Is Ghana's Right to Dream Academy the perfect Model for Malaysia's AMD?

Football is a multi-billion dollar global industry that is watched by millions around the world and can provide untold riches for the best players. Because of this, countries are investing in their infrastructure to ensure grassroots football can develop properly.

In Europe, Iceland took steps in 2000 to build training facilities that could withstand the poor weather. This saw great rewards for the country that qualified for the 2016 Euros and 2018 World Cup, an incredible feat for a nation with under 400,000 people.

Ghana's Right to Dream Academy is a youth football academy system that was founded in 1999 and has gone on to produce a wealth of top African talent and draw the eyes of the footballing world to the continent.

This year's AFCON tournament has had a lot of interest with scouts from around the world hoping to uncover the best African talents. Nigeria is the current bookmakers' favorite to win the tournament at 2/1, with the Ivory Coast not far behind at 3/1.

Of course, betting odds will vary across online sports betting operators, but there are dedicated sites to help find the best ones for odds, offers, and security.

One country that is hopeful to emulate the success of Ghana's Right to Dream Academy is Malaysia. The Southeast Asian country has a similar population to Ghana, and the Mokhtar Dahari National Football Academy (AMD) is hopeful it can transform the fortunes of young Asian talents in a similar way to the Right to Dream Academy.

One of the biggest success stories of the Right to Dream Academy is the Ghanaian Mohammed Kudus who currently plays in the English Premier League for West Ham. The attacking midfielder and winger joined Nordsjælland straight from the Academy and caught the eye of Dutch giants Ajax after two seasons. 3-years in the Netherlands saw him earn a move worth around £38m to West Ham where he has already made an impact with his goalscoring.

Another player set to make an impact soon is Mohamed Diomande who also joined Nordsjælland directly from the academy. The Ivorian midfielder has just earned a move to Scottish giants Rangers, where he will be fighting for silverware and enjoying regular European football.

The Mokhtar Dahari National Football Academy is named after Malaysia's all-time top goalscorer who sadly passed away at just 37 from MND.

The football academy regularly links up with European clubs who offer trials to the brightest talent.

The success of the program saw all of 2021's graduates snapped up by Malaysian Super League teams. By providing the best start to their career, AMD is hopeful that it can emulate the success of Ghana's famous academy and see its players move to Europe's top leagues.

The recent introduction of a U-23 Reserve League will also help the development of these players by providing game time against some of the other top talents in Malaysia.