Everyday People: The sad end of a rising footballer's career and how he ended up selling 'check-check'

He grew up at Kintampo in the Bono East Region and had his eyes set on a bright future until his benefactor was called to take up other opportunities.

One of four boys, Simon and the other three were scouted for by a football manager who sought to groom them to become formidable footballers.

This football manager, he explained, even went out of his way to rent an apartment at Labadi in the Greater Accra Region just to ease the stress of his beneficiaries.

Unfortunately, his family wanted him to tow the lines of a different career, and eventually, he succumbed to the pressure on him to relocate from Ghana to a foreign country.

This move, he added, curtailed his dreams and those of his three other colleagues.

Despite all these, Simon refused to be broken and did everything to pick up his life again.

Today, located at American House, East Legon, is SM Fast Food, a food joint that belongs to Simon.

He currently has a culinary certificate that enables him to cook every Ghanaian meal effortlessly.

“I hail from Bono East, Kintampo but I came to Accra because of football. The person who brought us here was very good to us. We were four boys. He rented an apartment for us at Labadi. We were training and all that but after 4 months, he got a call from his uncle in Germany to pursue a medical career. He was reluctant but eventually gave in to the demands of his family.

"He left after months even though the rent was for three years. We wondered how we were to fund our stay here and decided to go back to Kintampo. However, I had a friend at Madina who was into the sale of fried rice so, I went there to help him and that’s how I got here,” he narrated in an interaction with GhanaWeb TV’s Abigail Johnson Boakye.

Watch the full video below:

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