Japanese export Jindo Morishita embarked on a long journey from Japan to Ghana to continue his football career, which has been mainly centered in Africa.
It all started for Jindo when he travelled as a young boy from Japan to the Netherlands, where his dad lived.
He took motivation from legendary Japanese footballer, Shinji Ono who at that time was playing for Feyenord in the Dutch league.
“Because of my father’s work, I travelled to his place in the Netherlands, where I started playing soccer.
“Shinji Ono, a legendary Japanese player was playing for one of the teams in Feyenord and I was very impressed,” he said.
Born in Japan, Jindo Morishita would go on to start his ameteur football career in the Netherlands where he played for Joppenhof academy before making a trip to Zambia to sign his first professional contract.
He explains the decision to start his career in Africa was to strengthen the connection between Africa and his native Japan.
“The reason why I started my football career in Africa was that I have often thought that the talents in Africa are being overlooked, and there is not much of a connection between Africa and Japan,” he explained.
In Zambia, he passed a trial with FC Muza and signed a professional contract with them. He went ahead to spend a year there.
Settling in Zambia was a herculean task for Jindo; the culture, weather, and their football but he managed to adapt with time.
Jindo whiles studying in Japan at the University of Tsukuba acquired a coaching certificate and currently holds a JJapanese Football Association coaching license C
With his experience in coaching and a certified one, he trained over 1,000 kids in Zambia and organized tournaments for them with the help of NGOs.
He held his own tournament with the help of local authorities.
Not just was he coaching the kids from Zambia, he was providing them with foodstuff as well.
The Japanese became a role model to some of the young Zambian footballers he trained.
He spent only one season (2020-2021) at FC Muza and left due to struggles in acquiring his work permit.
Despite settling in Zambia eventually, he recounts how he was denied a contract because of the country he hails from.
“One of the Premier League teams in Zambia denied me a contract because I looked like a Chinese, that was shocking – I experienced racism for the first time in my career.”
After starting his professional football journey in Zambia, he toured other Africa countries including Tanzania, Rwanda, Gambia and others. He later settled in Ghana, a decision he says is based on the level of talents in Ghana.
“After my season in Zambia, I travelled through different countries in Africa. Throughout my journey, I felt Ghana has some of the most talented players and also their culture.”
Ebusua Dwarfs subsequently anounced his signing. Prior to the Dwarfs gig, he coached Ali Soccer Academy – an academy in the Central Region with about 100 kids – for some months before joining the elite division side.
In the few months spent with Ali Soccer Academy, Jindo focused on teaching the young players – both male and female – how to build their career.
He is the first player from Asia and Japan to play in any af Ghana’s football competitions.
As the Ghana Premier League fully returns from the first round break this weekend, he would look to find favor in the Dwarfs connection.
By Francis Hema|3news.com|Ghana
