From Diogo Jota to George Foreman: Sporting figures who died in 2025 (Part 1)

Footballers Diogo Jota and Denis Law, former heavyweight champion George Foreman and cricketer Robin Smith were among the major sports personalities who died in 2025.

Here is the first instalment of AFP’s review of the sporting world’s losses this year:

FOOTBALL

Diogo Jota died on July 3 at the age of 28 in a car crash in Spain.
The Liverpool forward was killed alongside his 25-year-old brother André Silva, only days after marrying Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children.

Jürgen Klopp, who signed the Portuguese international for Liverpool in 2020, said he was “heartbroken” by the death of his “great friend”.

Capped 49 times by Portugal, Jota joined Liverpool from Wolves for £45 million ($62 million). He scored 65 goals in five seasons, helping the club win the League Cup and FA Cup in 2021/22, and netted nine times last season as Liverpool claimed a record-equalling 20th league title.

Denis Law died on January 17 aged 84 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
A key member of Matt Busby’s legendary Manchester United side, Law formed the famed “Holy Trinity” with Bobby Charlton and George Best. Although injured for the 1968 European Cup final, his nine goals in the campaign were crucial.

“He was a great Scotsman. Cantankerous, a troublemaker and he loved beating England,” said former United manager Alex Ferguson.

Leo Beenhakker died on April 10 aged 82.
The forthright Dutch coach guided Ajax and Feyenoord to league titles and led Real Madrid to three successive La Liga crowns from 1987 to 1989. Known for his sharp wit, he once said: “You don’t have to have been a cow to be a milkman.”

Ahmed Faras died on July 16 aged 78 after a long illness.
Morocco’s all-time leading scorer with 36 goals, he was African Footballer of the Year in 1975 and captained his country to the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations title. King Mohammed VI hailed him as “one of the great icons of Moroccan football”.

Doris Fitschen died on March 15 aged 56 following a long illness.
A pioneer of women’s football, she won four European titles with Germany, earned 144 caps and later served as general manager of the Olympic gold-winning German team at Rio 2016.

John Robertson died on December 25 aged 72.
Described by Brian Clough as “a Picasso of our game”, the Nottingham Forest winger scored the only goal in the 1980 European Cup final and was a central figure in the club’s golden era.

Nikita Simonyan died on November 23 aged 99.
An Olympic gold medallist with the Soviet Union in 1956, he scored his country’s first World Cup goal in 1958. “I actually thought we’d played very well… Well, that was the system back then,” he once told the BBC.

Suleiman al-Obeid, known as the “Palestinian Pele”, died on August 6 aged 41.
The Palestinian Football Association said he was killed by Israeli gunfire in Gaza while waiting for humanitarian aid. Mohamed Salah criticised UEFA for omitting details of his death in a tribute.

GOLF

Fuzzy Zoeller died on November 27 aged 74.
The American won two majors, including the 1979 Masters on his first attempt. Reflecting later on a controversial remark in 1997, he said it was “the worst thing I’ve gone through in my entire life”.

GYMNASTICS

Agnes Keleti died on January 2 aged 103.
A five-time Olympic champion and Holocaust survivor, she won gold medals at the 1952 and 1956 Games. “It was worth doing something well in life,” she told AFP in 2020.

BOXING

George Foreman died on March 21 aged 76.
One of the dominant heavyweights of the 1970s, Foreman won Olympic gold in 1968 and the world title in 1973 before losing to Muhammad Ali in the “Rumble in the Jungle”. At 45, he regained the heavyweight crown, becoming the oldest champion in history.

“You want to leave something… Leave something that we’re all going to benefit from,” Foreman said.

CRICKET

Robin Smith died on December 1 aged 62.
The South Africa-born batter played 62 Tests for England, scoring 4,236 runs. Nicknamed “the Judge”, he was renowned for his fearless approach against fast bowling.

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