Former Black Stars player, Stephen Appiah has shared an inspiring story of how a less respected community like Chorkor was able to produce the first player to captain Ghana at the World Cup.

Stephen Appiah who nurtured his football skills on the sandy pitches of Chorkor disclosed that he never dreamt that he would one day become the first player to captain Ghana at a World Cup tournament.

According to him, he met so many talented players in his journey to stardom but never lost hope in his quest to reach the apex of his career.

Speaking to some budding tennis players in Chorkor during a tennis clinic, the former Juventus player shared an emotional story of how he sometimes closed from training without having anything to eat.

“It is sometimes difficult to even get up and go and play tennis because sometimes your mother doesn’t even have money for your transportation,” Stephen Appiah said.

He added, “If we had lost hope and felt weary, we wouldn’t be here speaking with JoyNews. We’ve done everything before but we just wanted to play football. We met many players but nobody knew that one day a boy from Chorkor will captain Ghana at the World Cup.

“I don’t have to talk for even a minute because you know my story and me standing here alone should be a motivation for you. Your generation is lucky because you have mobile phones and I believe you guys will make it than us,” the former Black Stars captain said.

Stephen Appiah captained the Black Stars at their maiden appearance at the World Cup in 2006.

JNA/WA