Right to Dream Academy, had a successful debut in the World Finals of the Manchester United Premier Cup placing 5th out of 20 participating teams from across the globe. Right to Dream, a registered charity from Accra, was founded to help talented but underprivileged African children develop their potential through sport and education.

At the first ever Africa Finals held at Nike’s Hilversum Campus in Holland, in May, Right to Dream qualified for the World Finals after beating Egyptian team ENPPI at the first ever Africa Finals. At the time Coach Gareth Henderby admitted: “Most of our boys have never been out of Africa so to come here was a big thrill for them and to have the chance to go to Manchester is a huge motivation!”

After arriving in Manchester, the Ghanaians were drawn into Group D in the Opening Ceremony attended by Bryan Robson and Brian McClair and won many friends with their characteristic style of football. Finishing joint top with European Qualifiers FC Basel after the group stages, they then progressed to the Quarter finals with a daunting fixture against strongly fancied team from FC Atlas.

Unfortunately their dream ended with a 2:0 defeat by Atlas – but set up an appetising placement match against Manchester United for 5/6 place. A classy performance saw the young boys from Right to Dream beat the hosting Manchester United team by two goals to nil and a dream come true final to their participation in this year’s MUPC World Finals.

Coach Gareth Henderby enthused: “I am really proud of my team’s performance here. They have been able to experience world class facilities and world class players, and they stepped up their own game to play exceptionally well. This has been the most exciting experience of their lives so far. “Our Academy started 8 years ago, and is continuing to grow and develop. It is unbelievable to see where we are at now compared to how it was when we started. We even intend to add other sports in the future. It is all part of the step to create something really special, for example, the boys who have played here will go back and show the younger boys what they have learnt creating a purpose and drive for the others.

“Our style of play is more closely linked to the South American style, there is a great deal of speed as many of our boys are athletes, and we focus on passing the ball. In Europe however there is a lot of power and height in the game, and we only lost goals to headers, so that is something that certainly made it difficult for us to compete against. We look to return next year with a team who are progressing - that would be huge for us. “

It was an all-South American affair at Old Trafford on August 6 when Brazilian favourites Fluminense beat Mexico’s FC Atlas 2:0 to become Manchester United Premier Cup World Champions for the second time. The organizers of the tournament are considering an increase in the number of African participants so it is the hope of all soccer fans in Africa that our young and talented footballers will get the rare opportunity to play with the best from all over the world.

MUPC 2008 Final Standings

1st Fluminense

2nd FC Atlas

3rd Eintracht Frankfurt

4th FC Basel

5th Right to Dream

6th Manchester United

7th Juventus

8th Paris Saint Germain

9th Middlesbrough

10th Real Madrid

11th FC Honka

12th Ansan Boogok

13th Willem II

14th Audax Italiano

15th SuperSport Tottenham

16th Green Town FC

17th Central United

18th Villa 2000

19th San Diego Surf

20th Shizuoka Gakuen