Back to the Soccer Newsfeed

David Oniya, Nigerian Soccer Player, Dies at Age 30

Nigerian defender David Oniya died Saturday after collapsing during a match between his club, T–Team, and Malaysia Super League side Kelantan. He was 30.

Patrick Johnston of Reuters reported that the incident occurred just three minutes into the fixture. He was transported to a local hospital but did not survive.

Ajitpal Singh and Zainuddin Muhammad of the New Straits Times passed along comments from T-Team chief operating officer Syahrizan Mohd Zain, who believes Oniya's life could have been saved if action was taken quicker.

"He suffered a heart attack, but it could have been a different story had the ambulance driver been alert," Mohd Zain said.