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CFLC striker Latif Blessing travels to his hometown, Ghana, every night in the off-season to bring football equipment to underprivileged communities. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
LOS ANGELES – For many Major League Soccer players, the off season is a much needed time to rest, travel and relax with your family. But for striker Latif Blessing of Los Angeles FC, the off season has been the opportunity to devote himself to his biggest pbadion: using football as a ball to give back to his home town.
Blessing was born and raised in Nankese, a small village nestled in southeastern Ghana. Soccer quickly took Blessing from his hometown and transferred him south to Accra, the nation's capital, to join a youth development team at the age of 16, then to the United States. 2017 to play with the MLS Sporting Kansas City. But he remains closely tied to his home country and his village, where he travels every off season to give back.
"I'm proud to be Ghanaian," Blessing said. "I was young when I started playing and I thought I was going to go far. So now, today, I have gone far and so I need to help those who are back. "
This dead season, Blessing returned to Nankese to provide new jerseys and balls to his former high school, which had no new equipment for the coming season. Blessing calls this effort "share the blessing" and seeks to continue its activities over the years in different ways.
"In Ghana, we do not have many things, you know," said Blessing. "Nobody wears good boots. There is no land in a village, so, "OK, we'll help you."
Blessing hopes to do more than give jerseys and equipment. He believes that the resources of Nankai are not up to the natural talent that exists there, in a village that worships football almost like a second religion. In the coming years, Blessing hopes to set up a complete football field, which will then become the basis of its ultimate goal: an academy offering local players the opportunity to pursue the sport at a higher level.
That's Blessing's goal since arriving in the United States. One of the ways that Blessing continues to build resources to establish his academy is to support his team. His teammates from Kansas City and CFLA continue to donate and advertise his fundraising event, which raised more than $ 7,000 towards a goal of $ 100,000.
For Blessing, progress is slow and steady. This year, he could donate jerseys and boots. Next year, he hopes to donate paint for grbad and fields. But in the meantime, Blessing is encouraged by the gratitude he received during his visits to Nankai.
"Now, when I go back, everyone wears nice boots," said Blessing. "When I give them, they say 'thank you'. Everyone said, "Thank you, Latif. Thank you. "And I was happy."
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