The South African Football Association (SAFA) has said that former captain Neil Tovey is in critical condition in hospital after having a heart attack on Sunday, his second in two years.
Tovey, who captained the country to victory at the 1996 African Nations Cup, suffered the heart attack at a training session on Sunday, the association said.
The SAFA quoted his brother Mark as saying he had been rushed to hospital and doctors were battling to stabilise him.
He said: “There is a slight improvement from yesterday’s situation but Neil remains in critical condition and I ask all South Africans to keep Neil in their daily prayers.
“The doctors have been working round the clock, and we hope for the best.”
Tovey, the 54-year-old technical director at the South African Football Association, had been hospitalised in February 2015 after suffering a series of heart attacks.
SAFA CEO Dennis Mumble urged South Africans “to pray for the country’s football legend at this critical time.”
