)
I almost died: A Ghanaian player has revealed how he almost lost his life because he reduced his age to play football with children he could have given birth to. He blames poverty for the decision.
A Ghanaian football player has recently opened up about his decision to reduce his age by 16 years so that he could join a foreign club.
Joseph Tagoe (also known as Bobby Short), now 45-year-old said the incident happened in 2017 when he received a call to join an U-19 team in Egypt, North Africa.
PAY ATTENTION: Stay updated with the Latest Football News from Pulse Sports.
The former player who had good spells at Nigerian club Sharks of Portharcourt and Hearts of Oaks in his native, Ghana couldn’t resist the offer and had to falsify his age.
"I was home and received a call from Francis Martey that they (an unnamed Egyptian side) wanted an under-19 player. Looking at my height, I said okay."
"At that time, I was recovering from an injury and training regularly. He saw I was doing well, so I had to change my passport to 19 years. In reality, I was around 34 or 35 years old. This is what poverty can make you do. The system is also not fair to us," he said during an interview with ATV.
However, things didn’t go as planned for the Ghanaian right-winger as he couldn’t cope with the rigours of the training that the U-19 teams were subjected to.
I almost lost my life - Joseph Tagoe
)
Joseph Tagoe, while recounting the unfortunate experience, stated that he almost lost his life in the process as he had to train with both the senior and junior teams, which proved to be very challenging as age was fast catching up on him already.
)
08:13 - 04.12.2024
Nigeria vs Ghana: 44-year-old Rabiu Ali vows to deliver CHAN trophy
Ghana will host Nigeria in Accra on Sunday, December 22, with the return leg scheduled for the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, on December 28.
)
14:11 - 21.11.2024
I dumped Ghana to help my club — Now I am out for the rest of the season
The 20-year-old Ghanaian forward will not play again this season for his club due to an ACL injury.
He also had to dye his hair regularly each morning to conceal the grey hair that had started growing.
"I would have died if I hadn't taken care of myself. They said I was more mature than the kids, so they made me train with both the senior team and the U- 20s. The U-20s required a lot of running, and I always felt dizzy after training. It was clear my age was catching up with me."
"My grey hair was already showing, so I always carried dye with me and dyed my hair every morning. But I decided to leave because I would have died. Even if they had asked me to reduce my age to 15, I would have done it. There are many players like me in similar situations."
Final Thoughts
Many African footballers have the same experience as Joseph Tagoe, as they are left with no choice but to falsify their age so they can have a football career abroad.
The situation in Africa is a bit tough as many talented footballers would already have passed their prime before they receive any meaningful offer.
Age cheating continues to be a problem in football, and the introduction of MRI scans by FIFA has reduced the level of the problem but is yet to eliminate it totally.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)