Some of the players at the academy

The above quote from Tom Brady are the words that inspires 26-year-old coach Emmanuel Tagoe in his work.
His passion for the game is unwavering, so even with just a small group of com¬mitted players, he continues to pursue his goal of being a successful football coach around the world.
The dream that gave birth to the Adjen Kotoku Football Academy is what has kept the majority of young peo¬ple off the streets, believing in the proverb “catch them young and they shall be yours forever.”
His understanding and belief in footballers taking formal education seriously influenced his decision to select young players between the ages of nine and 16.
This has allowed rising talents to attend school and continue to pursue their aspirations of playing foot¬ball like Asamoah Gyan and others.
It has promoted-close links between professional football clubs and the com¬munity.
Adjen Kotoku football club has been in existence since 2013 with the motive of becoming the platform for young people in Adjen Kotoku to express their footballing talent which has become a life-changing career for many people.
The team has about 40 players and being molded into professional footballers to feed most of the profes¬sional football clubs in Ghana and Europe.
The team’s involvement in the Greater Accra division two league has created a lot of economic avenues for the community folks to capitalise on. Sellers around the neigh¬bouring villages make a lot of sales on weekends when the team plays any game at the Adjen Kotoku Park.
This has become another major source of livelihood for those in the community.
The admirable activities of the club has attracted a lot of people to participate in their communal activities.
The team has so far pro¬duced a number of players who ply their trade at the highest level outside the neighborhood and the impact on Adjen Kotoku cannot be overlooked.

By Theophilus Sogah