Cheikh Toure: Senegalese goalkeeper found dead in Ghana after kidnapping masked as football club trial
A young goalkeeper has been murdered after being kidnapped under the guise of a trial at a new football club.
Cheick Toure, 18, travelled to Ghana for what he thought was a trial with a professional team. The Senegalese goalie had risen through the ranks at Esprit Foot Yeumbeul.
Upon arriving in the country, Toure was reportedly kidnapped by armed assailants, and his family was contacted with a ransom for his release.
According to Senegal’s Ministry of African Integration and Foreign Affairs, the family were unable to raise the funds to pay Toure’s ransom in full, and the teenager was killed by his captors.
His body was delivered to Manhyia Government Hospital by a man thought to be connected with the kidnappers, claiming that Toure had been in a car accident. His body has since been moved to a mortuary in Tafo-Kumasi, with work underway to get him repatriated back to Senegal.
A spokesperson for the ministry said: “Preliminary investigations indicate Toure, a young Senegalese soccer player, may have fallen victim to a network of fraud and extortion.
“The competent Ghanaian authorities have been officially notified in order to carry out a thorough investigation into the exact circumstances of the death.
“In this context, two officers from the embassy will be dispatched to Kumasi on Sunday, October 19, to assist local authorities with administrative and judicial procedures, and to prepare, in coordination with the family, the repatriation of the body to Senegal as soon as the necessary authorizations are obtained.
“The ministry wishes to express its deepest sympathy to the bereaved family and assures that this matter is being closely monitored.”
An investigation is underway into Toure’s death and those behind his murder, and African footballers have been urged in the meantime to always go through “official circuits” before any trip for a football trial or transfer.