Premier League soccer player killed in attack on team bus in Ghana

Dominic Frimpong of Ghanaian Premier League club Berekum Chelsea was killed after the team’s bus was attacked by a group of suspected armed robbers, the country’s soccer association said Monday.

The incident happened on Sunday as Berekum Chelsea was returning from its game against Samartex in Samreboi in southern Ghana, the club said in a statement.

“Masked men welding guns and assault rifles started shooting at our bus as the driver tried to reverse. The players and staff fled into nearby bushes to take cover,” the statement read.

The club said one of the players was badly injured and receiving medical attention at a nearby hospital.

The Ghanaian Football Association later said 20-year-old winger Dominic Frimpong was reportedly killed in the incident.

“This tragic incident is not only a huge loss to Berekum Chelsea but also to Ghana football as a whole. Dominic was a promising young talent whose dedication and passion for the game embodied the spirit of our league,” the governing body said in a statement.

In a social media post, the president of the Ghanaian Football Association, Kurt Edwin Simeon Okrakru, called the incident “heartbreaking.”

“May Dominic’s soul rest in perfect peace,” he wrote.

Frimpong joined Berekum Chelsea FC on loan from Aduana Stars FC at the beginning of the year. He played 13 games and scored two goals for the club, according to local media.

Police said another victim, 52-year-old George Owusu Afriyie, was also robbed of more than$400 during the attack.

The GFA added it would strengthen security measures for clubs traveling for domestic competitions.

Ghanaian sports journalist Muftawu Abdulai told BBC Sport Africa that fans are increasingly questioning whether it is “safe to travel and play league matches.”

“If the lives of the people or the key architect of the game cannot be protected then it is not worth playing the game,” Abdulai told BBC Sport Africa.

In 2023, another Ghanian Premier League team’s bus, Legon Cities, was attacked by suspected armed robbers, though no injuries were reported.