00:00Abdul Ghaffar's life looks very different from what he once imagined.
00:03As a child in Ghana, he dreamed of becoming a professional football player.
00:09Every player in Africa's goal is to come to Europe and play.
00:14But he was abandoned by so-called agents after being taken abroad.
00:18Many young African footballers are moved around with the same dream,
00:22often in exchange for thousands of euros.
00:25These agents hope to cash in on the dreams of young boys
00:27who see football as a chance at a better life.
00:31There's so much corruption in the system.
00:33They come with sweet mud.
00:35And you know, footballers, you are suffering in Africa.
00:37You don't have good things in Africa.
00:39If an agent comes and says,
00:41OK, this is the situation, I'm taking you to Europe, you do.
00:45His agent had his player pass,
00:47meaning he owned him and controlled his moves in football.
00:50For his first move, he was given a fake invitation to a club in Tanzania.
00:55He took two of us.
00:57One striker and one midfeder got arrested for something we didn't even know.
01:03It's like child trafficking, you know.
01:05His agent then secured a transit visa and fake papers,
01:08allowing him six months at a second division club in Ethiopia.
01:12Later, he learned the visa wasn't valid.
01:14And since he was there illegally, he had to pay a hefty fine.
01:17I had to stay there four years to be able to pay all this money before I left.
01:25Abdul Ghaffar's agent was arrested, but he stayed silent because he still needed his help.
01:31I protected him.
01:32I'm like, he didn't know.
01:34So this, that's why things like this happen.
01:37A new agent proposed an opportunity with a club in Ukraine,
01:41and Abdul Ghaffar jumped at the chance to move to Europe.
01:44It's funny, because I thought I was going to play direct contract.
01:49But instead of playing and getting paid by the club,
01:52he was asked to pay for the cost of his room and board.
01:55I didn't earn anything.
01:57It's either you go back or you play for three,
01:59then you get some videos, you get some connections, Europe, then you can move.
02:04He was able to come to Berlin, Germany, through a personal connection.
02:07He hoped to find a professional club, but it was much harder than he expected.
02:12Now he has a job, a family, and plays on Sundays with other Africans,
02:16many of whom share similar experiences in football.
02:19I found out that it's not easy in Germany when you are not from here.
02:26They are like, hey, you're good, but it will be difficult because you are black.
02:31Now I'm working, I'm a painter, and at the same time,
02:35I'm working with kids, teaching, because I've passed through a lot.
02:38It's really, really important for the young ones to know that it's not just,
02:43as they see, it has side stories as well.
02:46A hard-learned lesson he hopes other young aspiring football players in Africa will learn from.
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