Ghana: David (Titi) Accam wins Nike Academy Scholarship
Shout-africa.com ,correspondent ,from Accra,Ghana – David (Titi) Accam, a graduate of The Right to Dream Academy, in partnership with Vodafone Ghana, has been named as one of the eight winners of “The Chance” competition. ‘’The Chance’’ competition is a Nike global search for undiscovered young football talents. Winners earn a spot to join the elite Nike Academy, where they experience high-quality facilities, learn from top-level coaches, train like professionals and play a full season of football in the UK under the eyes of premier league scouts.
David made it to this enviable stage of joining the Nike Academy from July 2011-May 2012 to complete a professional level football-training programme after competing in both national and global trials.
He is one of Right to Dream’s second generation, who graduated in 2008 from the Right to Dream Academy, in partnership with Vodafone Ghana, to pursue his studies at Hartbury College, University of the West of England. From a young age, Titi demonstrated a natural flare for football showing great creativity on the pitch and an ability to make remarkable runs.
Announcing the winners, Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal FC, said, “The Chance gives young players around the world the opportunity to showcase their talent, enhance their game and offers the ultimate dream of becoming a professional player”. “The eight players who have won their place at the Nike Academy demonstrated great technical ability and dedication to succeed at the final trials,” he noted.
“Everyone at Right to Dream is delighted for Titi: he has worked very hard for this opportunity and we all hope it leads to great success for him. Titi has always had fantastic ability, the creativity to unlock defences and win important matches at an impressive standard. With the opportunities, expertise and professional set-up that Nike will be offering him, we are very hopeful that he will be able to make it to the next step and achieve his goal of playing professional football,” Andy Farrant, Academy Manager, remarked.
Titi commented that, “It was a great feeling to be selected as one of the top eight players. This opening means a great deal to me and I will work hard to ensure that I take full advantage of this opportunity. I very much hope that this will act as a stepping-stone towards my professional career. Right to Dream has taught me how to take on challenges and I intend to use these skills during my time with Nike”.
Commending David for his feat, Carmen Bruce-Annan, Head of Corporate Communications, Vodafone Ghana noted ‘’the achievement of Titi and his team mates of the Right to Dream Academy is a clear manifestation of Vodafone’s brand promise of empowering people to achieve the most of life’s opportunities’’.
Last year the Right to Dream (RtD) Academy signed a three-year partnership agreement with Vodafone Ghana, enabling RtD to continue to deliver world class coaching and a specialised programme of personal development, education and leadership skills to some of the brightest but underprivileged young football prospects in Ghana.
To date, five RtD graduates have signed professional contracts for international clubs and a further 23 continue their studies whilst furthering their football ambitions on full scholarships at leading universities, private boarding schools and colleges in the US and the UK. Other RtD graduates either work within the sports industry or have secured contracts with Ghanaian Premier League clubs. In addition to mentoring students at the Academy, they also assist at local development projects on a voluntary basis.
