Togolese topflight league goal king dies of Malaria

Kossi Koudagba a player of ASC Kara, who has been the top scorer for two consecutive seasons in the Togolese topflight league has died of Malaria at the age of 25.

He has been the top scorer in the Togolese first division for two seasons in a row and also helped his outfit ASC Kara to claim the league title in 2019.

Kossi Koudagba had proven himself in the Togolese second tier league, where he won the best striker with Espoir FC de Tsévié, before joining ASC Kara.

After the suspension of the league as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kossi Koudagba decided to leave Kara where his club is based to stay with his family members in Dévié, in the suburbs of the capital Lomé, where he grew up.

In a statement, ASC Kara spoke about a "great player promised to a great career."

"His only concern was to put the ball at the back of the net and he was doing that very, very well," said Jean-Marie Eloh, manager of ASCK.

Koudagba was set to take another step in his career when he failed to pass the medical examination with the Tunisian club US Tataouine because of heart problems.

"When he came back to Lomé, the Federation took charge of his medical issue", says Koffi Guéli.

With the national team, he was a key part of the first-ever qualification of Togo for the CHAN - the pan-African international competition for domestic-based players.

He was named in the pre-selection of The Sparrowhawks for the tournament scheduled in April - before being postponed by CAF due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 25-year-old pride in being included in this squad meant he turned down proposed moves abroad so he could play in the tournament.

"He was contacted by other clubs after the qualification but he said that he would rather stay here to play the CHAN and leave his mark on the local stage before and then leave", said his friend Koffi Guéli.