21-year-old Spanish football coach dies from coronavirus

Madrid: A young football coach has died in Spain from novel coronavirus (COVID-19), local media reported on Monday (March 16).

The 21-year-old Spanish coach Francisco Garcia was suffering from leukemia and this made him more vulnerable to coronavirus, reports claimed.

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Garcia was youth team coach at Atletico Portada Alta in Malaga since 2016.

“He went to the clinical hospital thinking that he had a bad cold,” a source told the El Mundo Spanish newspaper. “But they ended up detecting pneumonia.”

“The doctors did tests and more tests and, in addition to confirming that he had a coronavirus, it was learned that he had leukaemia. He fought for a few days and finally died this Sunday (March 15).”

A club statement read, "From Atletico Portada Alta we want to express our deepest condolences to the family, friends and close friends of our coach Francisco Garcia who has left us, unfortunately.

"Now what do we do without you, Francis?

"How are we going to continue conquering ... in the league? We don't know how, but we will surely do it for you. We will not forget you, rest in peace, phenomenon. Until forever."

In Spain, over 300 people have died from coronavirus. There are over 8,000 positive cases reported in the country. Garcia is the fifth person to succumb to coronavirus in Malaga. He is the youngest and the other four were above 70 years of age. 

• Football
• Sports
• Spain
• Coronavirus