West Ham striker Michail Antonio has arrived in Ghana to pay a courtesy visit to Samba Football Academy as part of his international break holidays.
The 34-year-old Jamaican arrived at Kotoka International Airport on Sunday, November 10, ahead of his short visit.
The forward was received by Ghanaian Hammers, a West Ham fan group based in Ghana.
Antonio will travel to Bompata in Kumasi to inspect the football academy project, which he is a patron.
During his stay, Antonio will engage with the players at the Samba Stars Academy and provide opportunities for aspiring talents from underprivileged backgrounds. He said,
“I’ve come here to do my work. We’ve started an academy here in Kumasi, Bompata,” he told the media. “We know about all the talent here; we’ve seen Mo [Kudus] is at the club (West Ham) right now.
“We just want to give the boys over here the opportunity to breakthrough to the Premier League.”
Antonio added that he chose Ghana because of a great talent in Ghana.
“It’s just obviously the talent in the pool that Ghana has and to give the motherland the opportunity to get their players or family over to the UK or worldwide playing football,” he continued.
“You see the talent with Mo [Kudus] and so many other players moving. It’s just an inspiration for me to be able to give that opportunity to players here.”
The Jamaican revealed that since the establishment of the academy, three players have been signed by English clubs, including Chelsea.
The Jamaican will spend the next few days in Ghana before jetting off to Jamaica for the international break.
