Nigerian foreign based footballer, David Faramola Oniya died on Saturday after collapsing on the field during a friendly against Super League side, Kelantan, at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru.
Club chief executive officer, Syahrizan Mohd Zain, said that the T-Team centreback collapsed barely three minutes into the game and was taken to the the Raja Perempuan Zainab Hospital.
“He was pronounced dead at the hospital about 30 minutes later,” said Syahrizan from Kota Baru.
He said that the 30-year-old Oniya, who was playing in his first season with the Premier League outfit, had barely touched the ball when he collapsed.
“There was no hard running and it was a slow tempo match. It’s only a friendly game. The match was called off in the 60th minute when we received a call from the hospital that Oniya had died,” said Syahrizan.
Kelantan FA manager Azman Ibrahim said they will make the necessary arrangements to send Oniya’s body home.
In 2003, a former international Ali Bakar collapsed and died during an international veterans’ match in Singapore.