Akonnor hints of Wolfsburg Academy in Ghana

Former Black Stars captain, Charles Kwabla Akonnor, says he hopes to convince German Bundesliga side Vfl Wolfsburg to set up an academy in Ghana, following a three-week stint with the club.

The former Wolfsburg captain, who returned from Germany on April 27 after he supervised a coaching clinic in Mexico, admitted that although a Ghanaian academy was not in Wolfsburg's immediate plans, he was hopeful the success of the club's academies in China and Mexico would spawn the creation of a similar project in Ghana to assist in developing talents for the various national teams.

"It was a very good experience and I was very privileged Wolfsburg acknowledged me in that sense and invited me," the 41-year-old coach told the Daily Graphic last Thursday at the Accra Sports Stadium.

He added, "currently it's not in their plans to establish an academy here because this has something to do with the Volkswagen company. They have it in Mexico and China but they don't have a company here so it will take time for me to convince them.

"It's not going to be now because they have to see how it will go in Mexico and China and then they can think of Ghana. It is in the process."

Akonnor also disclosed that aside holding discussions with Wolfsburg officials in Germany regarding a youth policy that the club is planning to embark on, he was also put in charge of the Under-17 side at their training centre in Mexico.

He said, "After the deliberations in Germany, we moved to Mexico to develop the youth side; the oldest age group was 17 and that was where I headed but we also had teams that had players whose ages were up to nine years.

"It was a very difficult job because you leave in the morning and get back in the evening; it was relentless. We also worked with coaches who will continue what we started, so I think it was very successful," he said.