)
Sylla, aged 21, collapsed during a top-flight match against SOL FC on Sunday and was pronounced dead on the way to hospital.
Ivory Coast football legend Didier Drogba has demanded better medical checks to protect footballers in his native country following the tragic death of Racing Club d'Abidjan defender Moustapha Sylla.
Sylla, aged 21, collapsed during a top-flight match against SOL FC on Sunday and was pronounced dead on the way to hospital.
Video of the incident shows Sylla stumbling before losing his balance and falling to the ground motionless near the centre circle, prompting opposition players to call for medical assistance.
Drogba, who lost a bid to run football in Ivory Coast last year, also expressed his condolences to the Ivorian football community and cited the death of his international team-mate Cheick Tiote, who died following a cardiac arrest in China in 2017.
This is not the first time that Ivory Coast has witnessed the death of a professional league player. Drogba pointed out that Sylla's death is the third such incident in less than four years.
Reacting to the tragedy, Drogba called for more medical protection for footballers in the country and questioned the absence of compulsory medical checks for professional players.
“Three deaths of Ivorian professional league players in less than four years, where are the compulsory medical visits for each professional player?” Drogba wrote on his Facebook page.
“The blood tests, the ECGs, the stress tests? When will sports medicine arrive?" he added.
Patrice Motsepe, president of CAF, also expressed his shock at "the tragic passing of such a young life who showed promise on the football field."
Meanwhile, football fans in South Africa are also mourning the loss of Richards Bay midfielder Siphamandla Mtolo, who collapsed during training on Tuesday.
The deaths of Sylla and Mtolo serve as a stark reminder of the need for greater attention to player health and safety in football.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)