TRIBUTES HAVE been paid to former Ghana striker Raphael Dwamena who died after collapsing on the pitch during a league match in Albania.

Dwamena lost consciousness while playing for Egnatia in the Albanian Super League against Partizani on Saturday the Albanian Football Federation (AFL) said in a statement.

The 28-year-old was given first aid before being rushed to hospital.

“Despite the immediate intervention of specialist doctors and all efforts to bring him back to life, the footballer unfortunately passed away,” the federation said.

Following Dwamena’s collapse the game was stopped at 1-1. All games scheduled in Albania this week have been postponed, the federation added.

The AFL announced that all of this week’s games in Albania have been postponed.

Dwamena was the leading scorer in the Albanian league this season with nine goals for his team Egnatia. He had won nine caps and scored two goals for Ghana.

“The AFL expresses its deepest condolences to the Dwamena family and the Egnatia club for this great loss that has shocked the entire Albanian football community,” the federation said.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) said it sent “our deepest condolences to his family at this difficult moment”.

“He served his country well and showed class any time he represented Ghana,” GFA president Kurt Edwin Simeon Okraku said in a statement.

Dwamena began his career as a youth player at Red Bull Salzburg and went on to play for sides including FC Zurich, Levante, Real Zaragoza.

A planned £14 million transfer to Premier League side Brighton was shelved in 2017 after he failed a medical.

In 2017 a proposed £14m move to Brighton fell through after Dwamena failed a medical. He went on to play for Levante in La Liga and also played for Real Zaragoza on loan.

In 2021 he collapsed during a cup match in Austria between his side Blau -Weiss Linz against Hartberg, but recovered and continued his playing career.

He reportedly had a heart operation and had an automatic defibrillator implanted.

His former sides played tributes to the player.

“Our thoughts are with his family and his loved ones in these difficult moments. His legacy in our club will last forever,” Levante said on social media.

Zaragoza also paid tribute, saying: “We are devastated by the sad news of the passing of our former player Raphael Dwamena. You will always be in the memory of Zaragoza´s fans. Rest in peace.”