Prince Asempa

Prince Asempa (born 26 March 2000)[1] is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as goalkeeper for Ghanaian Premier League side Karela United. He previously played for Bechem United F.C.[2][3][4]

Prince Asempa
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-03-24) 24 March 2000
Place of birth Ghana
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Karela United
Number 44
Youth career
2014–2016 Bechem United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2022 Bechem United 50 (0)
2022– Karela United 17 (0)
International career
2016 Ghana U17 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 January 2022

Making his debut at the age 16, he won the Ghanaian FA Cup in 2016 during his debut season, making him the youngest player to play in the final and the youngest player to win the cup.[5][6]

Early life

Asempa was born on 26 March 2000, in Bechem in the Ahafo Region of Ghana. He had his secondary school education at Presbyterian Senior High School Bechem (PRESEC) where he played in the school's football team before being scouted by Eddy Ansah and joining Bechem United academy as a teenager.[7][6]

Club career

After being scouted by Bechem United's goalkeeper's coach Eddy Ansah, Asempa joined the Bechem United academy in 2015–2016. He was promoted to the senior team in 2016 as the club's second goalkeeper and he made his debut during the 2016 Ghana Premier League season.[2][5] He was named on the team's squad bench for the first time on 10 April 2016 in a match against International Allies.[8] Following an injury to Ernest Adu, the main goalkeeper,[6] he was given his debut on 26 June 2016 at the age of 16, helping them to secure a 2–1 victory over rivals Aduana Stars.[9] In July 2016, he kept three clean sheets in five matches, with the clean sheets coming in matches against Asante Kotoko, Techiman City and Berekum Chelsea. His clean sheet against Berekum Chelsea contributed to them winning by 2–0 over their other fierce rivals.[2] He ended the league season with 4 clean sheets out of 10 matches.[2]

During the 2016 Ghana FA Cup, Asempa became the main goalkeeper, just as he became the main goalkeeper for the league season. Due to his exploits in both the league and FA Cup, Asempa made Manuel Zachariah's 21 man squad for the final amidst being the least experienced within the squad.[10][11] He went on and played the full 90 minutes in final as Bechem United won by 2–1 against Okwawu United through a brace from Yaw Annor to clinch the trophy for the first time in the club's history. During the match, he made some impressive saves to prevent Danso Akoto from scoring.[12] At 16 years, starting the match made him the youngest player to start an FA Cup final and the victory made him the youngest player to win the FA Cup.[6][7] In October 2016, at the end of the season, he was nominated for the goalkeeper of the season and most promising player of the season awards.[13] He however did not win any of the awards, even though he expressed his interest in wanting to win both to serve as a boost to his career.[14][15]

During the 2019–20 season, he served as the club captain of the club replacing Daniel Egyin who had joined Medeama SC.[16] He continued to serve as club captain along with Moro Salifu during the 2020–21 Ghana Premier League.[17]

In February 2022, Asempa joined fellow Ghana Premier League side Karela United after only playing once for Bechem in the first round of the season.

International career

In 2016, Asempa was the first choice goalkeeper of the Ghana national under-17 football team.[6] He made his debut in March 2016 during the 4-nations tournament in Namibia which featured Germany. He helped Ghana to first-place finish after scoring 8–0 against Namibia and scoring their German counterparts 2–1.[18][19][20] At the end of the tournament, he was adjudged the best goalkeeper.[19][20] He however suffered an injury which resulted in him being left out of the squad for both the 2017 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations and 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup tournaments.

In 2018, he was also called up to the Ghana national under-20 football team ahead of the 2019 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualifiers.[21][22]

Honours

Bechem United

Ghana U17

  • Four Nations Tournament: 2016[18]
  • Four Nations Tournament Best Goalkeeper: 2016[18]

References
  1. "Ghana - P. Asempa - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  2. "Prince Asempa - Soccer player profile & career statistics". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  3. "Bechem United beat Inter Allies to push them further down". Ghana Football Association. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  4. Osman, Abdul Wadudu (13 June 2021). "Match Report : Bechem United 2-0 Berekum Chelsea - Hunters defeat Bibires to end winless run". Football Made In Ghana. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  5. "Bechem United goalkeepr Prince Asempa wants to win it all at FA Cup awards". GhanaSoccernet. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  6. "16-year-old SHS student Prince Asempah mans post for Bechem United in historic MTN FA Cup win". GhanaSoccernet. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  7. Okine, Sammy Heywood. "Eddy Ansah Celebrates FA Cup Triumph With Bechem United". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  8. "Match Report of Inter Allies FC vs Bechem United FC - 2016-04-10 - Ghana Premier League". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  9. "Match Report of Bechem United FC vs Aduana Stars FC - 2016-06-26 - Ghana Premier League". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  10. "Bechem United and Okwawu United name squad for FA Cup final". Pulse Ghana. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  11. "Prince Asempa named in Bechem United MTN FA Cup Final squad". Football Ghana. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  12. "2016 MTN FA Cup Final - Match Report: Bechem United 2-1 Okwawu United - Yaw Arnol's brace wins maiden trophy for Hunters in epic Cape Coast final". GhanaSoccernet. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  13. Acheampong, Afia (26 October 2016). "Nominees for 2015/16 MTN FA Cup Awards Gala out". Footy-GHANA.com. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  14. "Bechem United goalkeepr Prince Asempa wants to win it all at FA Cup awards". GhanaSoccernet. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  15. Forson, Enoch Fiifi (12 November 2016). "Yaw Anorl and Bechem united win big at MTN FA Cup awards gala 2016". My Joy Online. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  16. "We would have changed error prone Asempa but for the red card - Bechem United CEO". The Ghana Guardian News. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  17. "Top Football visits Bechem United FC". Bechem United FC. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  18. Namibian, The. "Black Starlets retain Four Nations Cup". The Namibian. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  19. Sienu, Sheikh Tophic (27 March 2016). "Ghana U17 sweep all awards at Four Nation Tournament in Namibia". GhanaSoccernet. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  20. Yeboah, Thomas Freeman (27 March 2016). "Black Starlets edge Germany to emerge champions". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  21. Darkwah, Frank (24 March 2018). "Forty players invited for Ghana U20 camping". Ghana Sports Online. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  22. "Forty-two players earn call ups into Black Satellites squad". Ghana Football Association. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
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