Joseph Paintsil wants to be latest African soccer player to give back

Joseph Paintsil is still hoping to receive the phone call he always dreamed of this week, the one telling him he has made Ghana’s World Cup squad.

That seems unlikely at this point, although it would be a fair reward for the sacrifice, for the blood, sweat and tears the Galaxy winger has put into becoming one of his country’s best players, good enough to make the World Cup qualifiers and start in the Africa Cup of Nations.

But the cheers would likely be loudest at the Paintsil residential football academy founded in Ghana last summer. There, about 50 boys, ages 7 to 18, not only receive soccer training, but are also fed and go to school — all things Paintsil often lacked while growing up in Accra, the populous capital of a country where much of the population lives on $2 a day.

“The reason I want to give back is because of what I went through, what I faced growing up,” he said. “I did this because I want [to help] those who are truly in need, those who are truly suffering, and those who do not have this capacity. There are families for whom it is really difficult for them.

Being part of the World Cup team will help this effort by significantly increasing Paintsil’s visibility, which could open the door to more funding and allow them to expand the project.

“It’s just an independent thing that I created, like a foundation,” he said. “In the future, we’ll add a few women to it as well, to make it a big thing. So everything is underway and everything is coming together.”

For now, Paintsil funds much of the academy’s work with his $4.5 million salary with the Galaxy, although Herbalife, the team’s longtime jersey sponsor, contributes to a sports nutrition program. The staff includes three coaches, an athletic trainer and an administrator to manage the venue, Paintsil said. In addition to football training, children must also attend classes at a local school.

“It’s not just about football,” Paintsil said. “It’s also about education. We put them in schools and make sure they focus on school and not just football.”

The Paintsil academy is part of a long tradition of African footballers giving back generously to the communities that trained them. Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has built a water treatment plant and financed an ambulance unit in his Egyptian hometown of Basyoun, while Nigeria international Ahmed Musa has built multi-million dollar sports complexes in two towns in his homeland.

Nwankwo Kanu, a two-time African Player of the Year and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, has organized hundreds of free open-heart surgeries for children across Africa, while Didier Drogba, also a two-time Continental Player of the Year and a UN Goodwill Ambassador, has built hospitals and medical clinics in his native Ivory Coast, where he has also raised significant funds for healthcare through his foundation.

Drogba is so respected in his country that after helping Ivory Coast qualify for the 2006 World Cup, he went on television and asked fighters in the country’s bloody civil war to lay down their arms – and they did.

And this is just the top of a giant pyramid of charitable works built by African actors. But the continent’s greatest football humanitarian, the true GOAT, is Senegalese Sadio Mané, who funded a hospital, a secondary school, a gas station and a post office in his small hometown of Bambali, where he grew up in poverty and hunger. Since becoming a professional athlete, Mané has also provided the school with free laptops and internet service and paid a monthly stipend equal to the Senegalese minimum wage to every family in the city.

But perhaps the greatest contribution he made was simply the inspiration he provided to others.

“He made a comment that I don’t want to be recognized as a football player. I want to be recognized by helping people,” Paintsil said. “That’s the same philosophy I have. Even though it’s small, I still make people smile.”

Paintsil, 28, is also making people in Southern California smile. Since joining the Galaxy in a $9 million move from Genk of the Belgian Pro League, he has scored 10 goals twice in one season, helping the Galaxy win their sixth MLS Cup in his first season.

“What he gives us is he’s fast as hell and he can run behind anyone, anywhere, at any time,” said Galaxy coach Greg Vanney, who has used Paintsil as a winger and center forward. “It gives the opposition something they have to respect at all times.

“With his pace and direct running, he creates chances that no one else can.”

But Paintsil also had to deal with injuries that forced him to miss 18 games in two and a half seasons, injuries that also limited Paintsil’s opportunities with the Ghana national team. His last call-up was for October’s World Cup qualifier against Comoros, in which he played the final 16 minutes off the bench.

Paintsil was unsure how his status would be affected by Ghana’s decision to replace long-time coach Otto Addo with Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz last month, just 60 days before the start of the World Cup. The best solution, he decided, was to keep his head down and play hard.

“My job is just to stay the same and be ready, especially at my club. It’s always my dream to play in the World Cup. [team]”, said Paintsil, who felt snubbed when he was left out of Ghana’s squad four years ago in Qatar. “I’m preparing like I’m on that plane.”

It seems unlikely that this dream will come true in this World Cup as well since Paintsil was not included in the roster Queiroz called for Friday’s friendly against Mexico, the only match Queiroz will play before his World Cup roster is set. The Galaxy also have a match this weekend and the club is not required to release its national team players until Monday.

Missing the tournament again would be crushing, but if it happens, he will get over it, he promised. Because making the World Cup isn’t the feat he wants to be remembered for anyway.

“Football is not for everyone,” he said. “Some people who play football become doctors. That’s why we have to mix education, nutrition and football, because if football doesn’t help, education will help. So we always do that so that when they reach the highest level, they can say, ‘Oh, OK, what Joseph did, what Sadio Mané did, that’s something I want to do too.’

“So that’s a legacy that I’m trying to leave behind, so that other kids can look at that legacy as well and build on it going forward.”