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Nine amateur players killed in South Africa road accident

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JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- The South African Football Association says nine amateur players were killed in a car wreck in the Eastern Cape province on Sunday.

SAFA sent condolences to the families and named the players, who were members of four different clubs and were traveling back from a game in the town of Jamestown.

Regional official Beja Maphelo said the players were "good role models to other youngsters. They always took football seriously and were eager to excel.''

South Africa has a poor road safety record and football has experienced similar tragedies recently. In October, national team assistant coach Thomas Madigage was killed in a car accident in the northern Limpopo province. A month later four players from South Africa's second-tier league died when their minibus crashed in the same region.

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