Teen footballer dies instantly as team-mates pay tribute to ‘scorer of spectacular objectives’

Tributes have poured in for ‘extremely talented’ Warrington Town midfielder Vini Desouza, 19, after his tragic death, with team-mates playing in his honour less than 24 hours after being told he had died

A star young footballer has tragically died, with team-mates and fans paying tribute to him and his growing talents.

Vini Desouza, 19, was a youth team player at National League North side Warrington Town having joined them in 2023 and had become a prominent part of the club’s youth setup, while also making strides to break into the first team.

Desouza was born in Brazil but grew up in Portugal before moving to the outskirts of Manchester 10 years ago. Last season he played for the Warrington Town first team in a Cheshire Senior Cup game, while also appearing in numerous pre-season friendlies.

Team-mate Sam Gill paid tribute to his pal, saying: “Vini was a well loved and much valued player in our team. He grew into his character as his time at Warrington went on, and all of the lads had so much respect for him.

“He was an extremely talented footballer with so much ability, had a major impact coming in with us and consequently earning his space for training and playing matches with the first team.

“Vini is someone who will be missed dearly, both on the pitch and more importantly his character in the changing rooms and outside of football. We will all miss him and we send our condolences to his family at this difficult time.”

Warrington Town said: “Scorer of the most spectacular goals, Vini was a well respected, much-loved member of the club, and his ability earned him a place training with the first team despite his young age.”

So far this season, Desouza had scored seven goals in 13 games for the Under-21s, who top the North West Development League, and across his 42 appearances for the Under-18s and 21s, he had 17 goals and 12 assists.

Less than 24 hours after finding out about Desouza’s death, his Under-21s team-mates went ahead with a game against Macclesfield, winning 4-1. The Warrington Town Under-21s also held a collection for Desouza’s family last night at the first team’s game against Scarborough Athletic, while a JustGiving page has also been set up to try to cover the cost of his funeral.

One fan wrote on Warrington’s social media page: “May God be in the heart of the whole family.”