Malawian youth international Abel Mwakilama died on Friday, 20 April 2017 in Portugal of suspected cerebral malaria.
General Secretary of Football Association of Malawi (FAM), Alfred Gunda, confirmed to CAFonline.com the death of the striker who plays for Portuguese lower league side, Sporting Clube de Esmoriz.
“We are so shocked and saddened,” Gunda said.
Mwakilama single-handedly steered Chitipa United to Malawi’s top-flight TNM Super League in 2017 after scoring over 35 goals in 2016.
Mwakilama, who joined Sporting Clube Esmoriz in January, played for the Malawi U20 side; the Junior Flames, a fortnight ago.
His Mozambique-based Manager, Venancio Patrick per Peter Kanjere [The Times] said “He got sick the day before yesterday [Wednesday] and he complained of headache.
“At 8 pm, yesterday [Thursday], he was taken to hospital and it was concluded that he was suffering from cerebral malaria.
“Doctors tried their best and even transferred him to one of the biggest hospitals in Portugal, but he died. It happened so fast.
“He never complained of malaria but I suspect that he contracted it when he came to Malawi two weeks ago [to feature for the under-20 national team]. There is no malaria in Europe and I guess, he did not go for a check up.”
Culled from CAF
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