Claims that 108 FIFA soccer players died in 2021 are based on a problematic list of deaths in an Israeli news article. The list does not prove a common link between the deaths of athletes and COVID-19 vaccines. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.
Full Answer
How many football players die from sudden death in 2021?
According to Wikipedia, under “List of association footballers who died while playing”, in 2001-2020 there was an average of 4.2 deaths per year attributed to SCD or SUD, the vast majority being SCD. In contrast, in 2021, according to Real-Time News ‘ list, there were 21 cases of SCD/SUD among FIFA players.
How many FIFA players/coaches have died in the past 6 months?
108 FIFA registered players/coaches have died in the past 6 months. This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing: The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the governing body of 211 soccer organizations around the world.
Are there 5-fold increases in sudden death among FIFA players?
The Israeli Real-Time News Tuesday reported a 5-fold increase in sudden cardiac and unexplained deaths among FIFA players in 2021. Since December, 183 professional athletes and coaches have suddenly collapsed, with 108 dead.
How old are the athletes who are most likely to die?
A “Real-Time News” investigation found that most of the damaged and deceased athletes are males (only 15 are females). A bulk of them also range in age from 17-40, with only 21 being older than that (five aged 42-45, six aged 46-49, seven aged 51-54, and three aged 60-64). Twenty-three of them are teenagers 12-17, 16 of whom died.
VACCINE-RELATED DEATHS?
In the Real Time News article, the writer says the majority of the 108 deaths were “heart-related” and highlights that they occurred since the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
VERDICT
No evidence. Claims that 108 FIFA soccer players died in 2021 are based on a problematic list of deaths in an Israeli news article. The list does not prove a common link between the deaths of athletes and COVID-19 vaccines.
How did Stewart die?
Collapsed during a league match against Radnički after suffering a cardiac arrest, died in the hospital later that same day. Stewart collapsed while playing football the morning of the 18th in Spanish town, and despite being rushed to the hospital he died later that day.
How did Paul Mooney die?
Fell and got a concussion in a game against Viktoria Žižkov. Died on the way to hospital.
Is cardiac testing mandatory in football?
Following an increase in deaths, both during matches and training, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) considered mandatory cardiac testing, already in place for years in some countries, such as Italy.
Cause of collapse was related to the heart
In most cases, the cause of the collapse was related to the heart, such as myocarditis, pericarditis, heart attacks or cardiac arrest, with the second most frequent cause being cases of clotting.
READ ALSO: FIFA players dying suddenly, athletes collapsing with heart attacks: 370 cases in 2021
Real-Time News emphasized that: “the list we have is even longer, but by conservative estimate, dozens of cases were eliminated, for which we did not have full details, so only the cases that were reported in detail were included. "
Cases in which evidence of previous risk factors, such as heart disease or diabetes, was mentioned were eliminated
To get a better picture of the data compared to previous years, Real-Time News only analyzed data related to deaths among athletes registered with FIFA and compared the data regarding the number of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) / Sudden Death. Unexplained (SUD) in athletes in previous years, to the number of cases in 2021.
To find out how many cases occurred in 2021, they used the list compiled by Real-Time News
To find out how many deaths actually occurred during the last two decades among FIFA players (2001-2020), they used Wikipedia - “List of association footballers, who died while playing”. To find out how many cases occurred in 2021, they used the list compiled by Real-Time News that includes the cases noted on Wikipedia for 2021.
List of Injuries
Here is a non-exhaustive list of injuries reported. Most were cardiac arrest.
Growing Report
This story will grow over time, as new information is added. If you have proof of information that we don’t already have, or if you have a correction, please send it through our contact form, with as much information as possible.
January 2021
01/01/21, Windmore, Pennsylvania, USA Dead Blake Barklage (17), a tennis player at La Salle High School in Windmore, Pennsylvania. Collapsed and died with cardiac arrest, after his team’s victory in the PCL. News Story
March 2021
03/03/2021, Wallkill Central School, New York, USA (17), Dead Miguel Antonio Lugo (17) high school football player collapsed and died during football practice
June 2021
17/06/21 France Frederic Lott, Salouël RC team in France, suffered cardiac arrest after a football training session in Salouel. Saved by heart massage and defibrillator.
August 2021
18/08/21, Belgium Joppe Erpels (vaccinated) from Arendonk ended up in intensive care after a race. Three young Belgian (Kempen) cyclists suffer heart issues following a race. Riders from Acrog-Tormans BC.
September 2021
02/09/21, Belgium Greg Luyssen (22), Professional Cyclist ends cycling career after heart failure News Story “I was in the chasing group during the Kortemark Race when I suddenly became unwell,” he says. “I felt a huge pressure in my chest and it was so bad that I had to leave the race. I was taken to hospital and diagnosed with heart failure.