Patrick Ekeng
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Patrick Claude Ekeng Ekeng (26 March 1990 – 6 May 2016) was a Cameroonian professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. He had two international
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
for his country's
national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...
, whom he represented at the
2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...
. After starting at
Canon Yaoundé Canon Sportif de Yaoundé, commonly known as Canon Yaoundé, is a Cameroonian association football club based in capital city of Yaoundé. The club was formed in 1930 and play their games at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo. Their most successful period was ...
and spending time on the fringes of France's
Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
, he had brief spells in Switzerland, Spain, and Romania, where he died after collapsing in a match for
Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterinbu ...
.


Club career

Born in
Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...
, Ekeng joined
Canon Yaoundé Canon Sportif de Yaoundé, commonly known as Canon Yaoundé, is a Cameroonian association football club based in capital city of Yaoundé. The club was formed in 1930 and play their games at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo. Their most successful period was ...
's youth setup in 2006, aged 16, and made his senior debuts with the club's main squad in 2008. On 4 July 2009, he signed a three-year deal with
Le Mans FC Le Mans Football Club (; commonly referred to as Le Mans FC, formerly referred as Le Muc) is a French association football club based in Le Mans. The club was founded in 1985 as a result of a merger under the name Le Mans Union Club 72. In 2010 ...
, and was initially assigned to the reserve squad in the
Championnat de France Amateur The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue ...
. Ekeng played his first match as a professional on 20 August 2010, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–2 home loss against
LB Châteauroux La Berrichonne de Châteauroux (), commonly referred to as La Berrichonne or simply Châteauroux, is a Football in France, French association football club based in Châteauroux. The football team is a part of a sports club that consists of seve ...
for the
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...
championship. On 14 January 2011, Ekeng joined
Championnat National The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, t ...
side
Rodez AF Rodez Aveyron Football (; commonly referred to as le Raf or simply Rodez) is a French association football club based in Rodez. The club was founded in 1929 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. The club plays its ...
on loan until June. He featured regularly as his side was eventually relegated. Ekeng returned to Le Mans in June, and appeared regularly for the side in the following two campaigns,
the second ''The Second'' is the second studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf, released in October 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records. The album contains one of Steppenwolf's most famous songs, " Magic Carpet Ride". The background of the origin ...
finishing in relegation. He left the club on 8 July 2013, and signed a two-year deal with
FC Lausanne-Sport FC Lausanne–Sport (also referred to as LS) is a Swiss football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport played in the Swiss Super League in their most recent 2021-22 season, the highest tier of football ...
on the same day. On 14 July 2014, Ekeng signed a two-year deal with newly promoted side
Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), (from the 2020–21 season onwards competing under the umbrella of Unión Futbolística Cordobesa, S.A.D.) is a Spanish football club based in Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1951 as ...
. He made his
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
debut on 30 August, replacing
Aritz López Garai Aritz López Garai (born 6 November 1980) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a central midfielder, currently a manager. He amassed Segunda División totals of 325 matches and 13 goals over nine seasons, in representation of six clubs. ...
in the 74th minute of a 1–1 home draw against
Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...
. Ekeng scored his first goal in the main category of Spanish football on 3 October, netting the first of a 1–1 away draw against
Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and op ...
. On 31 August of the following year, after suffering relegation in last place, he rescinded his contract. He again moved to another country, signing for Romania's
FC Dinamo București Fotbal Club Dinamo București (), commonly known as Dinamo București or simply Dinamo, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in Bucharest. Founded in 1948, they have spent almost List of unrelegated association f ...
on 11 January 2016. Ekeng played 12 official games for the ''Câinii roșii'', scoring his only goal on 20 April in the second leg of the semi-finals of the season's
Cupa României The Cupa României ( en, Romanian Cup) is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. I ...
, equalising in a 2–2 draw away to Eternal derby rivals
FC Steaua București FC Steaua București was a Romanian professional football club of which two current entities are claiming the records. The original ''FC Steaua București'' team was part of the namesake CSA Steaua București sports club and belonged to the Ministry ...
; Dinamo advanced to the final on away goals.


International career

Ekeng appeared with Cameroon under-20 in the
2009 African Youth Championship The 2009 African Youth Championship is a football tournament for under 20 players. It was held in Rwanda from 18 January until 1 February 2009. It also served as qualification for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Qualification Preliminary round ...
, as his side finished
second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
after losing to
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
by 2–0. He also played in that year's
FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...
, as ''Les Lions'' failed to qualify from the group stage. On 7 January 2015, Ekeng made his full squad debut, coming on as a 57th-minute substitute for Franck Kom in a 1–1 friendly draw against
DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
in his hometown's
Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Yaoundé, Cameroon. It is used mostly for football matches and it also has athletics facilities. It was built in 1972. The stadium has been renovated in 2016 ahead of the African Women Cup ...
. Two days later, he was included in
Volker Finke Volker Finke (born 24 March 1948) is a German football manager. He was the coach of SC Freiburg for 16 years. Coaching career On 6 December 2008, Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds announced they signed a contract with Finke as head coach until ...
's 23-men list for the
2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...
, but took no part in the ''Indomitable Lions'' group stage elimination.


Death

On 6 May 2016, Ekeng came on as a second-half substitute in a televised match against Viitorul Constanța. He had been fatigued that day, and had told his best friend that he did not want to play. Seven minutes after his entrance, with his team leading 3–2, he collapsed. He was transported and resuscitated at the hospital, and within two hours the medical staff confirmed that he had died. The cause of death was a suspected heart attack. He was 26 years old. Nine days after his death, his funeral was held in his hometown, attended by past and present Cameroonian internationals and the nation's sports minister; Ekeng's brother said at the ceremony that he was comforted by his having led a selfless life. After Ekeng's death, all matches in Romania that weekend were postponed, and Dinamo's cup final against
CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vas ...
was moved a week later than scheduled. The club pledged that if they won the cup, the trophy would be brought to Cameroon and placed on Ekeng's grave. Before the final, 50,000 Dinamo fans made a display in honour of Ekeng, including a giant fabric image of him.


Investigation

An inquiry by the Romanian interior ministry found that the ambulance which transported Ekeng had faulty equipment and expired medicine; the private company Puls had its licence suspended for 30 days and was fined 23,800
Romanian lei The Romanian leu (, plural lei ; ISO 4217, ISO code: RON; numeric code: 946) is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 (, singular: ), a word that means "money" in Romanian language, Romanian. Etymology The name of the currency ...
. Since the death of Nigerian Henry Chinonso Ihelewere in 2012, Romania's footballers' union had lobbied for every game to have an available equipped ambulance. The global union for players of the sport, FIFPro, said it reflected a history of cutting corners on footballers' safety in Romania. Prosecutors opened an inquiry into Ekeng's death, due to reports of professional neglect having contributed to his fate. In late June, Dr Elena Duta was charged with manslaughter on reports that she did not attempt to resuscitate Ekeng in the ambulance. Her trial began in November 2018. In June 2020, she was sentenced to an 18-month suspended sentence, €200,000 fine and 60 days of community service.


See also

*
List of association footballers who died while playing The following is an incomplete list of association footballers who died during their playing careers. Association football players who died on the pitch or from pitch related incidents Following an increase in deaths, both during matches and tr ...


References


External links

* * *
Patrick Ekeng
at SO Foot * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ekeng, Patrick 1990 births 2016 deaths Footballers from Yaoundé Cameroonian footballers Association football midfielders Le Mans FC players Rodez AF players FC Lausanne-Sport players Córdoba CF players FC Dinamo București players Ligue 2 players Championnat National players Swiss Super League players La Liga players Liga I players Cameroonian expatriate footballers Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in France Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Romania Cameroon under-20 international footballers Cameroon international footballers 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Association football players who died while playing Filmed deaths in sports Sport deaths in Romania Canon Yaoundé players