'My son asked me, what did you get from football'? - Asante Kotoko legend tears up as he talks about struggles

Former Asante Kotoko player, Ahmed Rockson has said that at the end of his illustrious career with the Porcupines and the national team, there was nothing he could boast of.

Ahmed Rockson detailed in an interview with Ernest Brew Smith that football was not rewarding to him.

He disclosed that his first son who was as equally talented as him declined to pursue football because he was not satisfied with the penury state of his father.

He dismissed notions that players of his era wasted their money on irrelevant things, clarifying that he invested in the future of his children.

“My firstborn was like me and he plays very well but he decided to take up football professionally. He asked me ‘what did you get from playing football’? I couldn’t force him because I got nothing from football. He is living life and enjoying it now. He follows everything going on in the country. He is working now and he has built a house with his family.

“It is not like we go money and wasted it. We didn’t get money from the clubs but what we had was from benevolent Ghanaians so once you stopped playing, no outsider will give you money,” he said.

Ahmed Rockson also outlined ways Ghana can end its over 40-year wait for an Africa Cup of Nations trophy.

He called for massive investment in grassroots football and the training of coaches as that will help groom the young players.

“We can only win cups if we develop our football from the grassroots. We should employ good coaches at the colts level to give good football knowledge to the kids. That’s what other countries are doing,” he said.

He also advised current players to be mindful of their lifestyles and invest hugely in properties.

"Our era was difficult but those playing now could face tougher times if they don’t take care. Most teams don’t good care of players and the players are also not allowed to learn other trades. It is only football so once you are done, what next? After football what next?"

Ahmed Rockson won the CAF Champions League with Kotoko in 1983.