Tony Mamodaly: Right to Dream International
14 June 2026“We raise our players as if they were our own children, and that’s the basis for all our decisions.”
Tony is the technical director of the Right to Dream Ghana academy. We’re able to conduct the interview in German; through his father, he also has Malagasy heritage.
He explains: “We’re here with a team of various nationalities—from Ghana, the U.S., Denmark, and Egypt. The Swedes are joining the Danes, and the boys from Ivory Coast are here in Ghana. We have 22 players and 8 staff members here!”
Challenging the Status Quo
He continues: “Basically, we want to challenge the soccer world with the way we work. We believe our philosophy is important: soccer, character, and development are inextricably linked. We raise our players as if they were our own children, and all decisions are made with that in mind. So it’s our responsibility, when they’re 15 or 16, to determine where they’ll thrive best as future professional soccer players and where they can attend colleges and universities in the U.S.”
Meanwhile, 150 players are active in professional soccer, and 130 are studying at various colleges and universities. And in this way, they’re bringing a different culture into the world of soccer, where everything revolves around money! “Transfer fees are reinvested in our model because we also want to be active in regions of the world where opportunities are scarce. For example, we’re in Ghana in West Africa, in San Diego, USA, on the Mexican border, and in Egypt at a location an hour’s drive from Cairo. Our impact extends far beyond soccer, and we therefore view everyone associated with us as our ambassadors.”
He mentions the names of Mohammed Kudus (Tottenham Hotspur), Simon Adingra (AS Monaco), Oosseni Bouda (Stanford University in the MLS), and Conrad Harder (RB Leipzig).
“For us, it’s a kind of cycle—how can we keep this going by bringing all our graduates back to us and helping them continue to develop?”
Girls’ Academy
“Since 2014, we’ve also had our first Girls’ Academy in Ghana. At its core, we want to ensure that inclusivity continues to develop within our organization and to strive for greater justice on a global level. It aligns perfectly with the idea that everyone has the right to make their dreams come true. No one is excluded on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, religion, or ethnicity.” Perhaps the most important philosophical statement of this Marveld Tournament!
