The Dream Tournament: European scouts impressed
The second edition of the Dream tournament was a huge success, with top European scouts who travelled to Ghana for the event being very impressed with the talents they saw.
The two-day event drew top scout Sebastian Arnesen, agent Marcel Veerman, Manchester City and Troyes scout Christophe Jeannot, and Rapid Vienna head scout Matthias Ringler.
It also attracted Spain’s Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Jose Guitiérrez, the High Commissioner of the Republic of Malta to Ghana, H.E. Jean Claude Galea Mallia, as well as Katharina Link, Managing Director Pulse Ghana and West Africa, Beatrice Mensah-Tayui, Chief Executive of Cybele Energy, and Nathan Kwabena Adisi, popularly known as Bola Ray, who is a top Ghanaian radio and television personality and entrepreneur.
The tournament was organised by young Ghanaian football agent Daniel Boifio Jr, head of DBJ Empire in collaboration with Empire Sports Agency, with the goal of scouting the best talents for European exposure, and several players were selected.
The competition began on Monday, October 17, 2022, with six teams participating: West African Football Academy (WAFA), Attram De Visser Soccer Academy, Sporting Club Accra, ESA Select Side, Krystal Palace Academy, and Academie Planete Foot Du Togo.
After the preliminary round, WAFA, Sporting Club, Krystal Palace, and Academie Planete Foot Du Togo emerged as the top four, with WAFA and Sporting qualifying for the final and the other two settling for third place.
WAFA won the trophy with a 1-0 victory, Sporting finished second, and Krystal Palace finished third with a 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Togo.
The tournament was played at a high level, with the players desperate to impress the well-connected scouts, and several of them did. The chosen players will leave the country for trials in Europe before the end of the year.
The next edition is scheduled to take in February next year.
