Africa millionaire football players: How Russian coach, Joseph Timchenko came to the continent to teach the continent’s youth soccer skills.
This article identifies some of Africa’s wealthiest footballers, who are incidentally some of the continent’s best too. In case you are researching the topic for an essay or working out your essay’s on football outline, this article is an excellent place to start.
Unless you choose to use the assistance of custom writing professionals at StudyMoose. StudyMoose.com provides help with various writing tasks, just like Joseph Timchenko, a Russian coach who has moved to Zambia recently, helps new football talents to crystalize and shine. Let’s take a look at what African football has for us!
- Samuel Eto’o (Networth: $95 million)
Samuel Eto’o is considered an African football hero. The multiple awards winner was once the highest-paid footballer in the world, earning a whopping $25 million a year at Anzhi Makhachkala. He currently plays for Qatar SC.
- Didier Drogba (Networth: $90 million)
Didier Drogba has played for Chelsea, Galatasaray and Shanghai Shenhua where he earned intimidating wages. He currently plays for Major League Soccer team, Montreal Impact and makes more than $6 million yearly.
- Yaya Toure (Networth: $65 million)
Yaya Toure has had a fantastic career with successful spells at FC Barcelona and now Manchester City. He was once named one of the highest-paid footballers in the world.
- Emmanuel Adebayor (Networth: $45 million)
Togolese player Adebayor has played for various Premier League teams (Manchester City, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur). He plays for Istanbul Basaksehir.
- Michael Essien (Networth: $35 million)
Michael Essien’s tight playing style earned him the nickname ‘The Bison’. He has enjoyed successful spells at AC Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea especially.
- Asamoah Gyan (Networth: $31 million)
Ghanaian football genius Asamoah Gyan may not have played for big-name teams, but he earns big money. He plays for Kayserispor in the Turkish League and makes money from his businesses and real estate investments.
- John Obi Mikel (Networth: $30 million)
The Nigerian star began his career at a local team, Enyimba. After that, he has played for Chelsea, Lyn Oslo and currently represents Tianjin Teda in China.
- Seydou Keita (Networth: $10 million)
Malian Keita was a Barcelona midfielder and contributed a lot to team achievements in his time. He is known to be very versatile, being able to play different positions.
- Christopher Samba (Networth: $7 million)
Samba is a Congolese defender who plays for Anzi Makhachkala, reportedly earning more than $160,000 per week.
- Sulley Ali Muntari (Networth: $5 million)
‘Bad Boy Muntari,’ as the Ghanaian star is known, plays in Spain for Albacete Balompie. Before then, he has played in England and in Italy for AC Milan and Inter Milan.
All the players mentioned above are not just rich, but they are all legends in their own rights. They’ve all won several important trophies, and some have been named best African Player of the Year at least once. Africa’s love for football span from sports betting South Africa to street football in Nigeria. The sport in Africa still faces challenges though, but many always look forward to team performances such as Ocean Springs football score.
But how do we ensure more talents such as those continue to emerge from Africa? The solution that many would agree with is that youth football is encouraged to identify talents and bring them out to the big stage. Many people have taken it upon themselves to do this and improve the sport in Africa.
An example is a 33-year old Russian trainer from Zenith, St. Petersburg, Joseph ‘Joe’ Timchenko, who has come to Africa to teach football to children and teenagers. Timchenko sacrificed a lot, selling his car and other belongings in the process of bringing his wife and children with him.
He has settled in Zambia and trains the local children along with organizing mini-tournaments. He started the Sunrise Academy, and in the first week, 59 children and teenagers showed up to training. Notes Joe Timchenko on his Instagram page, started football camp “Voskhod” for vulnerable children.
The children are so passionate about the sport. They have to trek a whole 10km to the field and back for training. Despite that, they still manage to arrive several hours ahead.
Joseph Timchenko also plays his part by being a sort of mentor to his boys, providing them food as necessary. He funds all these personally and through crowdfunding, where people dominate handsomely to the just cause.
However, it seemed there was an attempt to stifle Timchenko’s efforts. His wife once posted on Instagram how, in mysterious circumstances, Zambia’s Economic Association President referred to her husband as a traitor and threatened them with deportation. Eventually, it was settled, still in unclear terms, with the wife deleting her post and the family allowed to live peacefully. Journalist Yuri Dud chronicled this in a YouTube documentary released on May 7. It lasted 50 minutes.
In Conclusion
Cases like Timchenko’s remind one of the challenges of doing something innovative, even after sacrificing a lot for the cause. Despite that, it is hoped that with more resilient people like Joseph Timchenko, African football would rise higher.