Bismark Adjei-Boateng is not the first Ghanaian to sign for the Rapids, nor is he the first to have found his way to Major League Soccer via an academy in the West African country which gives hope to hopefuls.
Adjei-Boateng began his soccer journey at the Right to Dream Academy in North Tongu, which is in the Volta Region of Ghana, about 40 miles north-east of the capital, Accra. The academy was set up in 1999 by Tom Vernon, a former scout with Manchester United and - since last January - chairman of Danish club FC Nordsjælland. Nordsjælland’s stadium is now known as Right to Dream Park.