Togo striker dies at 25 after contracting malaria

Togolese league top scorer Koudagba dies of malaria

Togo striker Kossi Koudagba has died shortly after contracting malaria in his hometown of Devie in Lome.

The ASC Kara striker finished the Togolese season as top scorer for two years in a row helping his club to win the league also in 2019.

According to the BBC, the 25 year-old striker, had returned home in March to stay with relatives after the 2019/20 Togolese Championnat National campaign was cancelled due to the coronavirus.

It was while staying in the suburbs of the capital Lome that he fell ill and died.

Paying tribute to tribute to Koudagba,  Togolese Football Federation said: “In these painful circumstances, the Executive Committee of the FTF wish to salute the memory of the player, whose qualities on and off the field are known to all."

“The FTF Executive Committee would like, on behalf of Togolese football, to express our deepest condolences and express our feelings of sympathy to the family of the deceased, loved ones, the ASCK club, as well as the staff and players of the Togo national team.”

Koudagba made three appearances for his national team and was named in the squad for last year's Africa Cup of Nations.

Koudagba was set to join Tunisian side US Tataouine last year but failed his medical because of heart problems.