I found this article very interesting...and asks more questions than answers...
Dec 14 (Reuters) - Spain's soccer players' union (AFE) wants rules on keeping defibrillators available at stadiums, brought in after the death of Antonio Puerta three years ago, extended to cover lower-division clubs.
Here is a list of soccer players who have died suddenly in the last 20 years:
LONGHURST: York City striker Dave Longhurst died aged 25 after collapsing two minutes before halftime in a league match against Lincoln City in September 1990.
DOS SANTOS: In October 2002, the 28-year-old Brazilian striker Marcio Dos Santos died of a heart attack hours after scoring a goal for Peruvian side Deportivo Wanka.
FOE: Midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed during Cameroon's 1-0 victory against Colombia in a Confederations Cup match in June 2003 in Lyon, France, and died shortly afterwards aged 26.
FERREIRA: Brazilian 20-year-old Max Ferreira died in hospital in July 2003 after feeling unwell during a training session for his club Botafogo-Ribeirao Preto.
FEHER: In January 2004, the 24-year-old Hungarian international Miklos Feher died after collapsing from a heart attack in a Portuguese league game between his club Benfica and Vitoria Guimaraes.
SERGINHO: Sao Caetano defender Serginho, 30, died after suffering an apparent cardio-respiratory arrest during a Brazilian championship match against Sao Paulo in October 2004.
CUNHA: In Portugal, Uniao Leiria midfielder Hugo Cunha collapsed and died during a game with friends in June 2005. He was 28.
PUERTA - Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta, 22, died on Aug. 28, 2007 three days after collapsing during a Primera Liga match against Getafe.
NSOFWA - Zambian 27-year-old striker Chaswe Nsofwa of Israeli second division side Hapoel Beer Sheva collapsed and died during a practice match in the southern desert city on Aug. 29, 2007.
O'DONNELL - Motherwell midfielder Phil O'Donnell died after collapsing on the pitch towards the end of a Scottish Premier League match against Dundee United on Dec. 29, 2007. He was 35.
TCHINGOMA: Gabon 21-year-old international Guy Tchingoma collapsed and died on the field during a premier division match in Libreville in Feb. 2008 after contact with an opposing player late in a match between his club FC105 Libreville and US Mbiliandzami.
CUSTIC: Zadar winger Hrvoje Custic died on April 3, 2008 after hitting his head on a concrete wall two metres from a touchline during a Croatian championship match on March 29. He was 24.
PINAULT: French second division player Clement Pinault died on Jan. 22, 2009, four days after suffering a heart attack. Pinault, 23, was taken to hospital after collapsing at his home. The defender played for Clermont two days before his heart attack, in a 2-0 Ligue 2 win over Brest.
JARQUE: The captain of Spanish club Espanyol Dani Jarque died of heart failure on Aug. 8, 2009 during a tour of Italy. Jarque, 26, had trained in the morning and collapsed in his hotel room in Coverciano.
ESTEVAJO: In Angola, Progresso de Sambizanga player Neridson Estevao died after collapsing during a second division game against Benfica de Cabinda on Sept. 20, 2009. The 26-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital in the capital, Luanda.
IDAHOR: Nigerian Endurance Idahor, 25, who played for Sudan's Al-Merreikh club, died on March 6, 2010 after clashing with another player minutes after the start of the match with Sudan Premier League rivals Al-Amal, held at Al-Merreikh's stadium in the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman.
