Ghana’s famous Right To Dream Academy and Egyptian billionaire Mohammed Mansour have reached an agreement that will help the iconic football institution expand and recruit more young players to hone their talents for the country.
Man Capital LLP (Man Capital), owned by the famous Egyptian family, has formed the new footballing partnership with the Ghanaian outfit to also increase the coaching opportunities to retired former Ghana players to become world class coaches.
The investment in Right To Dream by Man Capital, the UK-based investment arm of the Egyptian Mansour Group, a family-owned global conglomerate, is being made through Man Sports, a new entity established for the partnership, and will see investment designated to expand the activities of the Right To Dream academy in Ghana.
As the birth place of the Right To Dream academy, the partnership will invest in ensuring its tradition of innovation and supporting children’s dreams across the country through football continues. The academy in Ghana will also continue to develop some of the best youth players in the country and focus on discovering many talents and developing high performance athletes with a focus on education.
In addition, the investment will enable the Ghanaian brand to be exported abroad, seeing the ‘Kanea’ star shining brightly in Egypt through the launch of a new Right To Dream academy for boys and girls in West Cairo, replicating the successful academies in Ghana and Denmark.
Investment will also support the creation of a new pro women’s team to beformed in Egypt shortly after the academy launches, expansion of the women’s and girl’s programmes across the organisation, also including the establishment of a professional women’s team in Ghana in the next five years, and the exploration of UK opportunities at club and academy level.
Under the terms of the partnership, Man Sports will assume majority control of Right to Dream with Tom Vernon remaining the other significant shareholder.
Mr Mohamed Mansour, the Founder and Chairman of Man Capital, becomes Chairman of the Board of Right To Dream, while his son, Mr Loutfy Mansour, the CEO of Man Capital, becomes a Board member.
Speaking about the investment, Mr Mansour, Chairman and Founder of Man Capital, said: “I could not be prouder to be investing in and partnering with Tom and his team at Right To Dream, who are inspirational for the life-changing work they undertake with talented boys and girls across Africa, Europe and the Americas.”
“We have long taken a close interest in the work they are doing and are delighted to be announcing our partnership today. Not only are we a family of football fans, indeed my uncle Mostafa Kamel Mansour even represented Egypt in the 1934 World Cup, but we are committed to supporting communities across Africa, through our foundations and other philanthropic activities.”
Tom Vernon, who continues in his role as CEO of Right to Dream Group, said: “For 20 years Right to Dream has been using football as a platform for social change, bringing life-changing opportunities through sport and education for children and their communities. This partnership helps Right to Dream move into the next stage of its global expansion, putting people and purpose at the center of football. With the support of the Mansour family,
we are creating a new standard of purpose-driven sports for clubs and players and building the leaders of tomorrow.”
