Pedro Banga

Pedro Banga
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-07-14)14 July 2003
Place of birth Cabinda, Angola
Date of death 31 December 2023(2023-12-31) (aged 20)
Place of death Luanda, Angola
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position Midfielder
Youth career
–2019 A.F.A.
2019–2022 Mamelodi Sundowns
2022–2023 Marítimo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Marítimo U23 15 (0)
2023 Marítimo B 16 (0)
International career
2019 Angola U17 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Pedro Banga (14 July 2003 – 31 December 2023) was an Angolan footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career

Banga started his youth career at the Academia de Futebol de Angola, before joining the academy of Mamelodi Sundowns in 2019. In September 2022, he signed for Portuguese club Marítimo, where he played 15 matches for the club's under-23 team in the 2022–23 season. After the under-23 team folded at the end of the season, he began playing for Marítimo's B team, making 16 appearances.

International career

In 2019, he represented the Angola under-17 national team at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil, where he made two appearances in the group stage against New Zealand and Brazil.

Death

In December 2023, Banga travelled to his hometown of Luanda for both Christmas and New Years. On 31 December, while playing in a football match there, he collapsed on the field due to a cardiac arrest. He was taken to the nearby Hospital Do Prenda, where he died shortly after, at the age of 20.

The week after his death, his Marítimo B teammates paid tribute to him in their next match, a 1–1 draw against AD Camacha in the 2023–24 Campeonato de Portugal.

References

  1. ↑ Díaz, Luis G. (2 January 2024). "Muere repentinamente Pedro Banga, futbolista de 20 años ex del Marítimo" [Pedro Banga, 20-year-old footballer formerly of Marítimo, dies suddenly]. Okdiario (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 "IFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019™ List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 18 October 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "Muere a los 20 años el futbolista Pedro Banga mientras jugaba una pachanga entre amigos" [Footballer Pedro Banga dies at age 20 while playing a casual game with friends]. ABC (in Spanish). 2 January 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Riggio, Salvatore (1 February 2024). "Pedro Banga muore in campo a 20 anni il calciatore dell'Angola" [Angolan footballer Pedro Banga dies on the pitch at the age of 20.]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 Pacifico, Marianna (1 January 2024). "Ex-jogador do Marítimo Pedro Banga morre aos 20 anos" [Former Marítimo player Pedro Banga dies at age 20.]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Pedro Banga, ex-Marítimo, morre aos 20 anos" [Pedro Banga, former Marítimo player, dies at age 20.]. CNN Portugal (in Portuguese). 2 January 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  7. ↑ Pediglieri, Alessio (2 January 2024). "Pedro Banga collassa e muore in campo a soli 20 anni: era una promessa del calcio africano" [Pedro Banga collapses and dies on the pitch at just 20 years old: he was a promising African footballer.]. Fanpage.it (in Italian). Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "Pedro Banga". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  9. ↑ Vasconcelos, Gonçalo (8 January 2024). "Jogadores do Marítimo B homenageiam Pedro Banga" [Marítimo B players pay tribute to Pedro Banga]. Record (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 25 July 2026.