Siphamandla Mtolo, a soccer player from South Africa, has died, according to Richards Bay Football Club. He was 29 years old. The team announced that Mtolo died after collapsing while training with the team on Tuesday. The official cause of death has not been announced.
“The club is not in a position to provide further information at this stage and ask that his family’s privacy is respected in this difficult time of bereavement,” the statement from Richards Bay Football Club said. “His presence both on and off the pitch will be solely missed. Thoughts and prayers of everyone in Richards Bay Football Club are with his family, friends and loved ones. A further statement will follow in due course.”
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The Premier Soccer League, which administers professional soccer in South Africa also released a statement on the death of Mtolo. “The PSL is deeply saddened by the untimely passing of Richards Bay Football Club midfielder, Siphamandla Mtolo,” the statement read. A moment of silence will be observed in his honour at this week’s Nedbank Cup and DStv Diski Challenge fixtures.May his soul repose peacefully.”
Mtolo joined Richards Bay FC based in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa, in 2020. He was a member of the team that won the GladAfrica Championship for the 2021-2022 season, which led to the team earning a promotion to the country’s premier division, according to CNN.
Social media users expressed their sadness about Mtolo’s passing on Twitter. One person wrote: “This is truely sad, don’t clubs have medics during training sessions, I wonder if that wouldn’t have mitigated against this loss. If not time for administrators to tighten controls.”
“There is a growing trend in which soccer players collapse and die,” another person tweeted. “It appears that there may be new diseases associated with exercise and sudden death. There is no documented research, but I believe the data is accumulating.”
