Kaazi, a new app helping Ghanaian football players connect to clubs

It is estimated that every year 15,000 African football playersare trafficked with the hope of signing a professional contract in Europe. Kaazi,a new startup founded by Nana Yaw Oppong-Mensah, wants to help football players in Ghana and Africa to connect to clubs safely.Players in Africa need visibility, a 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 says Nana Yaw.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.As a former football player, Nana Yaw experienced and knows 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 for football players and decided to engage with the building of a community platform to empower football players in Ghana and Africa.With its imminent launching of a beta version in August, Kaazi is ready to address this challenge. By offering a platform where football players can create their profile and upload videos of their skills, 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 anightmare, while showcasing their talents directly with professional football clubs.The core of Kaazis technology is focused on giving football players visibility. When football players sign up, they can quickly make a football CV, add information on their technical, social and physical attributes. Football players can then upload videos of their skills and match highlights.Kaazi is also for scouts & football clubs, who can create their own profile 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.Dreams are there not just to be fulfilled, but also to be lived according to Nana Yaw. We want Kaazi to be a tool that empowers football players to take informed decisions and thatalso supports their development.Kaazi is coming amid COVID-19, when player recruitment is going evenmore digital due to travel restrictions.Africa has anestimated youth population (15-24)of 226 million people. Considering Africas youth passion for football, apps such as Kaazi appear to be ever more urgent and ever more valuable.