A Togo player Kodjo Etonam Adjassou died on the field last weekend when his side Bankstown City Lions clashed with Spirit FC at Jensen Park in the National Premier League.
The 24-year-old collapsed 10 minutes into the game and could not be revived forcing the match to be abandoned. A memorial service was held for him on Thursday. He will be buried May 10 at Karangi Lawn Cemetery after a Service at the Harbourside Presbyterian Church.
�It is with great sadness that Bankstown City Lions informs the football community of the sad passing of one of its true gentlemen players, Kodjo Etonam Adjassou, on Saturday 3 May 2014,� the club on their official Facebook page.
�Kodjo came to our club after playing with Coffs Coast Tigers he was coached by Leo Braumgartner before coming to the Berries last season and moving over to play for Bankstown City Lions in 2014.
�For those who didn�t know him and only saw the back of his shirt, Kodjo was a gifted and talented player well-liked and respected by all his team mates, he was family to his team mates and club.�
The cause of his death is yet to be established. The Togo-born star spent more than a decade in a refugee camp in Ghana before moving to Australia. He won the player of the year at Tigers in 2010 before joining Bankstown Berries.
�He was really talented and the players respected him like family,� club secretary Mendo Petkovski said. �Everyone loved and adored the guy, he was a true gentleman.�
A Memorial Fund has been established to support his family which includes a five-month old girl.
<<Print>>