Saturday 18 July 2009

Football Academy - Africa

I spent a great day today with the Right to Dream football academy players in Accra, Ghana. They are good. Very good.

The amazing men who run the academy took me to some games and got me talking to some of the players. It has been invaluable.

I am here to research a book about a bad football agent who exploits boys in Africa. But this was the opposite. I met a group of men who are doing amazing work to help bring footballers to their potential, both in football and their education. Some of the their players have ended up working with Man U. Others have gone on to get great educations around the world. I was so impressed.

Trips like these really help me write books. I could sit at home and write stories about what I think it is like to be a sixteen year old boy in Ghana who is great at football. But it would be full of errors and cliches. This trip has meant I will make less mistakes.-

They even gave me a lift to the academy in the morning past one of my footballing heroes houses. Tony Yeboah. And tomorrow I'm going to the Ghanaian Premier League decider.

C heck out Right to Dream at www.righttodream.com.

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