Portuguese soccer player Quévin Castro, 25, dies after playing in friendly match

MALVEIRA, Portugal (AP) — Portuguese soccer player Quévin Castro has died after collapsing during a friendly match playing for fourth-division team Real Sport Clube. He was 25.

The Lisbon Football Association and his club announced Castro’s death on Saturday, saying he died during a preseason match earlier in the day against Estrela de Amadora at the Estádio das Seixas stadium in Malveira.

“Quevin Castro was far more than a player, he was a member of our family, leaving a mark on all those who had the privilege of knowing him, both on and off the pitch,” Real Sport Clube said in a social media post.

Castro’s former club West Bromwich Albion in England said it was “devastated” to learn of Castro’s “untimely passing,” and announced it will pay tribute with a period of applause in the 25th minute in its game against Burnley on Sunday, when the players will also wear black armbands.

“Quevin joined the Baggies as a teenager in 2021 and went on to make his first-team debut in a Carabao Cup tie against Arsenal,” the club said. “He made his maiden league outing for the club in February 2022 and later had loan spells at Burton, Notts County and Gateshead, before departing The Hawthorns in the summer of 2023.

“After leaving Albion, Quevin spent time at York City, King’s Lynn, Chippenham, Cambridge City and Eastbourne, before returning to his native Portugal.”

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