A “WELL-LOVED and much valued” member of Warrington Town’s youth team has passed away.
The club have this afternoon released a statement confirming the death of 19-year-old Vini Desouza, who had been a prominent part of the youth set-up since joining in 2023, over the weekend.
The Brazil-born midfielder reached double figures for both goals and assists for the club’s under 18s and under 21s team over the past two seasons and had featured for the first team in last season’s Cheshire Senior Cup and during pre-season.
Less than 24 hours after finding out of Desouza’s passing, his under 21s teammates bravely went ahead with their game away at Macclesfield on Sunday and won the game 4-1.
A minute’s applause in Desouza’s memory will be held at tomorrow night’s first-team home game against Scarborough Athletic at the Cal.Delivery Stadium, with the under 21s team holding a bucket collection around the ground to support his family.
Desouza had featured for the Yellows first team during pre-season and in last season's Cheshire Senior Cup (Image: Sean Walsh) Teammate Sam Gill paid a glowing tribute, saying: “Vini was a well-loved and much valued player in our team.
“He grew into his character as his time at Warrington went on, and all of the lads had so much respect for him.
“He was an extremely talented footballer with so much ability, had a major impact coming in with us and consequently earning his space for training and playing matches with the first team.
“Vini is someone who will be missed dearly, both on the pitch and more importantly his character in the changing rooms and outside of football.
“We will all miss him and we send our condolences to his family at this difficult time.”
The club’s statement read: “Warrington Town are saddened to report the passing of youth team player Vini Desouza.
“The 19-year-old joined the club in 2023 and made an immediate impact with his fantastic technical ability, and has been a prominent part of the club’s youth set-up.
“Born in Brazil, Vini grew up in Portugal before moving to Walkden near Manchester 10 years ago.
“Scorer of the most spectacular goals, Vini was a well-respected, much-loved member of the club, and his ability earned him a place training with the first team despite his young age.
“He played for the first team last season in the Cheshire Senior Cup against Cheadle Town, and trained regularly with the first team, appearing in numerous pre-season friendlies over the past couple of seasons.
“This season, Desouza scored seven goals in 13 appearances for the Under 21s, who currently sit top of the North West Development League.
“Over the past two seasons, Desouza has contributed 17 goals in 12 assists in 42 appearances from midfield across the Under 18s and Under 21s.
“The Under 21s team bravely went ahead with their game away at Macclesfield yesterday, less than 24 hours after finding out about their team-mate’s passing, winning 4-1 in tribute to him.”
A GoFundMe page has also been set up to help Desouza’s family to cover the costs of his funeral - CLICK HERE TO DONATE
