PORTO, Portugal (AP) — Jorge Costa, who captained Porto to the 2004 Champions League title, died Tuesday of cardiac arrest, the club said. He was 53.
Costa, a central defender who made 50 international appearances for Portugal, was Porto’s director of football at the time of his death.
The club's said in its announcement that Costa embodied Porto's values: “dedication, leadership, passion, and an unwavering spirit of conquest.”
Portuguese media reported that Costa sustained cardiac arrest at the club's training center and was transported to São João Hospital.
Costa's finest achievement in his playing career was as captain of Jose Mourinho's Porto team that was a surprise winner of the Champions League in 2004. A year earlier, he lifted the second-tier UEFA Cup.
Costa also helped Porto win eight Portuguese league titles.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro offered his condolences and praised Costa's “dedication and commitment” to both Porto and the national team.
Mourinho posted a tribute that said “your legacy will stay with us.” The Fenerbahce coach wrote that he could imagine what Costa would be telling him: “'Mister, stop crying, tomorrow you have a match and your boys need you ready and strong.’”
Costa spent a short period on loan at English team Charlton in the 2001-02 season.
“To hear of a life taken at 53 is never nice to hear, but he’s a former teammate who had such a great standing in the game and captained a Champions League winning side,” said Steve Brown, chair of Charlton's ex-players’ association. “He was loved at Charlton, a man mountain of a player and a great guy too.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Paris Saint Germain's Fabrice Pancrate, left, goes for the ball with FC Porto's Jorge Costa during their Champions League group H match Tuesday, Nov. 2 2004 in Porto, northern Portugal. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)
FILE - Olhanense's coach Jorge Costa reacts, during a Portuguese League soccer match against FC Porto at Porto's Dragon Stadium in Porto, Portugal, Saturday, March 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Paulo Duarte, File)
FILE - Porto's Jorge Costa celebrates after scoring against Inter Milan during the Champions League soccer match at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, March 15, 2005. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Vote counting was underway Friday in Uganda’s tense presidential election, which was held a day earlier amid an internet shutdown, voting delays and complaints by an opposition leader who said some of his polling agents had been detained by the authorities.
Opposition leader Bobi Wine said Thursday he was unable to leave his house and that his polling agents in rural areas were abducted before voting started, undermining his efforts to prevent electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing.
Wine is hoping to end President Yoweri Museveni's four-decade rule in an election during which the military was deployed and heavy security was posted outside his house near Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the vote.
The musician-turned-politician wrote on X on Thursday that a senior party official in charge of the western region had been arrested, adding there was “massive ballot stuffing everywhere.”
Rural Uganda, especially the western part of the country, is a ruling-party stronghold, and the opposition would be disadvantaged by not having polling agents present during vote counting.
To try to improve his chances of winning, Wine had urged his supporters to “protect the vote” by having witnesses document alleged offenses at polling stations, in addition to deploying official polling agents.
Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.
Museveni, after voting on Thursday, said the opposition had infiltrated the 2021 election and defended the use of biometric machines as a way of securing the vote in this election.
Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.
Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station, during the presidential election, in the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Election officials count ballots after the polls closed for the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
An election official holds up unmarked ballots during the vote count after polls closed for the presidential election, at a polling center in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A political representative speaks as he works to observe and verify the counting of ballots after polls closed in the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A supporter of leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine cheers while watching election officials count ballots, after polls closed at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
