South Africa legend Neil Tovey suffers heart attack

Neil Tovey

The South African Football Association (Safa) announced on Sunday that its technical director, Neil Tovey, has suffered a heart attack.

In a statement, Safa said Tovey's brother, Mark Tovey, had confirmed the news and that the former Bafana Bafana captain was in a critical condition with doctors battling hard to stabilise him.

"He suffered a heart attack while training this afternoon (Sunday, 16 October 2016) and was rushed to hospital," said Mark Tovey.

"We await the doctor's report and the next few hours are going to be critical," he added. 

The President of Safa, Dr Danny Jordaan, said he was shocked to learn the news and wished Neil Tovey a speedy recovery.

"We trust he will pass through this challenge," Jordaan said. 

54-year-old Tovey was named as South Africa's new technical director in June 2015., having reportedly suffered a heart attack four months before his appointment. 

As a player, he famously skippered Bafana Bafana to a 2-0 triumph over Tunisia in the 1996 Cup of Nations final in Soweto, watched by a capacity 80,000 crowd that included then President Nelson Mandela. 

Source: BBC