Cardiff City and Leeds United pay tribute to former captain Sol Bamba

  • Tributes have been paid to Sol Bamba at Cardiff City Stadium

Thousands of fans have paid tribute to Sol Bamba at Cardiff City Stadium following the death of the former captain of Cardiff City and Leeds United at the age of 39.

Bamba passed away three weeks ago and, as fans gathered for his former teams to face each other on Saturday, they paid tribute to him with cheers and applause.

Flowers, scarves, and football shirts were laid at the statue of Fred Keenor outside the stadium to pay tribute to the former captain of both teams facing each other today.

Inside the stadium, players from both teams took a moment to remember Bamba as fans in the crowd cheered and applauded, holding up a banner which read, 'Sol Bamba, City legend.'

The defender died age 39 while working as technical director at Turkish club Adanaspor on August 31.

Flowers, scarves, and shirts were laid outside the stadium in tribute to Sol Bamba Credit: Daniel Bevan

A club statement said Bamba had fallen ill before a match and was taken to hospital where he died.

He made over 100 appearances for the Bluebirds in five years as a player and, in 2018, was part of the side which won promotion to the Premier League.

Bamba was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2021 while at Cardiff, but was declared cancer-free after a course of chemotherapy and returned to play again for the Bluebirds.

Last week, a minute of applause was organised as Cardiff City took on Derby County at Pride Park Stadium, Derby.

Both clubs wore black armbands for the game, while fans could be heard singing Wham's 'Last Christmas' in tribute to Bamba.

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