Antonio helps young Ghanaians chase Premier League dreams
Samba Stars Academy, a Ghanaian youth football academy backed by former West Ham and Nottingham Forest striker Michail Antonio, has brought a squad of teenage players to England for two and a half months in a bid to earn them professional contracts. The trip is unusual, as scouts typically travel to west Africa rather than academies bringing players directly to English clubs, and it reflects growing efforts to showcase Ghanaian talent to European scouts and coaches.
Twenty players, hosted by Brook House College in Market Harborough and training with National League North side Harborough Town, have played and trained against EFL and non-league youth teams, including a 9-0 win over Dorking Wanderers, while clubs such as Bournemouth, Everton, Manchester City, Charlton, Preston, Barnsley and Peterborough have taken players on trial. Nineteen of the twenty squad members initially had visa applications denied before being admitted on appeal. The academy, based in Kumasi and building a new facility in Bompata, has already produced one success story in Listowell Lord Hinneh, who joined Middlesbrough in February, while former Premier League recruitment figure Rob Newman believes several current players could reach European football within months.
- Michail Antonio's Ghanaian academy brings 20 teens to England for trials
- Bournemouth, Everton, Man City among clubs offering trials this summer
- Nineteen of twenty players had visas initially denied, later admitted
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Samba Stars Academy is a football academy in Kumasi, Ghana, set up to help talented young players from the country get spotted by professional clubs. Its most prominent backer is Michail Antonio, a former Premier League striker who played for West Ham and Nottingham Forest. Normally, European scouts travel to west Africa to look for players, so the academy sending a group of its teenage talents to England instead is an unusual approach.
The trip has seen a squad of young Ghanaian players based in Market Harborough, training with a local non-league club and playing matches against youth teams from various English clubs. Several established Premier League and EFL sides have already invited individual players for trials, and one previous academy graduate has gone on to sign for a professional club, giving organisers a template for what success might look like.
The story matters because it touches on how young African footballers try to break into European football, a pathway that is often difficult and expensive, including obstacles such as visa applications. It also reflects wider questions about how talent from countries like Ghana is scouted, developed and given opportunities abroad.