- Aug 14, 2006
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DUBAI: UAE’s Al Nasr club striker Salem Saad collapsed on the pitch during training and was pronounced dead in the hospital on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old, who joined Al Nasr in June, was captain of Al Shabab when they won the league crown in 2007-08 season.
Salem (pictured) was training with his teammates when he collapsed at around 8pm. He was then taken to Sheikh Rashid Hospital where he was pronounced dead, the team’s chief executive Michael Rodothenous confirmed to The National daily.
Saad’s elder brother Bakhit was leading UAE's beach soccer team against Uruguay in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in nearby Jumeirah at the time of his brother’s death.
Salem’s father, Saad Al Abadla also collapsed and died on the pitch playing football for Al Shabab when he was in his 40s.
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RIP Salem. Another player far too young to die.
In this case, it looks like a hereditary condition as his father died in exactly the same way, although a little older in his 40s.
Don't clubs check out the heart condition of players, especially in cases like this where there is a known risk in the family background?