The Kwame Bofrot Foundation has launched a football scouting programme in Ghana, aimed at identifying young football talent and offering them a dual opportunity: to pursue professional careers and secure academic scholarships in the United States.
The initiative is led by Levi Korum, an American footballer who grew up in Ghana and founded the Kwame Bofrot Foundation. A former trainee at Lizzy Sports Complex, Korum later played collegiate football in the U.S. and has returned with coaches from Grand Canyon University and other American institutions to scout promising players.
“I felt God touch my heart to bring some of these coaches back to Ghana so that they could scout some players. Korum said. “There’s a lot of talent here and I feel like there aren’t many opportunities for them to go outside and pursue their dreams.”
The programme, held at the Borstal Institute astroturf in Accra, drew dozens of aspiring footballers on Thursday morning. According to Korum, the foundation is collaborating with U.S. universities such as the University of South Florida, Justice University, the University of Jamestown, and Pointe University, some of which are scouting through video footage and virtual evaluations.
“We’re killing two birds with one stone,” Korum explained. “We’re giving the players the chance to pursue their dreams of professional football, but also a chance for them to receive education as well. So that if their football career doesn’t work out or if they get injured, they have the education to fall back and they can learn something.”
“I have invested all my blood sweats and tears into this. I truly believe in that, Ghana has done so much for me in football, so it’s only best for me to come back and give back to them”
The programme has already borne fruit. A trial held earlier this year resulted in one player receiving a full scholarship to a U.S. university. The foundation now aims to help eight to twelve players each year access similar opportunities.
Among the visiting coaches is Daniel de Oliveira Sechi, a former coach of the Venezuelan national team and current member of the Grand Canyon University technical staff. Sechi expressed admiration for the quality and discipline of the Ghanaian players.
“What stands out is how well they dominate all aspects of the game, especially in attack,” he said.
“They are aggressive but defensive they are very disciplined. The try to recover the ball as fast as they can. That’s the modern soccer. Am very impressed with the level of this tryout because in someway that is what I expected, I didn’t expect less.”
Sechi noted that while many players around the world excel in offensive play, defensive discipline is often lacking. However, he praised the Ghanaian players for balancing both.
“They try to recover their spaces defensively, which is important in soccer he added. “We like flamboyant player, I mean creative players, and that’s very important.
“I think, the average level here is higher than what I’ve seen in the U.S. right now”
Sechi affirmed that the coaching team sees this collaboration as a long-term commitment, not a one-off engagement.
“This is a great idea by the Kwame Bofrot Foundation. Our head coach had a vision for us to visit Ghana soccer through the foundation and I think we will repeat it.
“If it is possible, we will bring some of the coaches here. The idea is not to favour us, the idea is to help these kids also have the opportunity to showcase their talent in the US, which is a growing fastest country in Soccer.”
Looking ahead, the Kwame Bofrot Foundation plans to expand the trials and partner with more institutions in the U.S. Korum and Sechi both expressed hope that the programme will grow into a consistent, annual bridge linking Ghanaian footballers with global academic and athletic opportunities.
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