Sports News of Tuesday, 2 April 2024

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

How my father went from police officer to equipment officer at Chelsea - U-20 coach Desmond Ofei

Black Satellites manager, Desmond Ofei and late Chelsea staff, Eric Aseidu Ofei Black Satellites manager, Desmond Ofei and late Chelsea staff, Eric Aseidu Ofei

Black Satellites manager, Desmond Ofei, who is the son of late Chelsea staff, Eric Aseidu Ofei, has shed light on his father's journey from an officer of the Ghana Police Service to the equipment officer of Chelsea's youth teams.

While narrating the untold story of his father, Desmond Ofei shared that the late Eric Ofei was an officer of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service before moving to the UK.

Speaking on Asempa FM, he said his father started as a cleaner upon arrival in the UK.

Regarding how Eric Aseidu ended up at Chelsea, coach Ofei revealed that Aseidu's company worked with Chelsea as the club's cleaning firm and subsequently got employed by the club due to his dedication and affable nature.

"My dad was a police officer here in Ghana, worked with the CID and had the opportunity to go to the UK after he served in Afghanistan. Around that period he started as a cleaner in the UK and luckily, because of the kind of man that he was, he worked his way up and got noticed by Chelsea," he said.

"He worked for a company that went to clean in Chelsea football club. The company was dissolved but because he was determined, they kept him. And from a cleaner, he worked his way into the Academy's kit manager," he added.

Eric Asiedu Ofei was a popular figure at Chelsea where he worked for nine years before his passing. He joined Chelsea in 2013 and passed away while on vacation in Ghana in June 2022.

When he died, players like Callum-Hudson Odoi, Reece James, Eddie Nketiah, Tariq Lamptey, and a host of others paid glowing tribute to him for being a role model to them.

@samtuga422 My father began as a cleaner, worked hard, and eventually became an equipment officer for Chelsea - Coach Desmond Ofei (Black Satellites Headcoach) #Asempafm #TheUltimateSportsShow ♬ original sound - Sammy Tuga -Journalist


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