Unlicensed soccer academies are springing up across Africa, further impoverishing the region’s poor with false proclamations of ties with big European clubs. According to the Confederation of African Football, soccer’s governing body in Africa, all soccer academies must be registered with the local government or football association. The problem is, most poor families know nothing about the accreditation process and continue to send money to these fake institutions hoping their child could become the next Michael Essien or Didier Drogba. According to a report in the Observer, the problem is worsening as more and more African soccer players succeed in glamorous leagues like England’s Premiership.
In the Ghanaian capital of Accra, host of the African Nations Cup which begins next week, there are an estimated 500 illegal football academies, with thousands more spread across the country. They carry Biblical names like “Sons of Moses” or “Lovers of Jesus Christ.”Many are run by the roadside without proper training facilities or licensed coaches. Meanwhile, many families send their children to these unlicensed institutions at the expense of their education. Sometimes they are forced to sell their homes and move to the inner city in order to pay the academy fees.