The first five players selected from the BPA’s Talent Development Program have commenced their training with the John Paintsil Football Academy in Accra.
The fantastic five, namely Robert Bio Semba, Collins Adoesom, Kofi Kane, Mohammed Saani and Emmanuel Jimah were selected under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Bui Power Authority and the John Paintsil Footbll Academy to harness football talentin the Bui enclave.
The MOU stipulates that between 2022 and 2023, the Authority will organise scouting matches for the communities around the BGS in order to select, with assistance from the academy head, ex-Black Stars player, John Paintsill, five players from the entrants to be given professional training at the academy for 12 months; with the hope that they make it further into local or international leagues.
During a brief ceremony to handover the players officially to the John Paintsil Academy, the Chief Executive Officer of Bui Power Authority, Hon. Samuel Kofi Dzamesi, urged the players to be disciplined and aspire to become future football stars of Ghana. He explained to them that the Authority is taking responsibility for all their needs at the academy so the least expected of them is to train hard and pay attention to any coaching given.
He went on to advise them to see themselves as pioneers of the program and their success will determine the success of the program itself, which will in turn craete opportunities for others in the community. He stressed that the Authority will not tolerate any reports of lazy attitudes during their stay at the academy.
Mr. Paintsil, Director of the John Paintsil Football Academy, thanked the CEO, as well as the Authority and pledged that the academy will do everything in its power to better the players. He stated that he was very optimistic about the future of the players due to the qualities shown and that they had enough potential to compete in any international league.
The players took turns individually to thank the CEO and staff of BPA for the opportunity and gave the assurance of hard work to ensure that the trust put in them is not fruitless.
Present at the ceremony were Mary Nyarko, Deputy Director, Human and Natural Resources as well as Gabriel Apatu, Senior Officer, Community Relations.
One of the players, Collins Adeosom was in Bui for a family issue and could not make it to the ceremony.