Lawrence Baidoo: Untold story of Ernest Nuamah’s meteoric rise to fame

“When I was 5, I fell in love with football. I have been through ups and downs, I have been all around the world. All of it is to get here today,” he said.

“Looking back, I can tell you that the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

“My name is Ernest Nuamah Appiah, people call me Nana, Welcome to my Kumerican dream.”

This is not some poem, neither is it some attempt at literature. These were the words of a young boy who had just turned 18 in 2022 and had sealed a move to Danish side FC Nordsjaelland after successfully going through the ranks at Right to Dream.

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A year on and his name is already on the lips of Ghanaians as the quest to end the Black Stars trophy drought takes another shape.

It might be his maiden call-up into the senior national team but Nuamah is not new to the Ghana football ecosystem and even if he was, many might already have heard of his exploits at Nordsjaelland even before a national team assignment.

Three months after signing for the Super Liga outfit, the then-18-year-old was thrown into a game that Nordsjaelland were trailing in at halftime. He came on in the 67th minute against Aarhus GF at home on April 10, 2022, but it didn’t take him too long to settle and get along.

Nuamah scored what looked like the winning goal six minutes from full-time before the away team got the equaliser in added time.

It was the beginning of something unique.

The 23 minutes cameo was enough to see Nuamah adjudged as man of the match – a sign of what was to come. He went on to feature in eight more games as the 2021/22 Danish season came to an end.

The full season

Then came the new season and a new mission for Nuamah. He had been promoted fully to the first team with no junior team assignments.

The winger was on the pre-season tour with the club where he scored in one of the two friendly games they played.

Nuamah started the season in electric fashion and was rewarded with a place in Ghana’s 55-man initial pre-World Cup squad. He had directly been involved in seven goals, scoring five goals and providing two assists.

In the end, the call-up came too soon for the teenager and Ghana went on to exit the Munidal at the group stages.

But for Nuamah, finding himself in the provisional squad was a bit of motivation and only meant more hard work in his game could see him earn a spot in the senior national team.

While he waited for that part, there was something in line for him. The Black Meteors needed to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations to be staged in Morocco but they first needed to overcome the hurdle of going past Algeria.

He was included in a star-studded side called up by Ibrahim Tanko for that assignment and Nuamah didn’t hesitate, joining Fatawu Issahaku and the others for the challenge.

The Nordsjaelland star started both encounters against Algeria and proved pivotal in the first and second legs of the game.

While Fatawu Issahaku may have stolen the headlines with his two goals in both fixtures, Nuamah provided the assist on both occasions but the second at the Baba Yara Stadium was a real work of art.

Back in Denmark, Nuamah was leading Nordsjaelland’s chase for European Football once again and was very close to achieving it.

Unfortunately for him, losses to Copenhagen, Viborg FF, Aarhus and Brondby meant his side fell short in their pursuit of a league title as they ended the season as runners-up.

But on an individual level, the highly-rated Ghanaian was brilliant on all fronts as he scored the most goals for Nordsjaelland in the league. He scored 12 goals and provided four assists in 30 league appearances.

In all competitions, the left-footed attacker was involved in 19 goals in 34 games, scoring 15 and setting up four.

His efforts paid off as he won three individual awards at the end of the Danish League season.

• Spring Best Player award which was voted by head coaches.
• Player of the Year award which is voted by players.
• Young Player of the Year award which is also voted by the league’s Panel of Experts.

Even before the reception of these awards, Nuamah had been named in Ghana’s next game in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers as they travel away to Madagascar.

The player is expected to play a role in the game although his level of involvement is unknown.
But even before he kicks a ball for the senior national team, Nuamah has earned the plaudit of Ghana’s all-time top scorer, Asamoah Gyan.

“Ernest Numah’s call-up to the Black Stars is excellent because he is a good player,” Gyan told Asempa FM in an interview.

“I posted him after the Black Meteors qualified for the CAF U-23 AFCON and I said he will be a good player and I am happy with his inclusion.”

Nuamah would welcome these words of encouragement from one of Ghana’s best players in the past two decades.

In recent times, we have seen young players face the wrath of Ghanaians anytime they have underperformed for the Black Stars.

Fatawu Issahaku and Kamaldeen Sulemana are the most recent victims and what they share in common is the fact that they both play in the wide areas – where competition is tightest in the national team.

Nuamah may not necessarily hit the ground running immediately but he definitely possesses the qualities to succeed in this team in the long run.