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ShattaCleve
New Member
USA
73 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 24 2001 : 11:50:59 AM
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As I stumbled out the club the other night I walked into a 24 hour bookstand and there in front of me was an African Soccer magazine(with a Cameroon youth on the cover) and it had over 12 pages of in depth look at youth academies in Africa.
These ranged from the $400,000 a year to one mans vision. If anyone get a chance please oh please pick up this magazine as it is a must read. There is so much info in there and I have to say that I am proud of my people.
Again this is a damn good read even if you think that we can't afford.
Please do not reply to any of the post in this thread. I will keep posting from the magazine and archive it so that everyone can read it.
Again please do not reply to any of the posts in this thread. Tilla I may have to email you on this
respect
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ShattaCleve
New Member
USA
73 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2001 : 12:14:15 PM
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Across Africa, football schools are springing up like so many mushrooms after rain. The best of them provide a full education as well as a quick route to the professional game in Europe. The worst of offer nothing more than false hope. In this special report AFRICAN SOCCER correspondents around the continent investigate a trend which some regard as the key to the future, and others see as no more than a cash cropping of footballers for the European market.
(picture insert) a sea of youngsters at the Pepsi academy in Lagos, with hopes of being tomorrow stars)
Not long ago, African parents used to beat their children for playing football instead of studying. These days however, even the most comfortably of family would jump at the chance of sending a son-or increasingly a daughter- to one of the many football schools of excellence springing up across the continent.
The reasons are not hard to understand. Top European-based players earn sums undreamt of by the most successful African doctor, teacher or civil servant. Turn on the TV the weekend of a big international match, and there's a chance you'll see a former shoeshine boy(Ghana's Samuel Osei Kuffor) or ganster (Nigerian defender Taribo West) rubbing shoulders with ministers and heads of State. In a world where university graduates often wait in vain for employment, football offers teh shortest of short cuts to the to.
Most of todays generation of stars found their way there throught sheer talent and determination, plus a good sprinkling of luck. But increasingly, football entreprenuers are aiming to take the chance element out of the route to the top. Mass recruitment drives by the new schools of excellence are picking up talented youngsters as early as eight years old and grooming them for the professional life in Europe.
The trend is most highly developed in West Africa, where ASEC Mimosas' pioneering academy in West Africa Cote d'Ivoire has spawned a host of imitators. At their very best, such as in ASEC's case, the schools offer an all-round education, mixed with football coaching on the model developed earlier at Ajax in Amsterdam. The aim is to turn out complete footballers , not just in terms of ball skilss but who are prepared to make the transition to the professional game.
Mixed with them are a combination of well-meaning amateurs wishing to put something back into the game that they love, and entrepreneurs seeking to cash in on the trend.
The financial commitment implied by the more serious of the football schools is beyond most of Africa's national football federations and top clubs. In a few rare cases, such as Egypt's National Sporting Club(Al Ahly) of Cairo, traditional development structures feed into the top level. But elsewhere the academies almost always depend on links with European Clubs or political support.
Though those in charge of the schools invariably claim their aims are philanthropic-to benefit the national game, and provide education where it would not otherwise be available-the economics of the excercise suggest that grooming young players for export must be the ultimate aim.
According to Jean-Marc Guillo, founder of the ASEC academy, it costs around FCFA45,000 a month to keep and train a student in Sol Beni, Abidjan is probably as expensicve as anywhere in West Africa, so it would be fair to assume a maximum average cost per student per year of $800 over 6 years from age 12 to 18, a total say $5,000. Multiply that again by an average of 20 students per intake, and the overall investment is in the order of $100,000 for a full intake over the whole of their time at the school.
Sell just one of those players to a European club for a modest $250,000 and your investment has paid off handsomely, Sell more, or strike reall lucky and reap further benefits if he is subsequently sold on and you hit the jackpot.
As the graduates from the academies have begun to infiltrate Europe, principally in France and Belgium, so European clubs have begun forging links with the African end. Ajax has led the way by taking direct shareholdings in Ajax Cape town and Ojuasi Goldfields in Ghana. French club Monaco has links with schools in Burkina Faso and Senegal.
Feyenord funds Sam Ardy's academy in Ghana, which features later in this special report Germany's Bayern Munich and Leeds of England are not far behind.
(picture instert Above: Foreign scouts are regular visitors at African soccer schools. Below: Former Ghana superstar Abedi Pele shouts instructions to his students at the Nania soccer school he set up in 1999 in Accra)
The attraction for these sides is as strong as for their African counterparts, Supreme football talent is not only expensive, it is incredibly rare. A proposal to ban international transfer for players under 18 years of age has been shelved, somewhat dimishing the urgency for European sides to reserve the best young African players through affiliations in the continent. But any club that can give itself an inside track to identifying a George Oppong Weah or Abedi Ayew Pele, and develop his abilities young, has every interest in doing so.
So if the players, the investors and the European Clubs all gain, what about African football at large? The answer can be no more than maybe. Nobody would deny the benefits of poviding young gooballers with decent training facilities, good food and medical care and all-round education. If the cream of the output leave for Europe, good luck to them, Many of them will play for their national teams, and some may even come back, like Salif Keita in Mali and Abedi Pele
in Ghana, to set up their own academies.
But there is equally no denying that there is an unattractive underside to a trend whose driving force is money. The top academies are a far cry from the exploative network of false football agents who have lured African youngsters to Europe, often to a miserable fate, on the promise of a professional career. Yet they are themselves the tip of an iceberg of schools that promise more than they can deliver. And even the cream of the academies ulimately have no interest in those of their graduates who fail to make the grade.
For every Aruna Dindane who makes the leap from ASEC to Anderlecht in the Belgian top division, there are thousands of others investing millions of hours of practise-time that could be spent on school work or learning another trade- without even reaching the first hurdle. Only a handful of each years intake to the top schools will ever make a living from football. The rest are destined to be turned loose at 18 to fend for themselves.
No doubt most would regard it as worth the risks, But perhaps those parents pushing their kids to the football pitch would be better directing them to the library after all.
Emmanuel Maradas (c) African Soccer Magazine
The next look will be at Cote D' Ivoire and all these post from this series will be archived at www.reggaeboyzsc.com
respect
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ShattaCleve
New Member
USA
73 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2001 : 2:48:29 PM
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Cote D,Ivoire
When Frenchman Jean-Marc Guillou and ASEC president Roger Ouegin decided to unveil products of their academy at the Houphouet Boigny stadium February 27, 1999 during the CAF Super Cup duel between ASEC and Esperance of Tunisia, they left fans in a state of confusion. To send out eleven teenagers against a Tunisian side parading nine national team players could not be anything short of extreme audacity.
But the public rose to salute the artistry of the 17-year-olds first graduates of ASEC’s uiltramodern football academy after they demolished, in nonchalant fashion, the giants of Tunisia 3-1 after extra time. It was a sight to behold.
Committed to excellence and sharing the same philosophy about the game, Gillou and Ouegnin got acquainted in 1984 shortly after that year’s African Nations Cup, where the Frenchman came in to negotiate the transfer of ASEC 17-year-old prodigy Youssouf Fofana to Cannes.
Guillo accomplished his mission and went on to adopt Fofana eventually but was struck, during his frequent visits to the academy by the huge potential of talent in the country. He says, “The trips I made to Cote d”Ivoire awakened me to the enormous human potential there. There was an academic and sporting freedom that lent itself perfectly to the kind of football that I had always dreamt of.”
With 15 years of professional football behind him as a coach, manager and president of several European Clubs including Monacco, Guillou felt the urge to try something new in Africa. “I wanted to work with talented youngsters rather than in France with calculating and unmotivated young Frenchmen. Football is about passion and that is what makes Africa so special
After convincing his friend Ouegnin, the project finally took off the ground in 1993 with the objective of identifying promising young players from the hinterland and providing them with a combined training in football and life skills.
Ever since, ASEC’s academy has become a model operation, not only on the continent but also in the wider spectrum of modern football schools. Arguably one of the best football youth centers in the world, Academy Mimos churns out dozens of brilliant players, trained not only in the vicissitudes of football life, but equipped academically for a decent future. “The idea is to produce foorballers who play intelligently and coherently as well as educated, good tolerant, sociable, hardworking and honest citizens, Guillou says.
The academy is located at Sol Beni in M’pouto, a small village near Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d’Ivoire. Guillo had modern facilities like Classroom, a training pitch, medical center and gymnasium put in place after which he combed every nook of the city, watching street games and focusing attention on 1,870 youngsters before finally selecting 27 within the age ranks of 13 years and 30 kilos in weight.
After passing several medical tests, and with all the other details ironed out between the clubs and their parents, the pupils settle down to life in the academy, taking courses not only in football but in academic subjects such as French, English, Spanish, mathematics, modern sciences, biology and psychology taught by teachers working full time.
The academy’s motto “greatness comes with humility” rubbed off quickly on the boys and a couple of years later Zezeto, Tony, Aruna, Copa, Kolo and more blossomed into quality players that on that beautiful day in February, keep the public including top officials of the Confederation of African football spellbound.
A galaxy of exciting players have since emerged from the academy. Many have been sold to foreign clubs in line with the club’s objective of recouping some of its huge investments. Sriker Aruna Dindane, goalkeeper Boubacar Barry, and defender Didier Zokora have already broken into FIRST TEAMS of Rennes, Genk and Anderlecht in France and Belgium, while others like Zezeto, Junior and Tony have successfully completed try-outs in Europe and are set to take off.
The academy continues to attract droves of football experts from all corners of the globe and even though Monaco-their initial partners-have pulled out, privated sponsors have since kept the dream alive with an annual contribution of $400,000.
But the impact of the academy has not really been felt at the national scene. Guillo’s dream of nurturing his charges to the Olympics in Sydney last year ended in failure as they missed qualification. Cote d,Ivoire’s continuous absence at the continental youth championships has raised more questions than answers. While the quality of the academy is in no doubt, its success can be gauged, in the long run only be the medals garnered in the international competition.
Jean-Louis Farah Toure
© copyright African Soccer Magazine
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ShattaCleve
New Member
USA
73 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2001 : 3:26:26 PM
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It is a beautiful day outside so me ago run but here are some excerpts from the Ghana and Mali reports.(coming Monday)
Mali
"I put forward a six-year plan based on youth policy and construction of a coaching center fashioned in the model of Saint-Etienne, but the federation did not agree. I made it clear that while it is fine to immediate return in the short term, you always bump up against reality in the end. AS no one listened, I had to resign and set about doing it on my own"......But the determined former technical director would not allow his dreams to die without a fight and dipped into his savings to form the Salif Keita Football Center in 1993...The ex-African star's biggest moment came in 1999 when his students formed the nucleus of the stunning Malian Under-21 side that emerged third at the world youth championship in 1999 in Nigeria.
GHANA (The interview with Mr Teacher Man Maurice Quansah the ex black stars coach)
Interviewer aka INT "Why did you set up this academy...?"
M Quananah "The idea came to me in 1995 after the Under-17 world championship...Beleive it or not some of the players could not even write their names"
INT "What are your short-term and long term plans?"
M Quananah "We have no short-term plans, this is a long term project and the bottom line is education...WE want to produce a player who, if unable to play football could be useful to society in another way and live a decent and happy life...."
INT "How was the response for your first recruitment?"
M Quanash "700 players were screened for the first generation out of which only 17 were picked...We actually combed every nook and cranny of Ghana for those players.
INT "How do other Ghanian clubs benefit from your project?"
M Quanash " If Heart of Oak, Asante Kotoko, or any club is interested in any of our players all they need to do is reach an agreement with us and the player's parent"
INT " This looks like an expensive project to run. How much does Feyernord pump into the academy?
.M Quanash " The project cost about $1.5 million dollars for its establishment, but Feyernord gives us an annual sum which I am not permitted to divulge"
INT "One of the reasons why Ghana football is on the decline is that promising youngsters like Nii Odartey Lamptey, Emmanuel Bentil, Awudu Issaka and a host of others who showed a lot of potential at the junior level have faded away, You handled these players, why did they eclipse so early?"
M Quanash " It all boils down to discipline, When a player is disciplined whatever his age, he performs....If a player eschews arrogance and inculcates a high sense of discipline he can move mountains"
INT "Do you have players in the mold of Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah in your school?"
M Quanash " I have seen a few who are coming up very well and promise to be future greats, But they need to work hard to embrace education, be exposed to the vicissitudes of life(there goes that word again) and be properly guided. Talented footballers abound in Ghana and Africa, What has been missing is a well-established grooming process"
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ShattaCleve
New Member
USA
73 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2001 : 06:52:13 AM
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Mali
Early attempts at establishing what might pass for football schools collapsed in Mali due to a number of factors ranging from inadequate finance, the football federation lack of interest in youth competitions and the clubs preference for established players.
But as local competitions have intensified, the need for reserves of young, fresh legs have become pressing.
None perhaps understood the problem better than former national hero, 1971 African footballer of the Year and ex minister Salif Keita. A vastly experience professional, Keita’s attempt to entrench a youth system in Mali upon his return home in 1985 fell on deaf ears, forcing him to resign from the national football federation twice.
He recalls "I put forward a six-year plan based on youth policy and construction of a coaching center fashioned in the model of Saint-Etienne, but the federation did not agree. I made it clear that while it is fine to immediate return in the short term, you always bump up against reality in the end. AS no one listened, I had to resign and set about doing it on my own" Keita put his plans into action first in 1991 by setting up a school of football in Bamako in partnership with Planete Champions. The project soon collapsed after the company folded and moved to Burkina Faso.But the determined former technical director would not allow his dreams to die without a fight and dipped into his savings to form the Salif Keita Football Center in 1993
Located in the heart of Bamako, the country’s capital, the center offered young talented kids practical and theoretical training in football with the former Saint-Etienne striker himself imparting his technical knowledge. “I was lucky to be good at free kicks, so I show them how to swerve a shot around the wall” he says.
Within two years, the center was bursting with gifted youngsters, A partnership with French first division club Auxerre saw some of the products-Souleymane Diarra, Boubacar Guindo and Alfousseini Karembe- joining Auxerre youth team in 1994. There, under further guidance of coach Guy Roux, they have grown into redoubtable senior national team players. Besides Auxerre, Salif Keita forged a working agreement with Angers, A French second division outfit where more youngsters such as Koly Kante, Mohamadou Dissa received further polish.
With more youngsters with tremendous potential enrolled, Salif Keita turned the center into a football club and registered for the national league. They gained promotion from the second to the first Division in 1997 and became league runners-up behind Djoliba in 1998.
The ex-African star's biggest moment came in 1999 when his students formed the nucleus of the stunning Malian Under-21 side that emerged third at the world youth championship in 1999 in Nigeria with Mahamadou Dissa ending up joint top goalscorer.
Today, a dozen of the center’s top graduates are playing at some of Europe’s best clubs. Mamadou Diarra is with Vitesse Arhem in Holland, Seydou Keita and Abdramane Coulibalby are in Marseille, Koly Kante, Nouhoum Kone, Mohammed Doumbia and Abdoulaye Camara in Angouleme, Mahamadou Dissa in Niort and Djibril Didibe in Monaco. Many are also playing for local clubs in the country, proof that the center is also a supplier of talent to the local scene.
The center is run by Salif Keita himself who doubles as assistant technical director under Cameroonian Laurent Ebenemy who was appointed technical director last year, It draws its administrative and coaching staff from the National Institute of Sports and coaches seconded from Mali’s football federation.
According to secretary Timbino Traore, pupils are admitted to the center after several aptitude and medical tests upon payment of a registration fee of &10
But in a way its success story has hidden more than 20 other schools of football spread over the country and which, without reputable partners and a solid financial base, rely on selling one or more players to foreign clubs to launch themselves into the big time
Modibo Traore © African Soccer Magazine copyright
Pt 3
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ShattaCleve
New Member
USA
73 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2001 : 07:20:47 AM
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By Victor Sanou
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If Burkina Faso, the landlocked West African country, has suddenly become a power in African youth football and a regular competitor at global world youth championships, it owes it all to the generosity of a football-crazy head of state, Blaise Compaoré, and the vision of a Frenchman, Philippe Ezri.
With Compaoré supplying the moral and financial support, Planète Champion Internationale the cash and Ezri, the technical and organisational know-how, Burkina Faso's first and most popular football school - called Planète Champion Internationale - was established in 1997.
Some of its graduates such as Lamine Touré, Ousseynou Zongo and Boureima Maiga are already making waves in Belgium with Anderlecht and Lokeren and knocking at the door of the senior national team.
Four years on and the objectives of the school's founders have been partially fulfilled even though technical partners, Paris Saint-Germain of France have pulled out following the exit of their president Michel Denisot and lack of interest of incumbent Laurent Perpère.
Without PSG's annual contribution of $250,000 , the school has nevertheless forged ahead with its first set of players emerging as runners-up at the third African Under-17 championship in Guinea in 1999 and representing Africa at the world championship in New Zealand. The second set has followed suit, clinching tickets for Trinidad and Tobago 2001 at the fourth edition of the African championship held in Seychelles, with tremendous motivation from President Compaoré. A former footballer with the Army team, the head of state trains regularly with them, dines with them and provides them with cash incentives and kit.
Situated in the heart of Ouagadougou, the country's capital, Planète Champion Internationale is a boarding school with hundreds of pupils aged between 12 and 14. The kids' basic education is assured while they go through a daily regime of football training.
Under the technical direction of national Under-17 coach Jean -Michel Yaméogo, the school has blossomed, attracting the attention of English Premiership club Leeds United who sent a high profile delegation early this year to look at the set-up with a view to a tie-up.
Aside Planète Champion Internationale, several centres of football have sprung up in the country in the past two years. The Football Federation of Burkina Faso has two in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, recruiting kids between the ages of eight and ten with a long-term objective of building them into solid national team players.
Private individuals have not been left out. A businessman and football buff, El Hadj Noufou Ouédraogo, is building a centre in Ouahigouya, the birthplace of President Compaoré, while another one is envisaged in the north at Naba Kango.
But most of these centres lack modern, infrastructure, facilities and kits and while they can't be faulted on enthusiasm, the future of the kids raises questions as only a fraction of them will find clubs either locally or abroad.
Disclaimer, Warning Note & Copyright
Pt 4
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ShattaCleve
New Member
USA
73 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2001 : 07:28:49 AM
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Ghana pt 5 (all the remaining articles are taken from the website www.africansoccer.com (c))
If the pain of Ghana's perennial underachievement at senior international level has been wiped away by the remarkable brilliance of its youth teams in international competitions in the past decade, it is because more than a little attention has been accorded to youth soccer in the country.
Twice world champions in the Under-17 category in 1991 and 1995, runners-up in 1993 at the Under-20 level in Australia, bronze medal winners at the 1992 Olympic games in Barcelona and with a horde of African medals, the Ghanaians are the undisputed kings of youth football in Africa. The seeds for this string of successes had been planted late in the eighties with area juvenile teams known as Colts churning out loads of talented youngsters for clubs and Ghana Football Association to feed on. But the real youth soccer revolution started after the fantastic victory by the Under-17 team in Italy in 1991 with such players like Samuel Kuffour, Nii Lamptey, Gargo Mohammed, Daniel Addo and Emmanuel Duah becoming not only national heroes but joining top European clubs. As they grew in status and their wealth rubbed off on their relatives, most parents believed their sons' future lay within football and would do anything to have their boys registered in junior outfits.
The direct result of this explosion is the proliferation today of football schools in Ghana, with clubs and wealthy individuals gathering youngsters for training with the ultimate objective of seeing them through to the junior national teams and selling them abroad.
Today, there are lots of such arrangements in the country, but none yet has matched the Feyenoord Fetteh Football Academy launched in 1999 and managed by former national coach Sam Arday, one of the architects of Ghana's fantastic youth soccer success.
Sponsored by Dutch First Division club Feyenoord to the tune of $1.5m, the academy, situated at the beach resort town of Gomoa Fetteh about 60 kilometres from Accra, is easily the biggest, the richest and the best organised in the country, combining soccer coaching with traditional schoolwork and giving its students something of a promising future to look forward to.
Impressed by Sam Ardey's initiative and determined to give something back to the country, celebrated former national team captain Abedi Ayew Pele has also established a school called Nania football club whose reputation and popularity seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. Premiership side Liberty Professionals and reigning African champions Hearts of Oak now have well-structured youth teams while the GFA spends some of FIFA's annual grant on training camps for Under-14s and Under-17s at Winneba with former Starlets coach Francis Oti-Akenteng in charge.
Yet, Ghana's football has always been anchored on youth development. Back in the sixties the late president Dr Kwame Nkrumah launched the Academicals, a national football outfit built around secondary school students. The result was the emergence of a galaxy of stars such as Jabir Malik, Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, Osei Koffi and a horde of others who formed the bedrock of the Black Stars side that would rule the continental soccer scene, winning the African Nations Cup twice in 1965, and 1968.
It stands to reason that neglect of this concept by Nkrumah's successors might have been responsible for the dearth of talent in the country in the 1970s.
Now a new momentum is driving the Ghanaian game and there is a feeling that with so many schools of football springing up and talent being unearthed, the future of Ghanaian football does look bright. However, like the Feyenoord Fetteh academy, the emerging youngsters need to be given an education in addition to an apprenticeship in professional football
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ShattaCleve
New Member
USA
73 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2001 : 07:30:35 AM
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Ghana future plans (c) African Soccer.com
African Soccer Magazine
May 2001
Special Report || CONTENTS || SUBSCRIBE ||
Football academies - Mr Teacher Man
Quietly and steadily Sam Arday is laying a solid foundation for Ghanaian football.
Maurice Quansah met the ex-Black Stars coach at the Feyenoord Fetteh school and quizzed him about its philosophy and practice
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African Soccer: Why did you set up this academy and how did Feyenoord Rotterdam come about?
Sam Arday: The idea came to me in 1995 after the Under-17 World championship when I was struck by the terribly poor educational background of my players. Believe or not, some could not even write their names. I felt I could improve that by setting up a school to impart basic academic and football knowledge to youngsters. I contacted a few people but received no favourable response until I met a representative of Feyenoord who had been to Côte d'Ivoire and was impressed with ASEC Academy. He said to me that Feyenoord's president was exploring the possibility of establishing an academy in Africa. We had a series of discussions and finally struck a deal. But to be honest I did not know it would turn out to be something as huge as this.
African Soccer: There are famous football academies in Holland, France England and Côte d'Ivoire. Which of them did you model yours on?
Sam Arday: We understudy the ASEC academy because it is in Africa and has relatively the same concept as ours. Before we got down to business, I spent some time at the ASEC Academy in Abidjan and learnt a few things from them.
African Soccer: What are the short and long term objectives of your project?
Sam Arday: We have no short-term plans. This is a long-term project and the bottom line is education. We went and selected boys nationwide in primary school competitions. We then enrolled them into our school. Ours is a boarding school with good teachers who teach English, French, Science and other technical subjects. Our long-term objective is to produce a player who can read his contract, who will not leave Ghana before he attains the age of 19 and who could interact decently with his mates from any part of the world without any form of complex. We want to produce a player who, if unable to play football, could be useful to society in another way and live a decent and happy life. Having worked with most of our top premiership clubs and achieved a level of success with the national youth and the senior teams, I know the frustration players go through when they get seriously injured and have hopes shattered. Even coaches are faced with such decisions when things don't go right and they want to get out of the game and don't know how.
African Soccer: What are the criteria for selection into the Academy?
Sam Arday: A student should first have potential as a player. If he's not educated, we will provide him with basic education as long as we have the blessing of his parents. We offer a five-year scholarship. But it's not strictly charity because, when the child develops his full potential and makes it big on the international stage at, say 20, we at Feyenoord Rotterdam could recoup our investment. Because we place emphasis on education, we are affiliated with the Ghana Education Service and even have players enrolled in senior secondary schools. But it is not easy to gain admission to Feyenoord Fetteh Academy.
African Soccer: How was the response for your first recruitment?
Sam Arday: Seven hundred players were screened for the first generation out of which only 17 were picked. For the second generation we screened about 300 players and chose 13. We actually combed every nook and cranny of Ghana to find these players. We have a team, Feyenoord Salgado, competing in the first division of the league, so even when a player completes his education he can still play in our senior team and remain in the country and help develop the game. The reason for the senior team is that I believe strongly that the player develops better in his own environment when he is young than if he goes to Europe.
African Soccer: Is your Academy a School of Excellence or a farm where players are groomed to be exported to European clubs?
Sam Arday: Our objective is not to produce for sale. I mean, this is not a poultry farm. My ultimate goal is to lay a very solid foundation for Ghanaian soccer by imparting modern football skills to talented youngsters and at the same time expose them to the rudiments of education.
African Soccer: Give us an overview of the structure of your Academy.
Sam Arday: We have a Belgian managing director, Karel Brokken, and I am technical director and coach of the first generation outfit. There are five coaches, headed by Ato Hammond handling the senior team. He is assisted by Robert Tetteh and Sampson Lamptey, both ex-Black Stars players. The second generation outfit is handled by a Dutchman, Jan Gosgens. Our supervisory body is Feyenoord Rotterdam, in Holland, whose senior technical director oversees the whole project.
African Soccer: How do other Ghanaian clubs benefit from your project?
Sam Arday: If Hearts of Oak, Asante Kotoko, Great Olympics or any club is interested in any of our players, all they need to do is reach an agreement with us and the player's parents
African Soccer: What's a day like in your academy?
Sam Arday: The boys are up by 5.30am They train between 6.00 and 7.30am and by 9am they are in classes for serious academic work. They return for lunch and siesta. Between 3.00 and 5.00pm, they are back on the field training. Then they take a shower, have dinner do their homework, watch TV and by 9.00pm - it is bedtime.
African Soccer: How are their ages categorised?
Sam Arday: We selected the first generation between the ages of 12 and 13, so some are 14 years old now and others are about 16. With the second generation , selection was based on players between the ages of 12 and 13. We check their ages, by insisting on genuine original birth certificates which we cross check with relevant authorities. In addition we weigh them regularly, so we are 90 per cent sure of the accuracy of their claims.
African Soccer: How do you monitor their progress both in the classroom and on the field?
Sam Arday: Since they are in the boarding house, it's not difficult to follow their progress. We have a daily programme and each month we record the player's weight and height to ascertain if they are growing properly, if they are eating too much or too little etc. With such details, we are able to regulate their activities and this has proved successful so far. Every Saturday morning we play a match against other teams and rate them accordingly. There's a lot of competition among the boys. The top rated player of a particular week sometimes finds himself dropping to seventh position the following week and vice-versa.
African Soccer: Was there any particular reason you decided to cite the Academy in this part of the country and how's the community benefiting from this facility?
Sam Arday: It has been beneficial to the community because we've employed a number of locals to work here. And anytime we're playing the community troops down to watch us. This provides free entertainment. As for the location, we wanted a serene atmosphere and here we are surrounded by a lagoon and the beach. I think this place is good for us.
African Soccer: This looks a very expensive project to run. How much does Feyenoord pump into the Academy?
Sam Arday: The project cost about $1.5 million for its establishment, but Feyenoord give us an annual sum which I am not permitted to divulge. We intend to recruit more students, so with time we will expand and offer more job opportunities.
African Soccer: How do you feel about Ghana's Under-17 team's elimination from the African and World championships?
Sam Arday: It is a disaster. If with our pedigree at youth level we could not qualify for the Under-17 championship, it means something has gone wrong. But maybe that is the case and what we need is to go back to the drawing-board. I have no doubt we will bounce back provided we correct our mistakes.
African Soccer: Do you feel disappointed that your successes with the youth teams have not been translated to the senior level?
Sam Arday: When people talk about Ghana's underachievement at the senior level, they are obviously referring to World Cup qualification. But a lot of factors need to be put right before this can be achieved. Players must be committed and proper contact established with their clubs. The administrators must play their part, the coach must do his job. It involves a whole gamut of responsibilities. Interestingly, all the problems we had in 1996/97 for the France '98 qualifiers have resurfaced, uncommitted players, frivolous officials, bickering and so on. Given Ghana's potential, it really hurts, but we can't make it unless we do the right things.
African Soccer: One of the reasons why Ghana's football is on the decline is that promising youngsters like Nii Odartey Lamptey, Emmanuel Bentil, Awudu Issaka and a host of others who showed a lot of potential at the junior level have faded away. You handled these players, why did they eclipse so early?
Sam Arday: It all boils down to lack of discipline. When a player is disciplined, whatever his age, he performs. Many people have talked about age falsification, but that is not where the problem lies. You have seen players like Romario and Hossam Hassan who, at 35 are still at the height of their careers and better than most younger players. The bottom line is discipline. If a player eschews arrogance and inculcates a high sense of discipline he can move mountains.
African Soccer: Don't you think that these players moved to Europe too early and failed to cope with the demand of soccer at the highest levels?
Sam Arday: I agree with that, but that is too easy to say. Why then did Abedi Pele succeed in Europe? Why is Samuel Kuffour doing so well at Bayern Munich? The European society is different from African culture of course, but those who made it worked hard, knew why they were there and handled pressure effectively. Many, and unfortunately they are in the majority, got carried away and were swallowed by the foreign society.
African Soccer: Do you have players in the mould of Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah in your school?
Sam Arday: I have seen a few who are coming up very well and promise to be future greats. But they need to work hard, to embrace education, be exposed to the vicissitudes of life and be properly guided. Talented footballers abound in Ghana and Africa. What has been missing is a well-established grooming process. This is what we at Feyenoord Fetteh are trying to provide.
African Soccer: What makes your academy different from others and how would you convince me to bring my child to your academy and not any other?
Sam Arday: We are organised and we have very experienced coaches. We pay careful attention to the systematic development of the physical and mental stimuli of a young player. During my active years with the senior teams, celebrated players even came with glaring technical flaws and we spent so much time perfecting their shooting skills, ball-control and other things that should have been taken care of at the early stage of their lives.
African Soccer: Would you say the future of Ghanaian football is bright with the establishment of football schools?
Sam Arday: I think every region in the country should have a soccer academy. The trouble is it is a capital-intensive project. The other alternative is the existing system where the association forms youth teams like the Colts which has proved to be very good. I'm happy that the National Juvenile Association of the FA is now taking youth football very seriously, but their activities need to be streamlined and given lots of assistance.
African Soccer: How long before the nation starts reaping the fruits of your academy?
Sam Arday: I believe that in the next four years about ten members of the first generation of my academy will be ready for the national Under-20 team. I will be filled with a great sense of satisfaction to see my boys win laurels.
African Soccer: You've handled both the senior and youth sides in the past. Which of them gave you the most satisfaction?
Sam Arday: I enjoy working with players at all levels. But for me Okwawu United was the best team I've ever worked with. When I returned from a course in France, I realised my club Great Olympics was embroiled in conflict I then went to Okwawu United and put what I had learned in France into practice. We won the FA Cup and Super Cup in 1986. That gave me immense satisfaction.
African Soccer: What about winning the Olympic bronze in Barcelona in 1992 and the Under-17 World Cup in 1995?
Sam Arday: My most memorable success was the Olympic bronze. It was Ghana's first success on the global stage. I could not describe my feeling in Barcelona when the announcer said it was the first Olympic medal by an African side .
African Soccer: Throughout your career as coach, have you any regrets about a goal you couldn't implement or achieve?
Sam Arday: I am doing now what I had always wanted to do, running an Academy of this kind. I've not finished my calling as a coach and who knows, one day I may take up the national team again. When the Academy is producing players for the under-17, under-20 teams, Black Stars and some gain promotion into Feyenoord Rotterdam, I'll be most happy and have a sense of fulfillment. Then I can retire a happy man.
Disclaimer, Warning Note & Copyright
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Barry
Starting Member
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2001 : 09:21:10 AM
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There is absolutely no reason why portions of these models cannot be adopted and incorporated in a Jamaican program. Afterall, these are third world nations with limited resources and many of these countries face more adverse realities than Jamaica.
What they lack in resources they compensate with vision, philanthropy and the drive to succeed.
Excellent work Shatta!
Ghana future plans (c) African Soccer.com
African Soccer Magazine
May 2001
Special Report || CONTENTS || SUBSCRIBE ||
Football academies - Mr Teacher Man
Quietly and steadily Sam Arday is laying a solid foundation for Ghanaian football.
Maurice Quansah met the ex-Black Stars coach at the Feyenoord Fetteh school and quizzed him about its philosophy and practice
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African Soccer: Why did you set up this academy and how did Feyenoord Rotterdam come about?
Sam Arday: The idea came to me in 1995 after the Under-17 World championship when I was struck by the terribly poor educational background of my players. Believe or not, some could not even write their names. I felt I could improve that by setting up a school to impart basic academic and football knowledge to youngsters. I contacted a few people but received no favourable response until I met a representative of Feyenoord who had been to Côte d'Ivoire and was impressed with ASEC Academy. He said to me that Feyenoord's president was exploring the possibility of establishing an academy in Africa. We had a series of discussions and finally struck a deal. But to be honest I did not know it would turn out to be something as huge as this.
African Soccer: There are famous football academies in Holland, France England and Côte d'Ivoire. Which of them did you model yours on?
Sam Arday: We understudy the ASEC academy because it is in Africa and has relatively the same concept as ours. Before we got down to business, I spent some time at the ASEC Academy in Abidjan and learnt a few things from them.
African Soccer: What are the short and long term objectives of your project?
Sam Arday: We have no short-term plans. This is a long-term project and the bottom line is education. We went and selected boys nationwide in primary school competitions. We then enrolled them into our school. Ours is a boarding school with good teachers who teach English, French, Science and other technical subjects. Our long-term objective is to produce a player who can read his contract, who will not leave Ghana before he attains the age of 19 and who could interact decently with his mates from any part of the world without any form of complex. We want to produce a player who, if unable to play football, could be useful to society in another way and live a decent and happy life. Having worked with most of our top premiership clubs and achieved a level of success with the national youth and the senior teams, I know the frustration players go through when they get seriously injured and have hopes shattered. Even coaches are faced with such decisions when things don't go right and they want to get out of the game and don't know how.
African Soccer: What are the criteria for selection into the Academy?
Sam Arday: A student should first have potential as a player. If he's not educated, we will provide him with basic education as long as we have the blessing of his parents. We offer a five-year scholarship. But it's not strictly charity because, when the child develops his full potential and makes it big on the international stage at, say 20, we at Feyenoord Rotterdam could recoup our investment. Because we place emphasis on education, we are affiliated with the Ghana Education Service and even have players enrolled in senior secondary schools. But it is not easy to gain admission to Feyenoord Fetteh Academy.
African Soccer: How was the response for your first recruitment?
Sam Arday: Seven hundred players were screened for the first generation out of which only 17 were picked. For the second generation we screened about 300 players and chose 13. We actually combed every nook and cranny of Ghana to find these players. We have a team, Feyenoord Salgado, competing in the first division of the league, so even when a player completes his education he can still play in our senior team and remain in the country and help develop the game. The reason for the senior team is that I believe strongly that the player develops better in his own environment when he is young than if he goes to Europe.
African Soccer: Is your Academy a School of Excellence or a farm where players are groomed to be exported to European clubs?
Sam Arday: Our objective is not to produce for sale. I mean, this is not a poultry farm. My ultimate goal is to lay a very solid foundation for Ghanaian soccer by imparting modern football skills to talented youngsters and at the same time expose them to the rudiments of education.
African Soccer: Give us an overview of the structure of your Academy.
Sam Arday: We have a Belgian managing director, Karel Brokken, and I am technical director and coach of the first generation outfit. There are five coaches, headed by Ato Hammond handling the senior team. He is assisted by Robert Tetteh and Sampson Lamptey, both ex-Black Stars players. The second generation outfit is handled by a Dutchman, Jan Gosgens. Our supervisory body is Feyenoord Rotterdam, in Holland, whose senior technical director oversees the whole project.
African Soccer: How do other Ghanaian clubs benefit from your project?
Sam Arday: If Hearts of Oak, Asante Kotoko, Great Olympics or any club is interested in any of our players, all they need to do is reach an agreement with us and the player's parents
African Soccer: What's a day like in your academy?
Sam Arday: The boys are up by 5.30am They train between 6.00 and 7.30am and by 9am they are in classes for serious academic work. They return for lunch and siesta. Between 3.00 and 5.00pm, they are back on the field training. Then they take a shower, have dinner do their homework, watch TV and by 9.00pm - it is bedtime.
African Soccer: How are their ages categorised?
Sam Arday: We selected the first generation between the ages of 12 and 13, so some are 14 years old now and others are about 16. With the second generation , selection was based on players between the ages of 12 and 13. We check their ages, by insisting on genuine original birth certificates which we cross check with relevant authorities. In addition we weigh them regularly, so we are 90 per cent sure of the accuracy of their claims.
African Soccer: How do you monitor their progress both in the classroom and on the field?
Sam Arday: Since they are in the boarding house, it's not difficult to follow their progress. We have a daily programme and each month we record the player's weight and height to ascertain if they are growing properly, if they are eating too much or too little etc. With such details, we are able to regulate their activities and this has proved successful so far. Every Saturday morning we play a match against other teams and rate them accordingly. There's a lot of competition among the boys. The top rated player of a particular week sometimes finds himself dropping to seventh position the following week and vice-versa.
African Soccer: Was there any particular reason you decided to cite the Academy in this part of the country and how's the community benefiting from this facility?
Sam Arday: It has been beneficial to the community because we've employed a number of locals to work here. And anytime we're playing the community troops down to watch us. This provides free entertainment. As for the location, we wanted a serene atmosphere and here we are surrounded by a lagoon and the beach. I think this place is good for us.
African Soccer: This looks a very expensive project to run. How much does Feyenoord pump into the Academy?
Sam Arday: The project cost about $1.5 million for its establishment, but Feyenoord give us an annual sum which I am not permitted to divulge. We intend to recruit more students, so with time we will expand and offer more job opportunities.
African Soccer: How do you feel about Ghana's Under-17 team's elimination from the African and World championships?
Sam Arday: It is a disaster. If with our pedigree at youth level we could not qualify for the Under-17 championship, it means something has gone wrong. But maybe that is the case and what we need is to go back to the drawing-board. I have no doubt we will bounce back provided we correct our mistakes.
African Soccer: Do you feel disappointed that your successes with the youth teams have not been translated to the senior level?
Sam Arday: When people talk about Ghana's underachievement at the senior level, they are obviously referring to World Cup qualification. But a lot of factors need to be put right before this can be achieved. Players must be committed and proper contact established with their clubs. The administrators must play their part, the coach must do his job. It involves a whole gamut of responsibilities. Interestingly, all the problems we had in 1996/97 for the France '98 qualifiers have resurfaced, uncommitted players, frivolous officials, bickering and so on. Given Ghana's potential, it really hurts, but we can't make it unless we do the right things.
African Soccer: One of the reasons why Ghana's football is on the decline is that promising youngsters like Nii Odartey Lamptey, Emmanuel Bentil, Awudu Issaka and a host of others who showed a lot of potential at the junior level have faded away. You handled these players, why did they eclipse so early?
Sam Arday: It all boils down to lack of discipline. When a player is disciplined, whatever his age, he performs. Many people have talked about age falsification, but that is not where the problem lies. You have seen players like Romario and Hossam Hassan who, at 35 are still at the height of their careers and better than most younger players. The bottom line is discipline. If a player eschews arrogance and inculcates a high sense of discipline he can move mountains.
African Soccer: Don't you think that these players moved to Europe too early and failed to cope with the demand of soccer at the highest levels?
Sam Arday: I agree with that, but that is too easy to say. Why then did Abedi Pele succeed in Europe? Why is Samuel Kuffour doing so well at Bayern Munich? The European society is different from African culture of course, but those who made it worked hard, knew why they were there and handled pressure effectively. Many, and unfortunately they are in the majority, got carried away and were swallowed by the foreign society.
African Soccer: Do you have players in the mould of Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah in your school?
Sam Arday: I have seen a few who are coming up very well and promise to be future greats. But they need to work hard, to embrace education, be exposed to the vicissitudes of life and be properly guided. Talented footballers abound in Ghana and Africa. What has been missing is a well-established grooming process. This is what we at Feyenoord Fetteh are trying to provide.
African Soccer: What makes your academy different from others and how would you convince me to bring my child to your academy and not any other?
Sam Arday: We are organised and we have very experienced coaches. We pay careful attention to the systematic development of the physical and mental stimuli of a young player. During my active years with the senior teams, celebrated players even came with glaring technical flaws and we spent so much time perfecting their shooting skills, ball-control and other things that should have been taken care of at the early stage of their lives.
African Soccer: Would you say the future of Ghanaian football is bright with the establishment of football schools?
Sam Arday: I think every region in the country should have a soccer academy. The trouble is it is a capital-intensive project. The other alternative is the existing system where the association forms youth teams like the Colts which has proved to be very good. I'm happy that the National Juvenile Association of the FA is now taking youth football very seriously, but their activities need to be streamlined and given lots of assistance.
African Soccer: How long before the nation starts reaping the fruits of your academy?
Sam Arday: I believe that in the next four years about ten members of the first generation of my academy will be ready for the national Under-20 team. I will be filled with a great sense of satisfaction to see my boys win laurels.
African Soccer: You've handled both the senior and youth sides in the past. Which of them gave you the most satisfaction?
Sam Arday: I enjoy working with players at all levels. But for me Okwawu United was the best team I've ever worked with. When I returned from a course in France, I realised my club Great Olympics was embroiled in conflict I then went to Okwawu United and put what I had learned in France into practice. We won the FA Cup and Super Cup in 1986. That gave me immense satisfaction.
African Soccer: What about winning the Olympic bronze in Barcelona in 1992 and the Under-17 World Cup in 1995?
Sam Arday: My most memorable success was the Olympic bronze. It was Ghana's first success on the global stage. I could not describe my feeling in Barcelona when the announcer said it was the first Olympic medal by an African side .
African Soccer: Throughout your career as coach, have you any regrets about a goal you couldn't implement or achieve?
Sam Arday: I am doing now what I had always wanted to do, running an Academy of this kind. I've not finished my calling as a coach and who knows, one day I may take up the national team again. When the Academy is producing players for the under-17, under-20 teams, Black Stars and some gain promotion into Feyenoord Rotterdam, I'll be most happy and have a sense of fulfillment. Then I can retire a happy man.
Disclaimer, Warning Note & Copyright
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ShattaCleve
New Member
USA
73 Posts |
Posted - Sep 25 2001 : 09:26:13 AM
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Mali you have made me proud. ONe man with a vision and instead of a bag of excuses they just did it
respect
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Karl
Senior Member
USA
914 Posts |
Posted - Sep 25 2001 : 09:54:06 AM
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quote:
Mali you have made me proud. ONe man with a vision and instead of a bag of excuses they just did it
respect
Can I add? - The JFF forgets our schools to their peril. The academy does not have to follow the very same pattern as that in Mali. Jamaica is a small country and each High school could be an mini academy...if the trained personel is on staff. Perhaps the best of the best could them be channelled into an institution, that takes the process to a higher level, an institution, such as the GC Foster. Then a GC Foster training center, where blossoming coachs/TDs could attend various inservice seminars/courses etc...... and have practical obversation of the GC Foster youth programme..... and NPL Team organisation.... and take that learned info out to spread tghe gospel...
KEEP AT IT! IT WILL HAPPEN!
Respect, Shatta.
Karl |
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ShattaCleve
New Member
USA
73 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2001 : 10:42:06 AM
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You are absolutely right Karl we have to pay attention to the teachers. Who's teaching the teachers? With proper coaching from a young age we would correct a lot of the flaws in our technique.
However Karl that would require a central body to administrate and also a place where teh vision for the future is plotted. Again it comes full circle to the need for a center of excellence/academy. It might just be a one story building where we keep tapes etc but we need to approach the game in a more scientific manner.
Am I to believe that we are too dunce to do so
respect
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