5 Ghanaian footballers with academies giving hope to budding talents

Some past and present footballers who played for the Black Stars of Ghana are contributing immensely to the development of football through projects which seek to unearth and nurture talents for the next generation.

The establishment of football academies and other sporting projects have played a key role for young talented footballers to unleash their dreams and play at the top level.

Ghanaweb looks into 5 Ghanaian footballers, both active and inactive who have built academies or have implemented projects to unearth and develop talents.

Awudu Issaka

The former Black Stars midfielder is the owner and bankroller of the Royal Awudu Soccer Academy in Tema. The club currently competes in the Greater Accra Division Two League where they have been in great form in the 2022/23 season. The club has also nurtured and developed players of which some are currently with the national U20 team and U17. Also, others are doing well with clubs in Ghana and overseas.

Frank Acheampong

The China-based Ghanaian footballer is a co-owner of Ghana Premier League side Accra Lions. The club gained promotion to the top-flight league in the 2021 season after emerging winners in Zone 3 of the Division One League. The club which was established in 2015 has a huge influence on the transfer market where two or more players leave the local scene for Europe or Asia. Talk of Black Stars winger who plays for Serbian powerhouse, Red Star Belgrade, Rauf Salifu and Alex Agyarkwa both of Selangor in Malaysia, Joseph Amoah in Bosnia, Evans Etti in China among others

Odartey Lamptey

The former Ghanaian U-17star runs the Glow Lamptey Soccer Academy where he scouts for talents, nurtures, and develops them for clubs outside Ghana, the national youth teams and other clubs in Ghana. The academy has produced players playing in various clubs in the Ghana Premier League and a few others playing in the lower-tier leagues in Europe. It is one of the few to have blended education with sports in Ghana.

Godwin Attram

The Attram Devisser Soccer Academy, an Accra based division-two club is owned and managed by former Great Olympics and Black Stars forward Godwin Attram. The academy has partnership deals with German side Schalke 04, Los Angeles FC in the United States, Great Olympics in Ghana and PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivise. Former Asante Kotoko right back, Christopher Nettey now with Great Olympics and Kwadwo Poku of MLS side Los Angeles FC are all products of the Attram Devisser Academy.

John Painstil

The former Fulham and Black Stars defender is the bankroller of the John Painstil Academy where they compete in the Greater Accra Division Two League. The club aims at nurturing and developing budding footballers for bigger stages.

LSN/OGB