Teenager dies after being struck on the chest by a soccer ball while blocking a penalty kick

A teenage boy died after being hit in the chest by a football during a youth league match in Brazil.

Video footage showed 16-year-old Edson Gama in front of the net as the opponent was about to kick a penalty during a tournament held on Sunday evening in Maués, a city in the northwestern state of Amazonas.

Gama was standing on the right side of the net when the first penalty sailed into the net completely out of his reach.

He stayed in the same spot when the next one hit him right in the chest.

Gama stumbled to the ground and fell on his back as the recording ended.

Bystanders on the field tried to help him and his family was informed of the tragedy around 1 a.m.

Gama’s sister, Elisia Lopes, told Brazilian online news channel G1 that their parents encountered problems taking him to the hospital in Maués because the rivers in their community, Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes, were dry.

The teenager showed no vital signs when he arrived at the hospital at 12.15pm the next day and was confirmed dead.

Video showed Edson Gama failing to block the first penalty and then trying to defend the second shot when the ball hit him in the chest on Sunday evening. The 16-year-old was attended to by bystanders. Due to a dry river, his parents had to wait until Monday to take him to a hospital, where he arrived after noon without vital signs and was confirmed dead.

Lopes revealed that Gama did not have any heart problems, but did tell his family that he had chest pains before leaving the house.

While the family awaits an autopsy report that will determine the cause of death, doctors have informed them that Gama’s death was likely caused by being struck in the area earlier.

The treating doctors believe that the blow Gama suffered during the match may have aggravated a medical condition he was already suffering from, or caused the injury that killed him.

Dr. Cotta Júnior told the Folha Vitoria newspaper that Gama’s death could be the result of commotio cordis – a rare and potentially fatal condition that occurs when blunt trauma to the chest directly above the heart disrupts the organ’s normal rhythm.

It’s the same rare condition that nearly killed NFL player Damar Hamlin and is often associated with a higher risk for young baseball players.

‘Could there be a cardiac reason why this is happening? And the answer is yes,” Júnior said.

‘In medicine it even has a name: comotio cordis. It is a trauma in the chest area, above the heart, and it can even lead to cardiac arrest. One case per 100,000 athletes worldwide.”

Lopes described Gama as a football lover who made sure he was always on the field to showcase his talent.

Edson Gama was knocked to the ground as soon as he was hit in the chest by the ball. Doctors suggested that the final blow could have aggravated a pre-existing medical condition or directly caused his death

Gama was described by his sister as someone who never missed playing football

Edson Gama was buried on Tuesday

‘Every time there was such a tournament, he was there. He hasn’t missed a single football game,” she said.

‘He had already been hit by the ball several times in recent tournaments. He was always dedicated to the sport,” she added.

“He was a young man who gave his life for the ball, and it was the ball that cost him his life.”