Former Premier League defender and Turkish club Adanaspor technical director Sol Bamba died at the age of 39 years.
According to Sky News, Bamba played for Cardiff City and also captained Leeds United. He was employed with the Turkish soccer club Adanaspor at the time of his death.
The Turkish club confirmed the death of Bamba late on Saturday, August 31 night, in a statement that read, “Our technical director, Souleymane Bamba, who fell ill before the match against Manisa Football Club yesterday, was taken to Manisa Celal Bayar University Hospital and unfortunately lost his battle for life there.”
The club extended its condolences to the family of the deceased and his community.
Moreover, Bamba was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2021. At that time he was associated with Cardiff City, but he recovered from the cancer after chemotherapy and made a comeback.
He then played for the Bluebirds and Middlesbrough.
Cardiff City also expressed ‘deepest sadness’ over the death of its ‘club legend', saying, “As a player and coach, Sol's impact on our football club was immeasurable. He was a hero to all of us, a leader in every dressing room, and a true gentleman."
Bamba played 46 matches for his national team and announced retirement in 2023. After taking retirement, he went into coaching and worked as an assistant manager at Cardiff and then joined Adanaspor as technical director.
