A cross hangs in a gold chain around his neck. 20-year-old Collins Tanor resembles a young up-and-coming football player with plenty of self-confidence. However, he is also a young man whose Christian belief acts as his moral compass and constitutes a corner stone in his life.
Or as he puts it:
»I am a very religious person, and my family taught me never to dislike or hate other people«.
His Christian belief is untarnished, and he wears the cross around his neck with pride. Yet his fundamental positive attitude towards life has been shaken. He has lost faith in the man who was his mentor and a father figure throughout the eight years he attended the football academy Right to Dream in Ghana.
Tom Vernon, who owns the academy, brought in the then-11-year-old Collins Tanor and treated him like a son – and through the years he not only evolved into a gifted football player, sporting the captain’s armband for the Ghana national U-17 football team, he also became a poster boy for the academy. And he was one of the selected boys from the academy who visited the British Prime Minister David Cameron in 2012 at 10 Downing Street in London.
Because Tanor became the public face of Right to Dream, a lot of boys in the area looked up to him and would go to any length to follow in his footsteps, he says.
Thanks to his intelligent, thoughtful nature and eloquence, Collins Tanor was entrusted with the task of showing distinguished guests around the academy and explaining how Right to Dream strove to rescue poor African boys and help them to a better future by offering them an education and a chance of carving out a career in professional football.
He did so because he had blindly trusted the British owner, Tom Vernon. His parents had taught him to have trust in others.
»That’s how Ghanaian boys are. We are very disciplined in this regard. If someone does something nice for you, you feel you owe that person. This is how we are raised. We have to show respect and gratitude to anyone who has helped you«, says Collins Tanor.
But his mentor exploited that trust, he says and uses the term ‘mind games’ several times about what was happening at the academy.
»Tom Vernon used mind games on us, and that doesn’t bring out any good emotions in me today«, he says and pauses for a moment, only to stress each syllable as he proceeds:
»I want to make a difference and change this. If this organization is to continue, it has to be done right«.
Hypocrisy and Punishment
We are seated in the café at Hotel Radisson close to the Copenhagen Central Station. Collins Tanor has ordered a glass of water, but he almost forgets to drink, as he elaborates on the topic. He has a lot he wants to get off his chest.
He has come to a grave decision: Everything must be exposed. Having been the role model for African boys at the academy for many years, he feels a great responsibility:
»Some of the boys text me every day. I was the role model that everyone looked up to. My best friends are all players from Right to Dream. We lived together and did the same things almost every day for eight years«.
At the moment, he is loaned out to the Danish Superliga club Hobro from Manchester City, but he had been spending a couple of days in North Zealand to visit friends.
Now he has decided to share his story publicly in the hope that it will help upend the conditions in Right to Dream for the benefit of all players, including those that end up in Football Club Nordsjælland, which Tom Vernon bought three years ago.
Collins Tanor played there for two years before he insisted on getting away from the Farum-based club – and thus said no to Tom Vernon.
Six weeks ago, Politiken revealed, on the basis of documents from Football Leaks, that Tom Vernon cut secret deals in his capacity as owner of both Right to Dream and FC Nordsjælland. The African players from Right to Dream were used as pawns in a money game in which Manchester City at no cost could pick and choose among the African talents. In return, the academy received financial support each year from the English top club.
Internal documents show that not every player from Right to Dream was considered to have a real shot at playing for the first team. Some of the young West Africans were ‘value signings’ – a form of investment intended to turn a profit. And Tom Vernon obliged the academy as well as FC Nordsjælland to »use its best endeavours to effect« a transfer if Manchester City wanted a certain player.
The story of Collins Tanor goes much further than that. His story concerns how African players were treated.
His story concerns an academy in Ghana which, he felt, was often run like a boot camp when he was there from 2008-2015, with tough discipline against boys aged 10-18. He speaks of corporal punishment and mental pressure. He experienced hypocrisy and hidden agendas. And his story is also about feeling exploited in his time at FC Nordsjælland.
These allegations are rejected by Right to Dream in a written answer to Politiken:
»Right to Dream does not permit mis-treatment of its students. The specific claims are either false or exaggerated and completely out of context – and they are made by a small number of disgruntled former students«.
According to Tom Vernon and Right to Dream, there have been »incidents« in the past.
»There have been a small number of incidents in our 20-year history – any of which occurred a number of years ago - that are against our policy of no mis-treatment of students. Where relevant we have liaised with the Department of Social Welfare, and staff have been dismissed or disciplined and given follow up training«, writes Tom Vernon.
As an answer to Politikens questions the organisation presented written statements from other former players from the academy, who praise the academy.
But three other African players from Right to Dream tell Politiken and European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) about punishment at the academy, which they have have seen or experienced themselves, and they are consistent with Collins Tanor’s account.
A Sensible Schoolboy
Collins Tanor was wholly unaware of all this when he was contacted by a talent scout from Right to Dream after having participated in a school tournament. He was 10 or 11 at the time. However, his family was not too keen on the idea that he would be playing football.
»My parents were sceptical. It was their understanding that if you are a football player, you don’t attend school. You just leave home to play football. It wasn’t seen as a way of moving up socially, so my parents asked me to stay in school. So, I was a sensible schoolboy even though I wanted to become a football player«, says Collins Tanor.
He grew up with three older sisters and a younger brother. He told his father that his dream was to join a football academy. The father asked him to wait until he was older, otherwise his younger brother would miss him.
»The highest level for me was the school team, and then I was picked for a regional team that chose the best players from each school«, he says.
Collins Tanor participated in a regional tournament, and his team won.
»All academies and football clubs in Ghana were there to look for the newest and best talents«, he explains.
He received an offer to join the Right to Dream academy. Especially his mother proved hard to convince. She felt that he was too young, being only 11, and then there was the question of schooling.
»My parents wanted to use every last penny to ensure their children went to school. That was the key thing. It was my mother’s primary concern, and she kept asking the academy if I would be attending school«.
His mother was relieved to hear that there would be schooling every day at the academy. In order to join and receive a free scholarship, however, Collins Tanor had to go through a selection process that lasted a long time.
»Every week players came in while others were sent home. The longer I stayed, the greater my chances were. There were fewer and fewer in the selection process«, he explains.
He passed. His parents signed a contract with the academy, and from then on his days followed a strict routine.
The boys got out of bed at 5:30 in the morning. They trained and attended school – and trained again before dinner. They played matches in the weekends and though they had most Sundays off, the boys usually spent them doing homework for Monday. For the boys, it proved very demanding.
»Many wanted to go home because it was too much for them and they really missed their parents. At the same time, we had to perform every single day – it was really tough. But I thought that maybe I could help my family in the long run if I worked hard and sticked to it«, says Collins Tanor.
As part of a regular cycle, the boys spent three to four months at a time at the academy whereupon they could visit their families for around three weeks.
Captain of the Academy
Collins Tanor wound up thriving at the academy. He was a model student who had leadership potential. It came naturally to him to lead the way. Both on the field and outside of it. He was appointed captain of the academy youth team – and later captain of the entire academy.
»It was mainly about football when you were picked as a team captain. But when you were assigned the role as captain of the entire academy, it was also about the school and about personality. The captain of the academy was the link between the boys and the department leaders of the academy«, he says.
And then there was the relationship to Tom Vernon. Tanor practically became part of the British owner’s family.
»I was a godfather to his son. That was how close I was to him and his family«, Collins Tanor explains.
As the face of Right to Dream, he was responsible for performing special tasks.
»When visitors came, I showed them around the academy. I was the poster boy. I delivered all the speeches and took part in interviews«.
Thinking back on that time, he says he has no doubt in his mind as to why he was chosen to be the poster boy for Right to Dream.
»There is no better story than one coming from the boys themselves. So, I talked to all the sponsors and took part in all the charity events. If it comes from one of the boys, people believe it more – and we were told to say that we came from nothing. It helped paint a stronger picture of the academy«, relates Collins Tanor.
The problem was that this was untrue in the case of several boys. They came from all over West Africa, including Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
It was true that some of the boys came from Nima, a poor and predominantly Muslim district in Accra, the capital of Ghana. Here, families live in houses with peeling surfaces, cracked mud walls and leaky, rusty tin roofs. To them, football is a way out of the squalor.
However, other boys such as Collins Tanor came from more respectable areas. His family is from the region Brong-Ahafo, and while not exactly well-off, they were able to make ends meet – and it was a safe home.
Apparently, this did not fit in with the story that the academy was trying to sell. Rather, they needed a story about how they rescued the boys from a life of poverty, and without the academy, they would not struggle through life. As a result, Collins Tanor fashioned a story in keeping with what he was told to say.
»At other times, I was just a smart kid who knew what to say to get people to support the academy«, he says.
Collins Tanor summarizes the main points he said over and over again:
»We boys were very, very lucky to be here. We were underprivileged children who were given an opportunity to show off our talent. We thank God for every donation and every sponsorship, and we wish to thank everyone for what they have done for us«.
And why did he take part in this charade?
»You are in a closed environment and trapped in the same system for eight years. I’ve watched the show ‘Prison Break’ many times because it reminds me of the concept. If you’re placed somewhere and asked to do the same thing day after day, it becomes instinctive«, he says and adds:
»It was a very interesting place to be, and I was lucky to be able to be there. But as I got older and was able to make my own decisions, I started questioning myself«.
The truth of the matter is that the children faced a reality that was much different from the one depicted in the success story about the poor children and their rescue by Tom Vernon and Right to Dream. One of fear and punishment, says Collins Tanor. Despite being a role model for others, he underwent the same torment.
»I was punished too. Everyone got their share. No matter what. Maybe I got a little less than others, but I got my share«.
Struck with a Cane
He mentions several incidents and examples of the penal system.
»I remember one incident when we had lost a football and searched for it in the bush, and we were all late for school. Then we were lined up and beaten physically with a stick for being late. That happened in the early years«, says Collins Tanor.
On another occasion, some of the boys were late after a break, and all the boys at the academy were collectively punished for it by not receiving the usual food for several days.
»It was collective punishment. They said we hadn’t looked after one another since we hadn’t ensured that everyone arrived on time. So, it was everyone’s fault, and we were punished as a team«, says Collins Tanor.
He mentions another incident, where they were woken up in the middle of the night and had to lay down and roll downhill in darkness.
»There were trees and somebody could roll and bump their head. We rolled all the way to the bottom and when we got to the bottom somebody would stand there with a cane and would whip you to have you start sprinting to the top. And if you were not running fast enough somebody would come with a cane and start whipping. It was a punishment to teach us how to work like a team«.
He thinks, that collective punishment was considered an educational tool.
»My guess is that something like this could happen in military camps. It was to teach us to work together, and if someone made a mistake, it affected the entire team«, says Collins Tanor.
A common form of punishment was being told to kneel on the ground under the scorching sun with bowed heads, he says:
»It might last one, two or three hours where we were sat down kneeling under the baking sun. It was called ‘kneel down’«.
According to Collins Tanor, it was one of the African leaders at the academy, who was Tom Vernon’s long-serving and trusted employee, who oversaw the system.
The boys could be punished for all manner of offences. A bone of contention was the use of mobile phones. The boys missed their families and wanted to call them. But they were only allowed to use their mobile phones on weekends. Failing that, they would be confronted by Harry Adekpui, says Collins Tanor.
»On Sunday nights, everyone was told to hand in their mobile phones, so they would be withheld for the entire week. If someone forgot, and it was found out, the phone was taken. Then the order was: ‘Go kneel down’. Until you were told to stand up again«, says Collins Tanor.
The boys risked being punished for all manner of things.
»If someone dropped a bucket or did something stupid. Anything a young boy might do. Dropping something, losing a football, failing to put in an effort and being seen as lazy. Such things could lead to punishment«, he says.
It took a toll on the boys.
»We became nervous. As the years went by, they stopped using violent punishment and started using a point system. It was called the effort league. It was a league score and people received points for playing soccer, for attending school and for their behaviour. If someone failed to get enough points, they would lose privileges such as travelling to Europe to play in tournaments. Or you might not receive a scholarship to go to the US. It was a new way of pressuring us«, he says.
According to Collins Tanor, it made the boys pretend that they were doing everything right.
»But do you then actually help build personalities or young people who are afraid and not ready to deal with the consequences?«.
Collins Tanor knows what would have happened if the boys had told their parents what was taking place at the academy.
»If my mother heard about this, it would not go down well. I don’t think there’s any place in the world where you have the right to hit another child«.
Being struck
Other African boys who trained at the academy confirm the use of corporal punishment. One of them is Kamal Sowah who says that the use of punishment was prevalent, and he remembers being struck by Harry Adekpui.
He came to the Academy at the age of 10 and was happy.
»What I want to do in life is to play football. So it was an opportunity for me«, Kamal Sowah says.
But he says, that the first good impression quickly changed.
»After 1-2 weeks the punishment started«, he says.
Initially, he wasn’t a part of it. He saw, that it the punishment was used against boys, who were one-two years older than him.
»There was one kind of punishment making a student stand against the wall, with his knees bent«, Kamal Sowah says. He says, that there »there were a lot of punishment at Right to Dream «.
Later he was the target.
»I was slapped a couple of times. But I was really tough on them. Every time they slapped me, I tried to tell them what was on my mind, and I complained. They slapped me in the face. I don’t like Right to Dream. Because it’s not a good thing to slap someone«, he says.
At some point he told his parents, who got angry. But they said, that he had to go through it, because he had got such a great opportunity.
But when Kamal Sowah turned 18, he managed to escape from the system. Today he has a contract with the English Premier League club Leicester and is on loan to the Belgium club Leuven.
Amoah Francis Dominic joined the Right to Dream academy in 2009 at age 11 and spent six years at the academy before quitting. He confirms that punishment was used at the academy. Particularly being told to kneel down in the sun.
»It was a common punishment used at the academy. Very common«, says Amoah Francis Dominic.
How long were the boys told to kneel in the sun?
»It all depended on what they had done – how bad they thought it was. You could be ordered to kneel in the sun for an hour or more. Sometimes we were told to stand in the sun while school went ahead, and we might end up standing there over the course of maybe two lessons«, says Amoah Francis Dominic.
One day, several boys thought that the food was bad, he says.
»So, the majority of the boys didn’t eat the food and tossed it in the garbage bin. Then we were made to eat the food from the bin. But that day the food really wasn’t good «, says Amoah Francis Dominic.
On another occasion, he and his team played a match in Accra, and to the best of his recollection, it ended in a tie. Amoah Francis Dominic was ordered to take the field and from what he remembers, he played well. The next day he was talking to two of his friends about something and they all laughed. But it was not taken well, and they were punished.
»We were only allowed to eat rice without any meat«, he says and mentions another punishment:
»They removed our mattresses, so we had to sleep on the wooden bottom. We had to clean the tables and take care of boots, and we were woken up in the middle of the night to run around constantly for around two hours over the course of two weeks«, says Amoah Francis Dominic.
He left the academy in 2015 because he found that he couldn’t get a contract as a football player.
Another Right to Dream player is Kingsley Fobi, who says that he nearly every day experienced, that there was giving out punishment, and he saw two boys being slapped.
»I don’t know what they did, but even if it was something bad, they don’t deserve to be slapped«, Kingsley Fobi says.
Under pressure
Collins Tanor signed with Manchester City, but in January 2016, he switched to FC Nordsjælland as part of a loan contract on Tom Vernon’s recommendation.
»It wasn’t going too well. I worked hard and felt I was doing well and thought I should be placed on the team. But I wasn’t«, says Collins Tanor.
When the season was over, Tanor wanted to leave FC Nordsjælland, which he notified Manchester City. However, according to Collins Tanor, Tom Vernon had a three-hour talk with him face to face.
»I ended up saying I didn’t want to stay and then he told me directly: If you don’t want to stay here, if you don’t sign, the boys will think that this isn’t a place for them. They’ll say: Why is Collins leaving?«
This proved to be true. Collins Tanor recounts that he constantly received text messages from the boys at the academy. They wanted to know why he was not playing.
Collins Tanor says he was told that if he refrained from signing the contract, it would have major consequences. The African boys would no longer want to join FC Nordsjælland, and this would prompt sponsors to stop supporting Right to Dream, leading to the collapse of the academy.
»And it’s because of me. That’s what he said. He put that pressure on me. I had just turned 19«, says Collins Tanor.
According to him head coach of FC Nordsjælland, Kasper Hjulmand, went with him for a drive in the forest and had a long chat with him.
»He told me everything I needed to hear. He told me how we were going to play and how they saw me and that it was my turn now «, says Collins Tanor.
He got to play a few minutes in a match against the Danish Superliga team Brøndby. Then he agreed to extend the loan by a year. What happened? The exact same thing. He was kept off the field.
»I’m not stupid. The boys looked up to me, so I was a crucial part of the system, so I had to stay«, says Collins Tanor.
When presented with this incident Right to Dream only has this written answer:
»With all respect, we see this as indicative of the mentality of your source – an unfortunate lack of personal accountability on the part of the player«.
Collins Tanor says, that his first agent was Phil Radley, and that he was recommended as an agent to him and the other boys already at the age of 14 and 15 by Tom Vernon and the academy. According to Collins Tanor it just tied him more to the system in Right to Dream.
»An agent is supposed to be on the side of the player and fight for you. But I was just being toyed around. Phil Radley was Tom Vernons lawyer, and they were friends. When I played in FC Nordsjælland and felt, that I was doing well, but didn’t play, I said to my agent: What is going on?«, he says and adds:
»But they just meet at the office, and I didn’t feel, that my agent went into the office and demanded something. He came back and said, that because I worked so hard, I was on the right path. Then I was stuck in their system, and my agent became the lawyer of the club. How is that?«
Free Will
When his contract expired, he left FC Nordsjælland, and Manchester City loaned him to Beerschot in Belgium. After six months, he was loaned out to the Superliga club Hobro where he is still active today.
Tom Vernon and Right to Dream reject the statements from Collins Tanor and the other three former players from the academy. According to the academy, these players have been manipulated by »evil individuals«. But Right to Dream did not answer Politikens written questions about who these »evil individuals« might be and how they might have manipulated the players at the academy.
Collins Tanor rejects the allegation from Right to Dream that he should have been manipulated into talking bad about the academy.
»It is all my experiences and my opinions of what it has been like to go through Right to Dream«, says Collins Tanor.
Are you not just bitter that you are not having success at a top football club?
»Not at all. If I play bad and get benched, I will take it on my shoulders and I will work hard to become the best possible footballer«, says Collins Tanor.
According to Right to Dream’s statement, the Department of Social Welfare in Ghana visited the academy to examine the conditions and encountered no negative statements from students at the time. But Collins Tanor cannot remember having ever talked to a person from the department.
»Probably I wasn’t at the academy at the time because there were stages where some of us were in England at Manchester and I spent lot of time going back and forth between Ghana and Manchester«, he says.
But if you had been asked at the time?
»I would never have said anything bad. It is a system where you are trained to behave in a certain way«.
Since leaving FC Nordsjælland, he has yet to exchange a single word with Tom Vernon. But what is Collins Tanor hoping to change?
»I want to make it possible for the boys to leave Right to Dream, so they can make their own choices. If a club is interested in a young football player, then let him and his family decide what will happen«, says Collins Tanor and adds:
»Free will must be restored«.
Translation: Christoffer Østergaard
fortsæt med at læse
