Prisoners pay respect to Atsu by playing in jerseys donated by football star

Atsu was known to be very supportive of prisoners in the country through his donations and also helped free some by paying off their fines.

To commemorate his life, staff of the Prisons Service and some inmates played a football game while wearing jerseys donated to them by Atsu.

The Chief communicator of the Ghana Prisons Service, Vitalis Aiyeh, said many of the inmates were left emotional following the death of the footballer.

“There was a memorial church service for him yesterday [Thursday, a day before the final funeral rites at the State House] at the Nsawam Male Prisons and it was packed. Inmates were very emotional,” he told TV3.

“It was eventually crowned with a football gala between the officers and the inmates in honour of Christian Atsu. They actually wore the jersey Atsu bought for them.”

Atsu was confirmed dead on Saturday, February 18, 2023, after his lifeless body was pulled out of the rubble in the wake of the earthquake in Turkey.

This followed days of intense search following the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in mid-February.

The ex-Chelsea and Newcastle United winger was laid to rest on Friday, March 17, 2022, in his hometown in Ada.