Right to Dream of a World Title

OLD AKRADI, GHANA August 2010

SIXTEEN young Ghanaians from The Right to Dream Academy in partnership with Vodafone are enjoying a few days relaxing after returning from Manchester, England, where they represented Africa in theWorld Finals of the Manchester United Premier Cup.

Their great adventure started with the Open Ceremony & Draw, where Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Charlton and Gary Neville addressed the assembled teams. The Manchester United Team Captain shared the benefit of his experience: "Make sure you go out, do your absolute best and enjoy your football. But above all, make sure you will never have any regrets. This is a really great opportunity for you - don't ever put yourselves in the position where you look back and wish you had done more."

In the all important Draw, where they managed to avoid FC Barcelona & host team Manchester United, Right to Dream Academy headed Group B, where they were joined by last years' finalists SV Werder Bremen,European Premier Cup Champions Bucaspor, Colo Colo & Changchun Yatai.

Day One and an early start under grey Manchester skies saw our boys deliver an assured performance resulting in a well-deserved 2:1 victory over Werder Bremen. As torrential rain and difficult conditions continued throughout the morning, a fresh Changchun Yatai had to work hard to hold them to a goalless draw in their first match of the tournament. Coach Dramani was suitably impressed by the Chinese MUPC Champions: "Their tactical awareness in group play was excellent and the transition from attack to defensive play was first class. They were also physically well prepared."

Day Two found the sun breaking through the clouds and with it a joyful and commanding presence on the pitch from a well rested Right to Dream, beating the highly fancied European MUPC & Helsinki Cup Champions Bucaspor 2:0. The afternoon brought frustration however when Right to Dream struggled to capitalise on their superiority over a physical and talented side from Colo-Colo.

Coach Dramani was concerned: "This is my first time at MUPC and I have found the two matches a day quite hard on the players. It's a tough tournament format and asks some hard questions about the mentality of the players too - they need to play, rest, relax and recuperate and then prepare for the next match. There's little real down-time.

"I'm proud of the way they've coped with the conditions, and although pleased that we've progressed to the Quarter Finals I am a little disappointed of course that we didn't finish top of our group. We were certainly the best team. The priority now is to get the boys well-rested overnight before they face Pachuca tomorrow morning."

Day Three and it was all to play for. The Quarter final match against the Mexican Champions was a bruising encounter and although our boys played well, showing their superior midfield skills for much of the match, Pachuca secured the advantage and Right to Dream's single goal in reply was not enough. Pachuca progressed to the semis 3:1.

Just an hour later and the young Ghanaians had to face the might of Manchester United, still raw from being knocked out of their quarter final match against old rivals FC Barcelona 3:0. The host team took their retribution for being knocked into 6th place two years ago their2:1 win leaving the Academy boys fighting this time for a 7/8th place finish.

1730pm saw the third and final match of the day for our youngsters against UK MUPC Champions Newcastle United. Although both teams were tired, the match started briskly - with Right to Dream playing their usual fast paced passing game; their professional attitude and determination to succeed fuelling their 2:1 victory.

Coach Dramani was justifiably proud of his young teams' performance: "It's been a tough tournament for the boys, physically and mentally. Learning how to accept defeat is never easy and when it's at this level it's tougher than ever. A coach's job is to help lift them again and I'll be working on that. I want them to understand the value of the experiences they have had here and be able to use that in the future.

"I think the younger players have actually had a bigger lesson here this week than if we had won - certainly more match-time - so that is a real positive to take forward. They are ideally placed to learn from this experience and bring back everything they have learned next year!"

Academy Manager Andrew Farrant: "To finish 7th in the world at such a prestigious tournament is quite an achievement. MUPC has once again showcased the best young footballers in the world and I am so proud that our boys not only held their own - but were compared favourably to future stars from clubs like FC Barcelona - whose youth development record is legendary. Our boys acquitted themselves incredibly well, with the usual style, grace and fast paced one-touch passing game that has become our trademark. I am pleased to say that not one of our players gave less than 100% and, while results didn't always go our way, I'm sure we've all learned from the experience and will be back next year,stronger than ever."
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For further information and supporting imagery please contact:
Anna@righttodream.com

Day 1 : Right to Dream Academy (2 - 1) Werder Bremen Right to Dream Academy (0 - 0) Changchun Yatai FC
Day 2 : Right to Dream Academy (2 - 0) Bucaspor Right to Dream Academy (0 - 0) Colo Colo
Day 3 : Q.Final Right to Dream Academy (1 - 3) Pachuca FC Right to Dream Academy (1 - 2) Manchester United
Placement match 7-8 : Right to Dream Academy (2 - 1) Newcastle United