In June 2003 Robert returned to his native country, Ghana, for 5 weeks. He trained the Sekondi Hasaacas Football Club, a professional team, and also worked with the youth program in the cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. He visited the Ghana Women's National team, the Black Queens, who he later helped coach in the United States for the Women's World Cup in August of 2003. That year he co-founded the Hasaacas Youth Academy, which now has four boys and two girls teams.

Over the past several years, Robert has continued in his role as technical advisor and trainer for three professional teams in Ghana: the Men's Sekondi Hasaacas Football Club, and two Women's teams: the Ghatel Ladies and the Hasmal Ladies, a team he co-founded in June, 2003. He also has continued to donate equipment and jersyes to the Youth Academy as well as to the Hasaacas Professional Team.

In Feburary, 2006, Mr. Sackey traveled to Dallas, TX, where Ghana's National Mens' Team, the Black Stars, played Mexico's National Team, to volunteer as a Technical Advisor to the team. Three weeks later he received a call from the Ghana Football Association that he had been apointed as a Team Scout and Technical Advisor to the Black Stars at the upcoming World Cup Games in Germany in June, of 2006. He scouted the US team as well as other teams Ghana would face prior to and during the World Cup Games. During the tournament, Ghana was the only African team to move out of the round of sixteen.

Following the World Cup, Mr. Sackey was asked by the GFA to organize a training tour for the Black Queens in preparation for the Womens' World Cup qualifying series. The Black Queens played against U.C. Berkeley Women, as well as several semi-professional Womens' teams, including the Sacramento Storm. The Black Queens went on to qualify for the World CUp the following month.

This year, Mr. Sackey has organized the first soccer training tour for one of his Northern Californian girls teams, the U13 Mavericks. The team will travel to Ghana on December 19th, 2007 and stay until January 4th, 2008. They will play girls teams in the Hasaacas Academy as well as the U14 National Team. The goal of the tour is to help encourage girls to play soccer and help promote an organized playing league for young girls, which willl help develop the Womens' Professional League.

" I believe that if girls are given the opportunity to play and have an organized league there is no doubt they will be able to perform and do well at the international level."

Mr Sackey worked with the Ghana National Women's Team, The Black Queens leading up to and Nationall Women's Team, The Black Queens, leading up to and during the Women's World Cup 2003 tournament.

SABISOCCER in GHANA

If you love playing soccer and are interested in international travel, Sabisoccer in Ghana is the perfect tour for you! In Ghana, soccer is the number one sport and the passion of its people. Whether you want to play or coach, Sabisoccer offers a number of different opportunities for you. Sabisoccer in Ghana is located in the twin cities of Takoradi and Sekondi, along the picturesque coast of the Western Region of Ghana.

You will have the rare opportunity of working with the Hasaacas Academy and the Ahanataman Academy, two professional academies with ages ranging from 12-adult, and including both male and female teams. If you have coaching experience, you may be able to coach at the Academy and contribute to the development of international soccer, as well as touch the lives of many Ghanaian children. If playing soccer is your passion, our training program at the Hasaacas Academy is wonderful chance for you to develop your skills alongside some of Ghana's best youth and adult athletes, and learn firsthand the African style of play, including playing beach soccer at the local beaches and nearby resorts.

During your 2-4 week stay in Ghana, you will have the option of exploring the rich cultural heritage of Ghana through trips to national landmarks such as the Cape Coast slave castle, Kakum Forest Reserve, Busua Beach resort, and Hans Crocodile Cottage. You may choose to learn some of the local traditional customs, including dance, drumming, batik, and Ghanaian cooking. You will stay at Sabivilla, a lodge built and designed for international soccer visitors, located 5-10 minutes from town and the beaches.

Sabisoccer in Ghana offers you the unique opportunity to travel to Ghana with a Ghanaian American soccer coach, Robert Sackey, who has been coaching youth soccer in the Bay Area for the last 17 years. In December, 2007, Coach Sackey led one of his teams, the Mavericks U13 girls, and their parents on a soccer tour to his home town of Takoradi. He has also organized a tour for Ghana's National Women's team, the Black Queens, to the Bay Area in 2006, and served as a Scout and Technical Advisor to the Men's National team, the Black Stars, at the World Cup, Germany, 2006, and for the Black Queens at the World Cup, USA, 2003. Coach Robert Sackey has been developing soccer in Ghana for the past six years, and travels to Ghana twice yearly to work with the Hasaacas Youth Academy and their professional team. Coach Sackey is committed to building a relationship between Ghanaian and American soccer players in order to build cross cultural understanding through soccer, and for the good of the game.

For more information, contact Robert Sackey at 510.697.2392, robertsackey@sabisoccer.com.

The web site for Mavericks Girls Soccer Team who went to Ghana in December of 2007 is MavericksgirlsforGhana.com.

To view pictures of the most recent tour Robert led for the U14 Mavericks Girls Soccer Team, in December of 2007, please visit http://flickr.com/photos/22557261@N03/.