Sleeping in lotto kiosk, no shower for two weeks; John Paintsil opens up on first time visit in Accra

Ghanaian football legend, John Paintsil has opened up on a facet of his life that he believes will serve as a motivation for young footballers and anyone who is striving to break the cycle of poverty.

Paintsil on Angel TV narrated that prior to becoming the successful person he is now, he endured some challenging times that almost made him throw in the towel on his football career.

One such experience that left John Paintsil downhearted and made him give thoughts to the possibility of abandoning his football career was when he first earned a call-up to the national under-20 team and had to travel to Accra for trial exercise.

Paintsil says that bar the name New Town which he had heard due to a relative's residential status, he knew nothing about Ghana’s capital city.

So when it was time for him to come to Accra, Paintsil picked up his bag loaded with gari, football boots and jersey with the plan to comb the streets of New Town and discover the place of abode of the said relative once he arrived.

Luckily for him, he was able to identify New Town but that was the farthest his luck could take him as all efforts to establish contact with the said relative proved unsuccessful for the two weeks that he was in non-residential camping.

Paintsil said that he found a home in a lotto kiosk at New Town and jogged to and from New Town and Accra Sports Stadium for the two-week justify your inclusion period.

Luckily for Paintsil, who was then on the books of Berekum Arsenal, he made the cut for the final 30-man list by coach EK Afranie and that became the platform for his success as a footballer.

“I was playing for Berekum Arsenal when we played the National Under-20 team. I was selected by coach EK Afranie and had to come to Accra to justify. The justify lasted for two weeks and he needed only 30 players.

“I knew no one in Accra and only heard about Accra New Town. I had only one destination in my bag when I picked up my bag and that was Accra New Town. When I got to Circle I made enquiries and was shown the place.

“I only had gari, jersey and my boots. I got to New Town and couldn’t figure out where to stay. I spotted a lotto kiosk and made up my mind that It was going to be my place of abode until I located my sister’s house in New Town.

So for the next two weeks, I will jog to and from New Town and Accra Sports Stadium. I ate gari without sugar for two weeks. When the final list came and I made the list I couldn’t hold back my tears. I wasn’t bathing because I couldn’t.

"If I wasn’t determined and had no plan, I would have given up. There were times I wanted to give up but I thought of my dreams and decided to press on,” he said.

John Paintsil enjoyed a relatively successful career as one of the few players to have participated in two World Cup tournaments for Ghana. He also played in the AFCON tournaments including the 2008 and 2012 editions.

At the club level, Paintsil featured for clubs like Fulham, Leicester, and West Ham among others.

He made 89 appearances for Ghana and is fondly remembered for his performance at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.





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