After series of training sessions and selections covering over five months, five players have made it to the Aspire Dreams Soccer Academy of Excellence. They are LESLIE ADENIAH from Cape Coast, GABRIEL BONNAH from Ablekuma, ISAAC NUHU from Santa Maria, ISAAC ANNAN from Darkuman and ELVIS OWUSU from Kotobabi.
Captain Andy Sam, Country Director of Aspire Dreams in Ghana said in a press release that they will receive elite training, have biometric tests to determine their potential, and may be chosen to receive one of the 20 scholarships awarded by Aspire every year to study to become a professional footballer. He said Aspire Football Dreams strives for more than athletic development; those who receive the scholarships will enhance their athletic abilities in addition to their intellect and personal growth.
The Country Director who has keen interest in the development of kids noted that Aspire Football Dreams is a unique scouting project with the purpose of identifying future football stars in developing countries on three continents.
He recollected that Aspire was launched in 2007 and Aspire Football Dreams is currently present in 16 countries, monitoring over 600,000 young footballers per year in Asia, America, and Africa as part of the largest athletic talent search in the world.
“Aspire Football Dreams is a project that is absolutely free for every boy who wishes to fulfill his dreams of becoming a professional footballer. It is an extension of Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence in Qatar, the world-renowned academy for sports. Those selected in the project are trained to manage a successful life and to play in professional football clubs and their national teams in the future. This project has a team consisting of professional trainers, volunteers, and international scouts who select the most talented boys in each country” he revealed.
According to Captain Andy Sam, 2014 is the 8th edition in Ghana. “We monitored 75 centres and 52,000 registered boys all over the country and 50 finalists were chosen. They were lodged at the IDA Hostel, near El Wak Stadium, from September 30th to October 3rd, along with 75 Field Coordinators” he said.
Josep Colomer, former director of Barcelona’s La Masia Academy, discoverer of Lionel Messi, Jeffren Suarez, Pedro Rodriguez Ledesma and others, and current Project Director of Aspire Football Dreams was present for the final phase.
Josep and a team of Aspire coaches trained the selected 50 boys at El Wak Stadium to choose the players who would travel to Aspire Academy in Dakar, Senegal to participate in the World Finals. Selection for the coaches was very difficult due to the quality of talent on display this year. Instead of the usual 3 plays allotted to each country, Ghana has 5 already confirmed with another 2 on standby; it is probable that 2 goalkeepers could also be added to the list.
Aspire Football Dreams Ghana expresses its gratitude to Aspire, Bonus Sports Marketing, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ghana Football Association, Media, especially Ghanaweb.com, Parents, Schools, Colts Clubs, Players, their Service Providers, Coordinators and Staff for an excellent programme.