Story by Rasmus Kristensen
Quevin Castro had been on the pitch for about 10 minutes at the Estádio das Seixas in Malveira when he went down. According to Portuguese daily A Bola, the midfielder signalled to the bench that he was feeling unwell before collapsing during Real Sport Clube’s preseason friendly against Primeira Liga side Estrela da Amadora on Saturday.
Medical staff from both sides rushed on. A defibrillator was deployed on the pitch, and Portugal’s national emergency service, INEM, joined the response. Castro was taken to hospital, where his death was confirmed later that day. He was 25.
Real Sport Clube, a fourth-tier club based in Massamá on the outskirts of Lisbon, had signed Castro only weeks earlier from Eastbourne Borough.
“Far more than a player”
“Quevin Castro was far more than a player, he was a member of our family, leaving a mark on all those who had the privilege of knowing him, both on and off the pitch,” Real SC said in a statement on Saturday.
From The Hawthorns to the non-league game
Born in Lisbon, Castro moved to England as a teenager and joined West Bromwich Albion in 2021 after a trial. He made his senior debut for the Baggies against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup that autumn, then a solitary league appearance in February 2022.
Loans followed at Burton Albion, Notts County and Gateshead before he left The Hawthorns in the summer of 2023. His career then wound through the English non-league game, with spells at York City, King’s Lynn Town, Chippenham, Cambridge City and Eastbourne Borough, before he returned to Portugal this summer.
Applause in the 25th minute
West Bromwich Albion said on Saturday that they were “devastated to learn of the untimely passing of our former player Quevin Castro, aged just 25”.
The Championship side held a period of applause in the 25th minute of Sunday’s home fixture against Burnley, with the players wearing black armbands.
