Richmond Forson (born 23 May 1980) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

and spent his career in France. Born in Ghana, he grew up in Togo and represented the Togo national team internationally.

Club career

Forson was born in

Aflao Aflao is a town in Ketu South District in the Volta Region on Ghana's border with Togo. Aflao is the twenty-eighth most populous settlement in Ghana, in terms of population, with a population of 96,550 people. In the 18th century, Aflao served a ...

, Ghana. As a youngster who started out with Sporting Club de Lome, Forson moved to France to

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league sys ...

. His early promise, which saw interest in him by such big clubs as

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, was almost eliminated when in 2001, while only 21, he was the victim of a serious road accident in France which left him unable to play for almost a year. Forson then played as a defender for

Luçon Luçon () is a commune in the Vendée department, Pays de la Loire region, western France. Its inhabitants are known as Luçonnais. Luçon Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Luçon (comprising the Vendée), where Cardinal Richelieu once se ...

and an amateur team Vendée Poiré sur Vie. Following the 2006 World Cup from January 2007 – August 2008, Forson played two seasons for

AS Cherbourg Football AS Cherbourg or the Association Sportive de Cherbourg Football is a French football team currently playing in the Championnat National 3, the fifth tier of French football. They are based in the city of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Manche in Normandy ...

in the French

Championnat National The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, t ...

. In 2008 after a falling out with the coach having lost his place in the side following a period with injury, he left Cherbourg and moved to

Thouars Foot 79 Thouars Foot 79 is a French football club, based in Thouars. As of the 2019–20 season, it plays in the French sixth tier. Honours * Champion de France Division 4: 1991 * Champion DH Centre-Ouest: 1984 Coaches * 1985–1997: Bertrand Marc ...

. On 30 January 2012, Forson signed for

Championnat de France amateur The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue ...

side

AS Yzeure Moulins Yzeure Football 03 Auvergne, known as Moulins Yzeure Foot or just Moulins Yzeure, is a association football, football club based in Yzeure, France. As of the 2021–22 Championnat National 2, 2021–22 season, it competes in the Champio ...

along with David Pathinvo and Guinean international Aboubacar Sylla.

International career

Born in Ghana, Forson grew up in Togo and was eligible to play for the

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

national teams. While still an amateur player, he became a member of the Togo national team. His national debut came in May 2001 in a 1–0 victory against

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. Forson is the second football player originally from Ghana to play for the

. The other one is Eric Akoto. His revelation was in a four-countries tournament in Iran (Paraguay, Macedonia, Iran and Togo). Forson was called up to the squad to participate in the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

where he started in two games against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Both games resulted in 2–0 losses. At the

, Forson was involved in the bonus dispute where the entire

threatened to go on strike after the national federation failed to pay the bonus money that was owed to the players. The situation was resolved with a partial payment to the players.FIFA.com – FIFA Spielerstatistik Richmond FORSON
on www.de.fifa.com

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forson, Richmond Living people 1980 births Footballers from Accra Men's association football fullbacks Naturalized citizens of Togo Togolese men's footballers Ghanaian men's footballers Togo men's international footballers Louhans-Cuiseaux FC players Luçon FC players Vendée Poiré-sur-Vie Football players AS Cherbourg Football players Thouars Foot 79 players Moulins Yzeure Foot players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Togolese expatriate men's footballers Togolese expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France Togolese people of Ghanaian descent 21st-century Togolese people