Nii Odartey Lamptey: A colossus on and off the pitch

The 1990s marked a sensational display of soccer artistry in Ghana and one of the protagonists happened to be the man whose input on the technical bench landed Ghana a gold medal in male football in the recently ended Africa Games.

Your guess will be as good as mine if only the one on your mind is the legend Nii Odartey Lamptey.

Nii Odartey Lamptey shot into prominence and caught the eye of the world in 1991 when he led Ghana to win the 1991 FIFA U17 World Championship. He emerged as the Best player of the tournament held in Italy and was awarded the Golden Ball. His performance and mastery of the game were so much admired that, Edson Arantes Do Nascimento, also known as World Pele declared him as the “next Pelè” of the world.

His exploits on the field earned him an envious record of being one of the few Ghanaian players to play at every level of the game in terms of National Teams i.e. the National U 17, 20 23, and the senior national till he retired from football in 2008.

After his football career, Odartey Lamptey sought to give back to society and ensure that children have access to education, hence the establishment of Glow-Lamp International School.

It’s worthy to note that Odartey himself lacked access to education yet right after he hanged his boots, his main aim was to provide education for the next generation.

Aside from the school, the former Ghana midfielder also set up a football academy in Elmina-Abreshia, in the Central Region of Ghana.

The Glow-Lamp Soccer Academy is equipped with training pitches, a dormitory for young footballers as well as classrooms where they get formal education aside from the football training sessions.

“The main purpose of this academy is to nurture young football talents and to help them pursue their dreams to become professional footballers,” Nii Odartey Lamptey said.

Being a coach himself, he takes part actively in the training sessions for the various age groups and personally motivates the young footballers to believe in their dreams.

The Academy provides the right facilities to make youngsters better in their chosen careers.

It is no surprise that the Academy has been used as official training grounds for some international football competitions including AFCON 2008, the 2017 WAFU Men’s Championship, and the 2022 WAFU U17 Championship. As if this is not enough, the Academy has again been used as the training facility for teams that played in the 13th African Games Women’s Competition which was staged in Cape Coast. Various local clubs such as Hearts of Oak SC have also used the facility for their pre-season camping.

This indeed shows that Nii Odartey Lamptey has not only paid his dues to the nation as a footballer but has also been of immense benefit to the entire nation even after hanging his boots.

It’s not surprising that the current administration of the Ghana Football Association found it worthy to name him on the technical team of the National U20 team. As one of the assistants to Head Coach Desmond Ofei, Nii Odartey Lamptey was instrumental in the Ghana U20 side’s success in the just-ended African Games which saw the Black Satellites win Gold.

He is currently one of many ex-footballers serving on the technical teams of the various national teams.

His sheer zeal to educate and train the younger generation is just admirable.

Education not just in the classroom but on the green turf where he made his name and wealth. “For me playing alone is not enough because I believe there is a lot to teach the many talents spread across the country hence the need to continue to contribute even when one is done playing active football”. The ex-footballer advised.

It is obvious that the legacy as a former footballer, educator and talent developer cannot be understated and must be highly commended.