Hundreds of mourners, including Ghana’s president, have gathered to pay their final respects to Christian Atsu, a footballer who died in last month’s earthquake in Turkey. The funeral took place outside the State House in the capital, Accra. Atsu’s widow, Marie-Claire Rupio, delivered a tearful tribute, reading “In life I love you darling, in death I’ll do the same”. Overcome with emotion, Rupio handed her speech to Atsu’s sister to complete, adding “You did not go alone, for part of me went with you…Your smile, your love I see in our children’s smiles.”
Atsu, who played for Turkish club Hatayspor, was seen as a national hero in Ghana. Representatives from both his club and Ghana’s national team were present at the ceremony. The player’s death was the result of the earthquake that hit the Turkish city of Izmir in November 2021. The disaster killed more than 100 people, while Atsu’s wife and children were among those injured.
Atsu began his football career in Ghana before joining Porto in Portugal, where he won the Primeira Liga. He later played for Chelsea, before moving on to Newcastle United, and then Hatayspor. In 2014, he was named Ghanaian footballer of the year.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo tweeted a tribute to Atsu, calling him a “talented and patriotic” player. Akufo-Addo also praised the footballer’s philanthropic work, which included setting up a charity to help disadvantaged children in Ghana. The charity, the Christian Atsu Foundation, has since said it will continue to operate in his memory.
Atsu’s death has prompted calls for greater safety measures to be put in place to protect buildings from earthquakes. Turkey is located in a seismically active region and experiences frequent earthquakes. Despite this, many buildings in the country are not designed to withstand seismic activity.
In response to the disaster, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pledged to rebuild damaged areas of the city. He also announced plans to introduce stricter building codes to prevent similar disasters in the future. The earthquake was the deadliest to hit Turkey in more than a decade, and was felt as far away as Greece.
Meanwhile, tributes to Atsu continue to pour in from across the world of football. Newcastle United tweeted a message of condolence, saying that Atsu “will always be remembered as a talented and determined player”. Hatayspor described him as a “beloved player and friend”, while Ghana’s national team said it had lost “a true legend of the game”.