Berekum Chelsea winger Dominic Frimpong has been killed in an armed robbery on his team’s bus as they returned from a match on Sunday, the Ghana Football Association said.
Berekum Chelsea said six “masked men wielding guns and assault rifles” had blocked the road as the team returned from their Ghana Premier League match against Samartex.
The robbers fired at the bus as it tried to reverse away from danger, the club said. Staff and players fled the vehicle but Frimpong was struck in the head. The 20-year-old was taken to hospital but died from his wounds. He is the only reported casualty from the incident. Ghanaian authorities said the bus was carrying 30 players and officials.
“The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has received with profound shock and deep sorrow the tragic news of the passing of Dominic Frimpong of Berekum Chelsea Football Club,” the GFA said in a statement. “The incident has sent shockwaves across the entire football fraternity. The GFA extends its heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased, his teammates, technical staff, management, and all at Berekum Chelsea during this extremely difficult time.”
The GFA described Frimpong, who had scored two goals in 13 appearances this season, as a “promising young talent whose dedication and passion for the game embodied the spirit of our league”. He had joined Berekum Chelsea on loan from Aduana FC earlier this year.
Sunday’s incident was not the first time a team had been attacked in Ghana. FC Savannah, Wa All Stars, Legon Cities and AshantiGold have reported similar incidents in recent years, according to the BBC.
Local police said they had “deployed additional personnel and crime scene experts to the area”, adding that the “perpetrators will be arrested within the shortest possible time”.