13th African Games: The untold story of Coach Desmond Ofei after Ghana’s semi final win over Senegal

The Black Satellites of Ghana are through to the finals of the 13th African Games Men’s U-20 football competition after beating Senegal 1-0 on Tuesday.

The hosts scored late in the game after substitute Michael Ephson latched on to a pass from Jerry Afriyie to slot in the winner for the Black Satellites on the 83rd minute.

BELOW IS THE UNTOLD STORY OF DESMOND OFEI

Desmond Ofei had to retire from football in his early 20s after playing in Belgium and the UK after experiencing cracks in his groin which required surgery.

He then started coaching internships at Chelsea and went on to work as a youth coach for Sporting Lokeren and Antwerp. He moved to Portugal and became head coach of Lusitano Ginasio Clube SAD.

After years in Europe, he returned to Ghana to work with the technical directorate of the GFA as a manager for high performance before being appointed as head coach of the Black Satellites.

He joined a Ghana U20 side that had lost to Nigeria in the WAFU sub-regional tournament and as a result couldn’t qualify for the 2023 U20 AFCON. The team were also eliminated at the group stages of the WAFU Zone B Boys Championship in Ivory Coast.

In just a few months, Ofei has turned the team around and has reached the final of the men’s football at the African Games. Before the tournament started he said the aim was to reach the final, now they can make history and win gold when they face Uganda on Friday.