Prince Adu Owusu: Meet the skillful player who chose a degree in IT over a juicy contract

Sports and education have often been described as bedfellows but it is rare for most sportsmen to combine and execute both effectively.

For every sports man,it is always a dilemma when it comes to a decision on the two fields.

It is every amateur footballer’s dream to land a juicy contract abroad or a sustainable deal with a local club.

Shelving football and its mouthwatering contracts temporarily to read a degree course in Information Technology(IT) is something seldom seen among Ghanaian footballers.

However, that is the route young Ghanaian midfielder,Prince Adu Owusu decided to traverse.

The young talented midfielder with great prospect decided to leave the grass less pitch of Corners Babies FC in Kumasi to the tarred roads of Madina through to Dodowa to acquire a first degree at Valley View University.

What will make the young Prince Adu Owusu push aside overtures from local clubs like Inter Allies,then Wa All Stars and even Asante Kotoko?

He has been narrating that choice to Adamu Muftawu of Ghanacrusader.com.

“To start with, the Bible even tells us that, for luck of knowledge my people perish.”

“I have a lot of potentials and football is my talent but bear in mind that footballers’ career have a lifespan.”

“You can’t play football the whole of your life but with education, it is a life long process.”

“Moreover my family also played a key role in my decision to go to school and as it stands I am combining the two.”

There will definitely be a striking moment when and where one feels strongly a decision must be taken.

For the skillful midfielder, he was greatly inspired by former Corners Babies legends, Yusif Chibsah and Edmund Owusu Ansah who are out of active football but have found their academic certificates extremely useful.

“I did a simple search and realized that former Corners Babies players,Yusif Chibsah and Edmund Owusu Ansah were very good players but they thought about life after football.”



“With the academic attachment to their football, you can see they are still very relevant in the society.”

“When we talk of one of the best player managers, Yusif Chibsah is one of them.”

“So these players have been very inspirational in my decision to combine football and school.”

In recent times,some African footballers have chosen financially rewarding deals at the expense of prestige.

As skillful and much sought after by clubs as he is, could he possibly sacrifice the last year of his IT course for a life changing contract from a club?

Prince Adu Owusu still has other ideas.

“When I had admission at Valley View University, I also had the chance to sign outright for Inter Allies.”

“Then Wa All Stars were also interested in me and several opportunities also came from outside for me to sign outright.”

“But I sat down with my coach who is more like a second parent and we talked about what I should do.”

“I really want to play football but on a second thought, I also realized that top players like Italian international Giorgio Chiellini,Vincent Kompany of Belgium,Spaniards,Juan Mata and Andres Iniest,Romelu Lukaku of Belgium just to mention a few all have academic degrees.”

“Why then can’t I do same if these top players have done it.”

“It dawned on me not to make a mistake of quitting school mid-way to take up a lucrative deal.”

There is no doubt that combining school and football is sucking and time consuming.



According to Owusu, every player who spent his formative years at Corners Babies FC in Kumasi , picks valuable life lessons which go a long way to help where he finds himself.

“At Corners Babies,we are trained not only as footballers but leaders.”

“It has not been easy combining school and football though but I have had pieces of advice from my coaches and family which really boosted my confidence.”

With football and an academic qualification at his disposal,Prince Adu Owusu has variety of careers to choose from after football.

Will he consider administration,coaching or IT in football?

“I am assigned a leadership role everywhere I step.”

“I am the captain of Valley View University school team so maybe I will enter football administration or become a coach some day.”

Prince Adu Owusu’s works have never gone unnoticed as he was adjudged Sports Personality of the Year in 2018 at the Ghana Tertiary Awards.