The retired football stars teamed up for an exhibition match to climax the football clinic for the youth in the Bui enclave
Football fans at Bui in the Banda District of the Bono Region were treated to a thriller as some former players of the Black Stars and other national teams played against a selected side from the Bui Enclave in an exhibition match at the weekend.
Captained by former Black Queens’ goalkeeper, Memunatu Sulemana, the star-studded team included former Black Stars players John Paintsil, Isaac Vorsah, Peter Ofori-Quaye and Kofi Amponsah , as well as some retired players who plied their trade with premier clubs in Ghana and abroad.
Hundreds of fans filled the Bui Town Park and defied the rains that came midway into the match to catch a glimpse of the football stars.
The select side defeated the retired stars 2-1
Talent development
The football clinic was organised by the Bui Power Authority under its Talent Development Programme in line with its corporate social responsibilities for the host communities.
Out of the 291 young footballers identified and trained from 14 communities in the Bui enclave, 40 were selected for further training and assessment.
After further training, five participants, including Robert Simba Bio, who emerged as the best player, were chosen to be sponsored by BPA for grooming at the John Paintsil Football Academy in Accra for a period of one year.
It was against this background that a match was arranged between a select side of the Bui Enclave and former Black Stars players.
New pitch
Speaking after the match, the Director of Estates of the BPA, Salifu Wumbilla, said it was the dream of the organisation to develop football talents of the five selected youth and others, to enable them to become future national and international stars.
He explained that after realising that football talents abound in the area, the authority during a fun game organised in January, 2022, decided to organize a clinic and competition among the communities.
He disclosed that a site had been identified for the construction of an artificial turf within the Bui Enclave to provide a decent venue for the youth to meet regularly to develop their skills.
For his part, Painstil said it was the aim of his football academy to take some of the youth from the streets and develop their football talents to enable them to provide for themselves and others in future.
“What I have seen here is marvellous. The five people we have chosen can play anywhere in the world”, he stated adding that “football talents abound in Ghana, we need to do more to place Ghana at its right place in the world of football”.
