Hearts of Oak legend Joe Addo details how club paid for his school fees in SHS

Former Hearts of Oak defender, Joe Addo has revealed a heartwarming secret, citing that Hearts of Oak paid for all his bills in high school while he was on their books.

Addo joined Hearts of Oak from colt’s club Annor Warriors while schooling at the Tema Secondary School from 1989 to 1990.

According to Joe Addo, whenever the team were camped in preparation for games, he did join but would isolate himself by reading his books as he was preparing to write exams with the aim of combining football with education.

Joe Addo mentioned that most of his teammates were amazed with his exploits which caught the attention of the late Paul Kunkey, who was the Chairman of Hearts of Oak.

“While at Secondary School, I was actively playing for Hearts of Oak. Hearts of Oak paid my school fees at Tema Secondary School through the support of former Chairman Paul Kunkey. I joined Hearts as a youngster where they picked me from Annor Warriors. Whenever we go camping, they do their own thing while I focus on reading my notes. This caught the attention of one of my teammates who asked why I kept reading my books always while others were busy, then I told him I had exams to write”, he told Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV.

“He was surprised by my actions so through that, the issue was brought before Paul Kunkey. One day, I was sacked from school and when I joined the team for camping, I did not read my books any more. Kunkey asked me why I had stopped and I narrated everything to him. The next day, we went to Tema Secondary School and fortunately for me, the principal of the school was a staunch fan of Hearts of Oak. I was in my second year then, so Kunkey said from then day to the day I will complete, Hearts of Oak will foot all my bills”, he added.



Addo went to the United States to attend college and play soccer at George Mason University where he was a 1992 First Team All American.

At club level, Addo played for Cagliari in Italy, VFB Stuttgart and FSV Frankfurt in Germany, Sparta Rotterdam in Netherlands and Belenenses in Portugal, Ethnikos Piraeus in Greece, Tampa Bay Mutiny, Metro Stars in the United States and Kitchee in Hong Kong.

Addo played for Ghana at the 1996 Summer Olympics for the senior team, He played 44 times for Ghana, scoring two goals.


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