2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Kofi Adams rallies Black Stars for ‘revenge’ clash against Comoros<\/a><\/p>\nAnd right there, on that crowded street in Nima, a football journey began.<\/p>\n
\u201cI discovered him in Nima. He was playing football by the roadside. I saw that he had a special technique. So, I went to his family to ask if I could train him. At first, they didn\u2019t understand the game, so they were reluctant to release him. But Kudus had the passion for football, so I used to pick him up from school and then train him,\u201d Ayoba later recalled in an interview with Ghanasoccernet.<\/p>\n
That boy was Mohammed Kudus, and Ayoba\u2019s instinct turned out to be prophetic.<\/p>\n
The strong tower begins<\/p>\n
Ayoba took Kudus under his wing and brought him to his grassroots club, Strong Tower FC, a humble setup in the heart of the Nima Zongo. <\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t about money or fame. There were no jerseys with names, no polished pitches. Just discipline, dusty footballs, and dreams.<\/p>\n
At Strong Tower, Ayoba became more than a coach; he was a father figure. He taught his boys punctuality, respect, and belief, drilling them not just to play football, but to represent their community with pride.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the talented kids in Zongo have come from him. He\u2019s a good man, and we have to celebrate him. If you people know Kudus today, it\u2019s because Ayoba gave him a chance,\u201d says journalist Rahman Osman, who recently paid tribute to Ayoba in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n
A bold step to Right to Dream<\/p>\n
When Kudus began dazzling everyone in training, Ayoba knew he couldn\u2019t keep him hidden. <\/p>\n
He marched to the Right to Dream Academy, Ghana\u2019s elite football school, determined to get the boy a chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI then went to Tom Vernon of Right to Dream and told him Kudus was better than all their players. They didn\u2019t believe it. So, they asked me to bring him over, he played and scored two goals in the game, and they admitted him\u201d, he told Happy FM back in 2020.<\/p>\n
That confidence changed Ghanaian football forever. Kudus joined the academy, graduated into professional football, and went on to shine for Ajax, West Ham, and the Black Stars.<\/p>\n
But through all the fame, one thing never changed: Kudus\u2019s gratitude.
\nIn June 2025, during the Bazaki Football Tournament at Kawukudi Park, Kudus returned home. <\/p>\n
He met his old coach again, this time not as a barefoot boy, but as an international footballer.<\/p>\n
He hugged Ayoba and presented him and the boys of Strong Tower FC with new boots from his sponsor, Skechers. <\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t a show; it was a homecoming. The same hands that once guided him through Nima\u2019s narrow lanes now received a token of appreciation from the boy who made it.<\/p>\n
The maker of men<\/p>\n
Kudus may be the headline, but Ayoba\u2019s influence runs deeper. He has shaped the paths of other stars, too, according to reports. <\/p>\n
Kamaldeen Sulemana, Ibrahim Osman, and many more have passed quietly through his team.<\/p>\n
His name has become folklore in Zongo football circles. Mention Strong Tower FC, and people nod with respect. <\/p>\n
For every boy who could\u2019ve gone astray, Ayoba offered football and a second chance.<\/p>\n
Despite his legacy, Ayoba hasn\u2019t left the grassroots. He\u2019s still there, at the same park, with the same whistle, training the next Kudus and Kamaldeen Sulemana.<\/p>\n
He doesn\u2019t chase headlines or payment. What drives him is the moment when a kid who had nothing finally believes he can be something.<\/p>\n
In a football world obsessed with polished academies and sponsorships, Joshua \u201cAyoba\u201d Awuah remains the opposite: raw, grounded, real.<\/p>\n
He finds beauty in chaos, diamonds in dust, and heroes in ordinary boys. Because for him, Zongo isn\u2019t a limitation. It\u2019s a launchpad. And that\u2019s why, on the streets where dreams begin, his name still echoes.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
FKA\/JE<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, watch highlights of Ghana’s 5-0 win over Central African Republic in World Cup qualifiers<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The afternoon sun burned over Nima, the air thick with the familiar rhythm of boys chasing dreams on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[403,99],"class_list":["post-214373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}