Football lovers in Ghana & Africa to confidently navigate game with Kaazi
It is estimated that every year some 15,000 African football players are trafficked with the hope of signing professional contracts in Europe, oftentimes such hopes are dashed as they fizzle into illusions and abuse according to Kaazi, a new startup founded by Nana Yaw Oppong-Mensah, that wants to help football players in Ghana and Africa to connect to clubs safely and professionally with no fear of being swindled.
“Players in Africa need visibility and standardized and safe platform where they can easily connect to football clubs. We need to create a new ecosystem that works for the football players and their communities,” Nana Yaw said as we talked about his vision for Kaazi.
“There are millions of African football talents who dream to become the next football stars and play for a professional football club. Without visibility and the right network, these players can easily become prey to shady recruiters” said Nana Yaw, himself a former football player with experienced and knowledge of the challenges his mates in Ghana face.
After moving to England, he transitioned to football coaching and scouting. There, he realized both the importance and the challenges of implementing a safe environment structure for football players and decided to engage with the building of a community platform to empower football players in Ghana and Africa, the knowledge and network gained from this process is what culminated into the birth of Kaazi and its eventual app.
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“With our imminent launching of a beta version of the app this August 2021, Kaazi is ready to address these challenges in the world of professional football dealings and transfers by offering a platform where football players can create their profile and upload videos of their skills and other basic info recruiters, agents and clubs look out for when they are interested in players,” — Nana Yaw.
Kaazi will allow players to share their profile and football skills directly with verified scouts and football clubs. The potential of Kaazi is high as it can provide football players in Ghana and Africa with a new opportunity to nurture their dreams without risking nightmares while showcasing their talents directly with professional football clubs globally.
The core of Kaazi’s technology is focused on giving football players visibility. When football players sign up, they can quickly make a football Cmakedding information on their technical, social, and physical attributes. Football players can then upload videos of their skills and match highlights. The app also caters to the needs of scouts & football clubs, who can create their own profiles in order to search for new football talents.
“Football clubs can also list trial matches and opportunities on the platform and share them with football players so yeah we’ve thought out this app well to cover both sides of the spectrum,” Nana Yaw said, continuing to add that “Dreams are there not just to be fulfilled, but also to be lived, which is why we want Kaazi to be a tool that empowers football players and stakeholders to make informed decisions and that also supports their development.”
Kaazi is coming amid COVID-19, when player recruitment is going even more digital due to travel restrictions. Africa has an estimated youth population (aged 15-24) of 226 million people. Considering Africa’s youth passion for football, apps such as Kaazi appear to be ever more urgent and ever more valuable and timely, so remember to download it when it launches by keeping an eye on kaazi.live for details.
Source: Kaazi Communications
Oral Ofori is Founder and Publisher at www.TheAfricanDream.net, a digital storyteller and producer, and also an information and research consultant.
