Ghanaian female footballer and coach, Jennifer Cudjoe has challenged female soccer stars to combine football and education to be able to take other opportunities aside football.
The former Black Princesses midfielder and her Ghanaian compatriot Sherifatu Sumaila successfully completed their University education in the States last year.
The pair were part of the class of 2018 graduating as students of the University of Maine in USA.
Cudjoe has been combining football and education since leaving the shores of Ghana to ply their trade in the United State.
Stories can be found all across Ghana of girls who enjoyed kicking a ball barefoot with friends, cousins, neighbours in the streets and the dust pitches but a few do receive formal education.Â
In Ghana, many of these same girls face a tough choice between footballing passion and the aspirations of their parents or family members, or even society as a whole.
The former Hasaacas Ladies star who made the ALL-MIAA squad in November 2016 has been able to combine the rigor of academics and football which is her passion and is urging her colleagues to take a cue.Â
"Football is good and it helps a lot if you take it seriously but it is not a lifetime job", she made these comments on Agyenkwa FM in Kumasi.
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"I will advise we footballers and the young ones to take their education seriously and need not to be okay with the football only"
"It is good to look for other opportunities aside football because you can't go beyond 30-years as a female footballer"
"So being a graduate too will help you as a footballer aside football and one must take either coaching or any other opportunity in football as well"
"And I will urge that every footballer should not be content with just a team or coach training but should take his or her personal training serious and it will go a long way to help"
"Players should not be with appreciation or applause from their fans but they need to work hard each day", she ended.
Cudjoe, affectionally known as “Kaka†has been outstanding since moving to the United States of America.
The Black Queens midfielder currently plays for Asheville Shield City in the United States and is part of the team's youth coaching staff.
She was a member of the Black Princesses team that represented Ghana at the 2014 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Canada.
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