"I Got Stuck in Ghana": Michail Antonio Opens Up on Losing His Passport During Visit
- West Ham United striker Michail Antonio has shared the ordeal of losing his passport during his visit to Ghana
- The Jamaica forward missed the matches against the United States of America during the international break
- Antonio has an academy in Ghana, where young talents are being developed for the big leagues in Europe
Don't miss out! Get your daily dose of sports news straight to your phone. Join YEN's Sports News channel on WhatsApp now!
West Ham United forward Michail Antonio has opened up after missing Jamaica's Nations League games in November following his visit to Ghana.
The Jamaica striker lost his British passport which prevented him from joining his teammates in London for the trip to the United States.
Antonio was in Ghana on a working visit after visiting his Academy in Bompata in Kumasi.
Although he had a Jamaican passport, he could not immediately process a visa to the United States, which prevented him from playing for his country during the international break.
“So I got stuck in Ghana. I got an emergency passport just to get back to the UK," he said, as quoted by Ghana Soccernet.
“Then I wasn’t able to sort out a visa to fly to America because I couldn’t get a visa on my Jamaican passport.”
He also had to request an emergency passport to be able to enter the United Kingdom.
Antonio builds an Academy in Ghana
The England-born Jamaica striker, who is a teammate with Ghana's Mohammed Kudus at West Ham, has invested in the game in the West African nation.
Following the discovery of several talents from Ghana, the West Ham forward decided to support young footballers by establishing a football academy.
“I’ve come here to do my work. We’ve started an academy here in Kumasi, Bompata,” he told the media. "We know about all the talent here; we’ve seen Mo [Kudus] is at the club (West Ham) right now. We just want to give the boys over here the opportunity to break through to the Premier League," he said, when he arrived in Ghana, as quoted by 3 News.
Antonio backs Kudus to come back strong
Earlier, Yen.com.gh reported that Michail Antonio has backed his West Ham United teammate Mohammed Kudus to come back from his five-match suspension stronger.
The Ghana international was slapped with an extra two-match ban and a fine of £60,000 following his straight red card in the game against Tottenham Hotspurs.
Kudus was earlier serving a three-match suspension before the latest punishment was released by the English FA.
PAY ATTENTION: YEN Needs Your Opinion! That's your chance to change your favourite news media. Fill in a short questionnaire
Source: YEN.com.gh