Ashimeru, Kudus, Gideon tout strong credentials of football academies

Three Ghanaian internationals Kudus Mohammed, Majid Ashimeru and Gideon Mensah have touted the importance of football academies in the early stages of young footballers.

The trio disclosed how the academy process has efficiently helped their progress to mid-years.

Majid Ashimeru and Gideon Mensah who both played for WAFA, reechoed this.

“Academy football is really important for a young, up and coming player especially in Ghana. It helps you to improve. It is much easier when you go to play in Europe,” said Ashimeru to Juliet Bawuah of TV3.

Gideon added that: “I had the talent before going there but there you have the advanced coaches who take you through your career, what to do and not to do. It helped me a lot when i came to Europe. There were some things i didn’t have to learn because i already had it at the academy.”

A widely-held belief and view for proponents of the system, it is spoken off well by the players themselves who pass through the model such as Kudus, who played for the Right to Dream Academy before moving to Europe.

“It is very important; at Right to Dream, we travelled and played some of the teams in Europe so when you go there, you are already used to it professionally,” says Kudus.

For most young Ghanaian players, the opportunity to get Academy training is a golden windfall as it provides them the right platform to nurse their talents.

Kudus plays for FC Nordsjælland in the Danish Superliga. Majid Ashimeru plays for Red Bull Salzburg. Gideon Mensah plays for Belgian club Zulte Waregem on loan from Red Bull Salzburg.

By Juliet Bawuah/TV3