West African Football Academy (WAFA) Sporting Club is a Ghanaian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based near

Sogakope Sogakofe (also known as Sogakope) is the capital of South Tongu district, a district in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is home to the lower Volta Bridge which connects Sogakofe to Sokpoe. The town is mostly known for its river tourism and Mass br ...

in the Volta Region that was founded by

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

from

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. They are competing in the

Ghana Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league system in Ghana. Officially formed in 1956 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition (which began in 1933 and ended in 1953–54), t ...

. The 2016–17 season was a successful one for WAFA as the side finished second in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, beating

Hearts of Oak Hearts most commonly refers to: * Hearts (card game), a trick-taking game * Hearts (suit), one of the standard four suits of cards * Heart, an organ Hearts may also refer to: Music * The Hearts, an American girl group closely related to the Jay ...

5–0 along the way.

History

Feyenoord's chairman

Jorien van den Herik Jorien van den Herik (born 11 November 1943 in Sliedrecht) is a Dutch businessman. He is most widely known as the former chairman of Dutch football club Feyenoord Rotterdam between 1992 and 2006. Van den Herik helped Feyenoord to purchase some ...

was given permission for the opening of Feyenoord's own football academy in the Ghanaian settlement of Gomoa Fetteh, just outside the capital

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

. The go-ahead was given by the Chief of Fetteh in 1998 and the academy was opened in October 1999. At Feyenoord Academy, young talented African footballers could work on their football skills. In addition to helping their football potential the students were provided with formal education which was funded by Feyenoord. The idea for Feyenoord's own football academy was formed in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

. Van den Herik signed the then still unknown

Bonaventure Kalou Bonaventure Kalou (born 12 January 1978) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He serves as elected mayor of Vavoua. Club career Born in Oumé, Kalou started playing for ASEC Mimosas in his home cou ...

and got into contact with the education institute at Kalou's club. That same year the head of the education institute flew to Africa to take stock of the project and returned with a praising report. In January 1998, Feyenoord started its own Football School in Africa.

Mohammed Abubakari Mohammed Abubakari (born 15 February 1986) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays as a midfielder. Career Abubakari previously played for Fetteh Football Academy in Ghana and for Dutch side Feyenoord. Abubakari became the first player who moved fro ...

was the first player that graduated from the academy and achieved a professional contract at Feyenoord. Before Abubakari's move,

Jordan Opoku Jordan Darko-Opoku (born 8 October 1987) is a Ghanaian professional footballer, who currently plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Berekum Chelsea and the Ghana national football team. Early life Opoku was born on 8 October 1987 at ...

spent some time at Excelsior and

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

before returning to Ghana. In the buildup to the 2008–09 season, right-back

Harrison Afful Harrison Afful (born 24 July 1986) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a fullback for Charlotte FC and the Ghana national team. He appeared previously for Feyenoord Academy, Espérance de Tunis, Columbus Crew, and Charlotte ...

went on trial with Feyenoord, but was not offered a contract. In August 2014, Feyenoord Academy was rebranded to the name West African Football Academy. In the same year, the club took over the old

Red Bull Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...

near

and moved from their old location in Gomoa Fetteh to this new location in the Volta Region.

Current squad

Academy

Club captains

(2003) (2005–06) *

Gideon Waja Gideon Waja (born December 15, 1996) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Hamilton United in League1 Ontario. Club career Waja began his senior career with West African Football Academy in 2015, where he served as vice-captain. Afterwards, ...

(2016–2017) *

Mohammed Alhassan Mohammed Alhassan (born 9 January 1984) is a Ghanaian footballer. He currently plays for Eleven Wise. Career Alhassan was the Second choice keeper for Asante Kotoko who caused much consternation when he chose to sign for Asante Kotoko ahead o ...

(2017–2018) *

Ibrahim Abukari Ibrahim Abukari (born 31 August 1996) is a Ghanaian footballer who currently plays as a centre-back for Ghana Premier League side WAFA, whom he also captains. Career Abukari started his career with West African Football Academy in 2015. He wa ...

(2019–)

Managerial history

* Saddiq Abubakari (2018) *

Prosper Nartey Ogum Prosper Narteh Ogum (born 5 November 1977) is a Ghanaian football manager who currently serves as head coach of Ghana Premier League side Asante Kotoko and assistant coach of Ghana A' national football team. He previously coached Ghanaian team Ebus ...

(2020–present)

Satellite clubs

The following clubs are affiliated with Feyenoord Gomoa Fetteh: *

ASEC Mimosas The Association Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas, literally Mimosas Commerce Employees' Sporting Association, is an Côte d'Ivoire, Ivorian Association football, football club based in Abidjan. The club is also known as ''ASEC Mimosas A ...

Stage de préparation au Ghana: Une aventure positive
*

Gallery

image:WAFA - Entrance to the sports complex.jpg, image:WAFA - Main pitch and scoreboard.jpg, image:WAFA - Main pitch and stands.jpg, image:WAFA - Players bus.jpg,

Seasons

2020 -21 West African Football Academy season

References

External links

Official club page
Football clubs in Ghana 1998 establishments in Ghana Football academies in Africa Volta Region Association football clubs established in 1998 {{Ghana-footyclub-stub