Quevin Castro, ex-West Brom midfielder, dies at 25 after collapsing on pitch

Quevin Castro, a former West Bromwich Albion midfielder, died on Saturday, August 22, at the age of 25 after collapsing during a friendly match in Portugal. He went down about 10 minutes into the game for Real Massama against Estrela da Amadora at the Estadio das Seixas in Malveira, near Lisbon. Medical staff treated him on the pitch with a defibrillator before he was taken to a hospital, where his death was confirmed.

The thoughts of everyone at Albion are with Quevin's loved ones at this desperately sad time.

Portuguese reports said Castro signaled he was feeling unwell before falling to the ground. Doctors and medics from both clubs sprinted onto the pitch to reach him, and emergency services were called to the stadium. He was treated with a defibrillator on the field before being transferred to a hospital, where doctors were unable to save him.

Collapse 10 minutes into the friendly

The match was a pre-season friendly between Real Massama, a fourth-tier Portuguese club in the Campeonato de Portugal, and Estrela da Amadora, a side in the country's top flight. Castro had joined Real Massama only weeks earlier. When he collapsed, the game was halted at once and the stadium fell silent as players and staff from both teams reacted to the emergency.

No club, league body or Portuguese authority had given a cause of death as of publication, and no post-mortem findings had been released. He was treated with a defibrillator at the scene, equipment used to restart a stopped heart.

Estrela da Amadora issued a formal statement of condolence to Castro's family and to Real Massama. Fans and clubs across the English football pyramid, where he spent most of his career, shared their own messages of grief in the hours that followed, from his former professional clubs to the non-league sides he had turned out for.

Castro had returned to Portugal in July 2026, signing for Real Massama to rebuild his career in the country of his birth. His most recent English clubs before the move were Cambridge City, of the Isthmian League North Division, and Eastbourne Borough, then in the National League South, several rungs below the professional game he had reached earlier in his 20s. The move home was intended as a fresh start.

He was born on August 16, 2001, in Lisbon, and died six days after his 25th birthday, having only just settled into life at his new club.

From a Sporting academy to Norfolk

Castro came through the youth academy at Sporting CP in Lisbon before his family moved to England. He grew up in Thetford, Norfolk, attended The Thetford Academy, and began his career in England's non-league game.

His ability drew interest from a string of professional clubs. Before that, he had played non-league football for sides including Mildenhall Town, Thetford Town, Leiston and Bury Town. He had trial spells at Ipswich Town, Arsenal and Chelsea before West Bromwich Albion offered him a contract.

He was an unbelievable kid who gave us some fantastic moments as a football club last year. He was a top, top boy, and our condolences go to his family and all of his friends.

West Bromwich Albion signed Castro in the summer of 2021 on a two-year contract after his trial impressed the club's staff. He made his senior debut on August 25, 2021, starting in a 6-0 EFL Cup second-round defeat to Arsenal. It was the first of only a handful of first-team appearances he would make at The Hawthorns.

Three senior games and a youth title

His first Championship appearance for West Brom came on February 28, 2022, when he was introduced as a substitute in a 2-0 defeat to Swansea City, and he came on again at Reading two months later, leaving him three senior appearances for the club. He found more success at youth level, helping the club's under-23s win the Premier League Cup in 2021-22 and scoring in the final, and playing most of his football at The Hawthorns in Premier League 2.

West Brom sent Castro out on loan during his time at the club, to Burton Albion, where he made three league appearances and five in all competitions before the loan was cut short, and to Notts County and Gateshead. He left The Hawthorns in 2023 and dropped through the divisions in the years that followed, moving from one club to the next in the lower reaches of the pyramid.

• York City
• King's Lynn Town
• Chippenham Town
• Cambridge City
• Eastbourne Borough

A tall midfielder at 1.93 metres, Castro was comfortable with both feet and played as an attacking midfielder or on the left wing. Coaches who watched him rated his vision and passing range, along with his ability to keep the ball under pressure and drive past opponents in tight areas. His technical grounding had been laid at Sporting CP before non-league football sharpened his game.

He held dual citizenship in Portugal and England and was also eligible to represent Sao Tome and Principe, and Angola, through his family. He was not known to have played senior international football, his career instead defined by club football on both sides of the English Channel and, in his final months, at home in Portugal.

West Brom honors Castro during Burnley match

West Bromwich Albion was among the first clubs to respond, confirming within hours that it would honor Castro at its next fixture. The messages that followed came from across English football.

West Brom paid tribute to Castro during its Championship fixture against Burnley on Sunday, August 23, with a period of applause in the 25th minute. James Morrison's players wore black armbands for the game. The club said it was devastated to learn of the untimely passing of its former player, aged just 25.

The timing of the applause was deliberate, with the 25th minute chosen to match Castro's age. Supporters at the ground joined the players and staff in the gesture. For a footballer whose senior career had unfolded largely away from the spotlight of the top division, the scale of the response reflected how widely he had been known across the lower leagues.

News of the sudden death spread quickly through European football and beyond, reaching the many English clubs and supporters who had watched Castro during his years in the country's lower leagues. Messages came from former teammates and from the grounds where he had played, from the Championship to the semi-professional divisions.

Across his career Castro had worn the shirts of clubs at nearly every level of English football, from the Championship to the Isthmian League Premier Division, an unusual span for a player still in his mid-20s. His path had begun in a Lisbon academy and had brought him back to Portugal in his final months.

Renewed questions over cardiac screening

Castro's death reopened a familiar debate about cardiac screening in the professional and semi-professional game. The circumstances of his collapse, treated on the field with a defibrillator, focused attention again on how often players' hearts are checked and how quickly emergency care can reach the pitch.

Tributes for Castro came from clubs and supporters across the divisions where he had played, from West Brom's Hawthorns to the non-league grounds of eastern England. A player who had climbed from Norfolk to a Championship contract, and had gone home to Portugal to begin again, was remembered across the game he grew up in. He was 25.