Former Norway youth international Mounir Hamoud dies after cardiac arrest at age 39

DRAMMEN, Norway (AP) — Norwegian soccer club Strømsgodset said Mounir Hamoud, a former forward who played for the country’s youth teams, died after suffering cardiac arrest.

Hamoud, who was 39, died Monday on the morning of the first day of his new job in player development with Strømsgodset, the team said Monday.

Hamoud, a Moroccan-born forward, spent the final eight seasons of his 15-year playing career at Strømsgodset before retiring in 2019. He played for Norway’s Under-18, Under-19 and Under-21 teams and was selected once for the country’s senior team but didn’t get off the bench in a 1-0 win over Germany in Dusseldorf in 2009, the Norwegian news agency NTB said.

“This is a brutal and shocking message to receive,” Strømsgodset, a club from Drammen, south of Oslo, said in a statement.

Øivind Nilsen, of the Norwegian Football Association, said Hamoud’s death was “a shock that affects the entire football family.”

“We are in mourning,” Nilsen said. “Mounir will be deeply missed.”

Hamoud also played for FC Lyn and Bodø/Glimt in Norway. In total, he made 358 club appearances and scored 28 goals.

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