Footballer slumps, dies during final of Isiaka Adeleke Memorial Cup in Osun

A footballer, identified as Adeyemi Adewale, has died after slumping on the pitch during Isiaka Adeleke Memorial Cup in Osun.

Bamiji Oladele, media aide to Governor of the state, Ademola Adeleke, confirmed the sad development in a statement on Friday.

Oladele, chairman of the competition’s organising committee, said the incident happened on Thursday at the Ataoja School of Science in Osogbo, the capital of Osun.

He said the 29-year-old footballer slumped in the 84th minute while playing for the Ilesa West LGA team against the Ejigbo LGA side in the competition’s third-place match.

He added that the player, popularly known as Maicon, was rushed to the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, where he was eventually pronounced dead.

“The organisers of the late Otunba Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke Memorial Cup again express deep sadness at this unfortunate incident. We pray God Almighty to grant his immediate family, the Osun State Grassroots Football Coaches Council, his teammates at Ilesa West Local Government, friends and all of us touched by the sudden death of Adeyemi Adewale, ‘Maicon’,” the statement reads.