Dennis Ofori Okyere

Mirage Academy winger Dennis Ofori Okyere arrived in Denmark on the 15th of March to begin a four week trial with Danish Giants Esbjerg FB.  

The football club, who are currently in the highest league in Denmark the ‘Danish Superliga’, will be watching Dennis play and train over the next four weeks before deciding whether to offer him with a professional playing contract.

The promising 17 year old, who is a product of Ghana’s Mirage football academy, was greeted upon his arrival at Billund Airport in Denmark by Esbjerg fb officials.

However, there was no time for sightseeing on this trip as club officials whisked Dennis straight off to the accommodation they had arranged for him for the duration of his stay in order for Dennis to prepare for his first day of training, which is on Saturday.

When asked about this exciting opportunity which he had been provided with by the Mirage Academy, an enthusiastic Dennis replied “I am extremely happy to get the opportunity to come to Denmark for trials at Esbfjerg FB.

“I don’t know what to expect, but I have been training really hard these past few weeks with the Mirage Academy because I want to come here and shine.

“I would like to say a special thank you to the chairman of Mirage academy Sarpong Boateng and co partners John Yeboah and Nana Twumasi along with his agent Tony Awor for making this opportunity possible.

“I am grateful and eager to repay the faith people have had in me and I pray for God’s total guidance.”

Dennis Ofori Okyere is just one of many youngsters who are provided with the chance to benefit from the facilities and coaching at the Mirage Academy.

Sarpong Boateng, who is the Academy’s chairman, has high hopes that more youngsters will follow in Dennis’ footsteps and who, with the help of the Academy, will be given the chance to play football professionally in Europe.

He says “the Mirage Academy was set up two years ago with our main aim being to provide free coaching and guidance to help players reach the best of their abilities.

“We hope to improve their technical, tactical and awareness skills as well as their overall understanding of the game before we invite European clubs to come and watch them play, or before we provide DVD recordings of their games to the clubs we have strong connections with in Europe.”

Sarpong predicts a bright future for the Mirage Academy and with the hard work of his colleagues and dedication of the youngsters they are coaching, he anticipates that there will be more success stories similar to Dennis’ to come.