David Accam is the Chicago Fire’s leading scorer, but the Ghanaian did not take a traditional route into professional soccer.
A story from These Football Times described Accam’s journey from Accra, Ghana, to becoming a professional player that has represented his country on its senior national team. Accam’s story starts with the Right to Dream Academy in Accra and then shifts to England, where he attended Hartpury College while playing for amateur teams.
Accam’s big break came through winning a reality show/talent contest called The Chance, which was run by Nike. As described in These Football Times, “eight players were selected as winners out of 75,000 participants across 42 countries and spent the 2011-2012 season with the Nike Football Academy.” Accam was one of the lucky eight and the Nike Football Academy helped him land a professional contract with a team in the Swedish third tier. After moving to a bigger club in Sweden, the Chicago Fire acquired him before the 2015 season.
Accam has since given back to similar programs in his home country. During the Fire’s break for Copa America Centenario, Accam went back to Ghana and donated a community pitch to Right to Dream.