Footballer, 16, dies in asthma collapse

A SUPERFIT teenager who “just wanted to play football” died from an apparent asthma attack in the final moments of a match.

As shocked spectators looked on the talented player collapsed face down As shocked spectators looked on, the talented player collapsed face-down.

Ben Obiora, 16, left the pitch to get his inhaler after he started struggling for breath.

But as shocked spectators looked on, the talented player collapsed face-down.

The air ambulance was scrambled and paramedics fought to save him. But there was no Fabrice Muamba-style “miracle” for the youngster, who was pronounced dead minutes after his arrival at hospital.

Last night his heartbroken family were still trying to come to terms with the tragedy.

Ben died on Saturday afternoon while playing in the Hope Valley League in Buxton, Derbyshire.

His team, Dove Holes Reserves, were 4-2 up against Blazing Rag with just a minute left of the game when Ben asked to leave the field.

There was no Fabrice Muamba-style “miracle” for the youngster, who was pronounced dead minutes after his arrival at hospital.

After failing to respond to treatment from an air ambulance crew, he was driven 20 miles to Stepping Hill Hospital, in Stockport, but could not be revived.

The straight A’s student was just weeks from leaving school after completing GCSEs and eventually hoped to train as a doctor.

His devastated mother Paula, from Chinley, Derbys, said: “There are so many things I could say about Ben, but nothing seems to do him justice.

“He wanted to be so successful for me, I could not have wished for a better son.”

Paula said Ben’s asthma was sport- induced but “the fitter he was the less he suffered from it”.

She added: “We are still not sure what caused his death, but it seems as if he died the moment he collapsed. I hope that was the case.”

He had been watched by several professional teams including Liverpool, after being selected for the county as a 15-year-old.

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