Alex soccer death could have been averted – expert

The death of an Alex soccer player in May last year from a suspected fatal heart attack could have been avoided had the local teams subjected their players to health screenings and assessments.

This was the view expressed by the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) senior lecturer in sport and movement studies, Rian Lombard, whose sport science department has teamed up with Alex United Football Club in a bid to scientifically test and assess the physical strengths and weaknesses of the players. They will also screen and check the condition of the players’ hearts and their ability to recover from the start-stop athletic movements, which comprise the game of football.

Zenzele Howard Mkhari (16), a player for TDS FC in Alexandra, died after collapsing on the field during a game on Workers’ Day in May last year at Three Square Sports Facility, when his team was playing a friendly game against Tangent Tornados.

In an interview with Alex News, Lombard said he was aware of the death of a player in Alexandra last year, including Cameroonian and Nigerian players who collapsed and died on the field due to fatal heart attacks.

“The death of this Alex player and that of [the] Cameroonian and Nigerian players, could have been avoided had the teams in Alex ascribed sports science and subjected their players to these tests, assessments, checks and conditioning.

“If the player has a heart problem, we will be able to pick it up immediately and then advise on the necessary treatment route to take and follow. We want to expose kids as young as six in order to ensure that we breed proper players who have been scientifically and medically checked,” Lombard said.

Lombard said the services that his department provided were free and formed part of their corporate social investment programme.