Like most upcoming footballers in Ghana, particularly in deprived areas, Seidu an inhabitant of a ?Zongo? community? is continuously hit by a plethora of problems that may perhaps hinder his development as a footballer thus hampering his cherished dream of plying a professional career in Europe or elsewhere on the globe.
Like most players of his age who are rooted in impoverished backgrounds, Seidu combines football with education and the practice of menial jobs like car washing, weeding and a legion of related jobs he does to support his ailing mother who together with Seidu stays with a very demanding aunt who is the supposed breadwinner of this family.
On completing university, my desire is to trek new grounds found me involved with a colt?s club side in Madina on voluntary basis. Via the permission of the residents of north Legon the team uses a park nearby to train a feat done by the residents as a way of giving some livelihood to these talents who are relying soccer to make headway in life.
On my daily discourse with them I got the impression that these lads had a stereotyped view of career decision. A social view which ultimately relegates higher education to the background to the pursuance of football or music which they deemed was the opium of success of inhabitants of settlements termed ?Zongo?s? in Ghanaian parlance.
General financial challenges of Ghanaian teams will mean even players of third division sides are hardly paid let alone provided with boots to train with.
I wasn?t totally surprised to see some of these players train with tight fitting sandals as substitute for the relatively expensive pair of football boots a creative venture to keep their dreams in motion.
Like some of his colleagues, Seidu a fifteen year old primary six student of a nearby public school has to borrow boots every Saturday on the eve to their league matches.
He walks to Ashaley Botwe a nearby suburb by some tortured and tattered routes just to borrow football boots which in some cases was either too large or too small to fit and had to be worn by through some machinations and improvisations. Aside the challenge of finessing himself with the necessary apparel for football matches, Seidu does menial jobs for his upkeep.
During one of Seidu?s sojourns to work he was whisked away by some policemen on the report of his aunt apparently on the account of a verbal outburst between the two.
Seidu?s explains that the continuous mellow-drama incidences between him and his aunt was as a result of the registering of his displeasure at the treatment his aunt meted out to his mum on consistent basis even to the tune of physically abusing his bed stricken mum.
If we claim we are a football nation and pay no attention to the well fare of these prodigies then surely we chanting tunes of ungratefulness to our maker who in his wisdom bestowed on us the human resource of soccer which the Germans and the French will have to globe trot to acquire. Seidu?s story is a drop in the ocean of many. There are similar and worse stories.
Aside the challenges encountered by these lads, they face a barrier in their learning process because of the non-existence of good coaches and even the absence of the necessary social dynamics to enhance learning.
For instance, the underage components of Seidu?s team are handled by some players or some other nearby residents of the? Zongo?s? they deem respectable enough.
These practices fall below most requirements of learning theories particularly that of Russian psychologist Vygotsky which clearly espouses the need for a well resourced teacher in that chosen field of study and also the right social dynamics or social settings to enhance transfer of knowledge.
Notwithstanding these challenges some of these players make it on the benevolence of people and certainly not based solely on their talents.
We should bare in mind that the next time you see a player going through these challenges, the next Lionel Messi is possible being killed.
