West African Football Academy (WAFA) Sporting Club is a Ghanaian professional football club based near Sogakope in the

Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi- ...

that was founded by

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club (association football), 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 bef ...

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 ''"Ne ...

. 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 Fo ...

, beating Hearts of Oak 5–0 along the way.

History

Feyenoord's chairman Jorien van den Herik was given permission for the opening of Feyenoord's own football academy in the Ghanaian settlement of Gomoa Fetteh, just outside the capital Accra. 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: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...

. 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 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 a ...

spent some time at

Excelsior Excelsior, a Latin comparative word often translated as "ever upward" or "even higher", may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * ''Excelsior'' (Macedo ...

and Antwerp before returning to Ghana. In the buildup to the 2008–09 season, right-back Harrison Afful 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 near Sogakope 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 (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 (2020–present)

Satellite clubs

The following clubs are affiliated with Feyenoord Gomoa Fetteh: * ASEC MimosasStage 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