He would later have stints with Tunisian side Esperance Tunis and Nigeria’s Sharks FC before he moved to Kenya. His greatest highlight in Kenya was when he won the domestic top-flight title with Tusker FC in 2016 and the FKF Shield Cup.

CHRISTIAN ATTAH GYAN

Ex-Ghana defender Christian Attah Gyan passed away on December 29, 2021, at the age of 43, after battling cancer for over four years. Gyan who was also known as “Atta Rasta” died at a hospital in The Netherlands where he lived for most of his years. Gyan was a member of the Ghana squad that won Gold at the FIFA U17 World Cup in Ecuador. He signed for Feyenoord Rotterdam in 1996. During the following season, he was sent on loan to Excelsior. After only a couple of months, Feyenoord recalled the defender, and he made his debut for Feyenoord that same season. Gyan remained with Feyenoord for the next eight seasons where he became a “Cult Hero” after emerging to be a fan favorite. The former Black Stars defender played in the 2002 UEFA Cup Final against Borussia Dortmund with Feyenoord winning 3-2 in the end. Gyan also won a Dutch League Championship and a Johan Cruijff Schaal with Feyenoord during his time. In September 2017 supporters of Feyenoord collected an amount of €35,000 for him to support his medical bills. Christian Attah Gyan played 23 matches for the Black stars, Ghana’s senior national team.

CHRISTIAN ATSU

Christian Atsu died at the age of 31. He was a player of the Turkish club Hatayspor and had been among the thousands of people missing since Feb. 6, 2023, when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria. Just hours before the quake, he had scored his team’s winning goal in its match against Kasimpasa, a team from Istanbul. Atsu was discovered by Coach Kwasi Appiah to play for the Black Stars. His major outing was the Brazil 2014 world cup. He won the tournament best player in the 2015 African Cup of Nations held in Equatorial Guinea. Atsu began his career with FC Porto in Portugal, also spending a season on loan at Rio Ave. In 2013, he was signed by Chelsea for £3.5 million, who subsequently loaned him to Vitesse Arnhem, Everton, AFC Bournemouth, and Malaga. After spending the 2016–17 season on loan at Newcastle United, he completed a permanent transfer to the club in May 2017. Following the end of his four-year contract, he played for Al Raed in Saudi Arabia and Hatayspor in Turkey, where he met his untimely death in the earthquake in the 2023 Turkey-Syria.

GEORGE GORMASHIE

George Gormashie was Accra Hearts of Oak player who switched between his Ghana club and clubs in Belgium. He last played for Hearts in 1985 and featured in its friendly match against the Black Stars which ended in a barren draw. The stocky forward player settled in Belgium where he played for clubs and died in the early nineties from an undisclosed illness.

Story By Napoleon Ato Kittoe