Ghana's Right to Dream Academy ranked 15th in the world
As the dust begins to settle on another successful year, Ghana’s Right to Dream Academy(RtD) has been ranked 15th as one of the best youth academies in the world by bleacherreport.com
In the rankings, Barcelona emerged tops with Sporting Lisbon, Ajax Armstadam, Sao Paulo , Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Dinamo Zagreb, Santos, Partisan Belgrade , Southampton , Real Madrid , Stade Rennais, Feyenoord and Anderlecht following in that order.
The Old Akrade- based Non-Governmental Organisation achieved top 10 placement in the 2013 Manchester Premier Cup and its U-18 secured third place at the world famous Gothia Cup in Sweden this year.
Christopher Atkins' report ranks the top academies in world football based on their “production levels in developing players from their tender ages”.
Founded in 1999 by the then Manchester United scout Tom Vernon, RtD has produced many top footballers for Ghana, including King Osei Gyan, Mohammed Abu, Razak Nuhu, David Accam and Abdul Majeed Waris.
RtD is on record to have produced one of the most successful African U-15 football teams in recent years, achieving four top eight finishers at the World finals of the Manchester United Premier Cup.
Over 15 players from the academy have signed professional contracts with clubs in Europe and Ghana, 32 other graduates are currently schooling at some major High Schools, Colleges and Universities in the USA.
Striker Majeed Waris is likely to feature for Ghana at the 2014 World Cup, while several players, including Bismarck Adjei Boateng are contracted to Premier League giants Manchester City.
