Mpong suspends Demirspor move

SuperSport.com understands that negotiations for a potential move to Turkey for Richard Mpong has been boycotted by the player. He had been in advanced talks with Adana Demirspor but returned to Ghana on Monday night after levelling accusations at the club.

According to sources, the Turkish club offered Mpong a contract in Turkish, which he does not read or write. Upon asking for an English translation, Demirspor declined, leading the player to leave Turkey almost immediately.


The 21 year old got his first and only senior national team goal on his Ghana debut in a friendly against Chile in April after coming on for Chicago Fire striker Dominic Oduro.


Mpong plays for Medeama in the Ghana Premier League and was a member of the Ghana Under-17 team who finished fourth at the 2007 FIFA World Cup in Korea. He also played a key role in the Ghana Under-23 side that won gold at the 2011 All Africa Games in Mozambique.


Fear of trafficking

SuperSport.com understands that Mpong was in fear of signing a 'spoof contract' - a one-way contract which binds footballers to clubs on terms that have not been agreed on.


Football is being used as a vehicle for human trafficking, with at least 4,000 young players illegally shipped from Africa to Europe to pursue dreams of a career in the game. In May, Foot Solidaire, a French organisation that works to protect young footballers from exploitation, said it is dealing with at least 20 new cases each week and has called on FIFA to act.


Parents and dreamweavers are spending thousands of dollars to send their wards to Europe in the hope they will earn lucrative contracts, but the footballers are then abandoned on the street.