Swapping the football pitch for the pulpit is not something that usually happens but former Ghanaian footballer, Kwame Ayew is one of a handful of global football stars who have successfully made the switch.

Kwame Ayew, Ghanaian football star and the second highest top scorer at the 1992 Summer Olympics Games has dropped the boots for the pulpit and is now focused on winning souls for Christ.

For Kwame Ayew, he was destined to become a man of God as he has since childhood responded favorably to the teachings of God.

Ayew in a documentary about his renewed faith detailed his journey from humble beginnings to global stardom and his love for God.

“I played football as a soccer player but now I strike for Jesus Christ. I was born in absolute poverty and it was difficult for my mom and dad to make end meet. Daily life was a struggle. My vision was to become a medical doctor but two men walked to where I live with a proposal. They’ve seen me play with my school and they were gonna give me 10000 cedis. At that time I had never even handled 100cedis so 10000 sounded very enticing. So I agreed to do it.

“People started hearing of me all over Africa partly because of my elder brother, Abedi Ayew Pele. He had already made it so people wanted to see if I was as good as him so all the attention was on me.

“I wasn’t born to play football, I was born for football to help me to a certain level. Football has put me on a stage that attracts people like a magnet to hear the word of God which is life. My faith in Christ affected me as a footballer. One other way it affected me was to look at people. This led me to adopt six children. I live with four in this house and there are so many people I help”, he said.

Kwame Ayew was a member of the under-23 team that won the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, scoring six goals in the tournament.

In 25 matches for the Black Stars, Kwame Ayew scored nine goals.

At club level, Kwame Ayew featured for the likes of FC Metz, U.S. Lecce, and Sporting Clube de Portugal among others.

KPE