Cody Fisher’s “heart-broken” family pays tribute to their “best friend” who died in a nightclub.
A 23-year-old man stabbed to death on the dance floor of a Birmingham nightclub has been named by police.
Cody Fisher was fatally injured at The Crane on Adderley Street, Digbeth, just before 23:45 GMT on 26 December.
Despite efforts to save him, he was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later, West Midlands Police said.
His family said: “They have broken our hearts; I have lost my best friend.” Police are appealing for witnesses.
The incident happened during a Boxing Day event featuring well-known techno DJ Marco Carola, that started at 15:00 GMT.
Mr Fisher played left back in local non-league football around Birmingham.
His picture, released by West Midlands police, shows him in the colours of a Bromsgrove side, and he also played for Stratford Town and Stourbridge.
He had been in the Birmingham City FC Academy, and was also a trainee with Walsall, according to social media and local media posts.
Police believe Mr Fisher was approached by a group before being stabbed and are urging anyone in the club to get in touch.
“We know there were hundreds of people in the nightclub at the time,” added Det Insp Thurgood.
“While we’ve spoken to a number of them already, we still need to hear from anyone who was there and who witnessed or even filmed what happened.”
One clubber told the PA news agency there were “groups of lads” who were “looking to cause trouble”.
“As soon as me and my friends walked in, we got a very weird vibe and the atmosphere wasn’t good,” said Sydnee Power, 23, from Birmingham.
No arrests have been made but the scene remains closed while officers gather evidence and review CCTV footage.
Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk