Kicking Away The Doubt

Richmond Etse, Qatar

Richmond Etse, originally from Ghana, is an Electrical Technician who works for EMCO. As part of the GOALS program, Richmond tells the story of growing up playing football in Ghana, his move to Qatar, and the challenges of working away from his family.

When I kick a football around, this represents me kicking away the doubt. Scoring a goal helps me refocus. Every pass is an opportunity. Football is not a sport; it is life.

I was born and raised in Ghana in the capital city of Accra. Where I grew up was not well developed. It was a scattered settlement called Tema Manhean, and you would have to walk a long distance to see a friend. As years went by, people from all walks of life came to settle in that community, and today there are no lands to build on. The neighborhood is now densely populated.

When I was a child, I would see footballers score goals that would soar through the air and into the net. It was mesmerizing. My father was a professional footballer for Sekondi Eleven Wise in the 1960s. His passion for football meant that I grew a similar passion for the game. I wanted to play like professional footballers, run with the ball like them, and score those goals like them.

Playing football with my friends in the neighbourhood was fun - some are still my friends today. We would play with bare feet on a sandy field. It was hard if the area was not sandy, and our feet got tough. Sometimes I would get hurt playing barefooted, especially when the sun was scorching and would burn the soles of my feet.

You would kick stones in the dirt and hurt your toes, but I got stronger. No one had shoes to play football. The only shoes we had were to go to school, but these would hurt our feet even more when we played football in them.

It was the late 1980s, and we could not even afford to buy a football. We would improvise with socks and plastic tied together. We called it a “socks ball”, and we would play with the socks ball until it wore out.

Football is a community game, and we created our own rules, which were as follows:

* The biggest player will be the goalkeeper.

* Whoever owns the ball ends the game.

* The best two players cannot play for one team. So each team chooses one.

* To distinguish teams, one team will go shirtless.

* If you kick the ball out, you get it.

* If your mum calls you, you can be substituted, and when you return, you can continue.

My passion for football developed further when I got to Junior High School. I was not always the best, but I got better after playing more matches. In secondary school, I had to focus more on my academics, and I decided to pause on football because I knew that studying and my career would require dedication.

My educational path was General Science; it was a complex subject and required me to be studious to pass my exams with distinction. At this point, going to the field was not possible - I spent most of my time studying.

During my final year at secondary school, when I was 17, Ghana football legend Asamoah Gyan was admitted into the school and played for the school team. Asamoah went on to play at the highest level in Europe and represent the national team. As one of the best penalty takers, it was unfortunate to see him miss a penalty against Uruguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

My path continued to Electrical Engineering; I graduated from school but could not find a job. I was introduced to Emaric, a recruiting agency focusing on Gulf countries at this time. I successfully passed some exams and an interview, and the only job vacancy available was in Qatar. Two months later, my visa was ready, and it was time to travel.

I arrived in Qatar in February 2017. It was a dream come true when I arrived in Qatar. But as the days went by, loneliness set in, and I missed my family. Even though we talk on the phone and see each other, the feeling is not the same as being with them in-person.

My wife is a fashion designer, we met in church. We had known each other for ten years before getting married in July 2013. We have three children, a 7-year-old daughter, a 5-year-old son, and another son born while I was in Qatar. He is almost two, and I have not met him yet. It has not been easy for me being away from the family for the past two and a half years.

Challenging situations are part of life. I focus my mind on my goals, and I talk to my family every blessed day on WhatsApp video.  When I speak to them, my nerves calm down.

People normally think workers who migrate to Qatar are subjected to all kinds of ill treatment. Many people have the notion that Arab countries are not welcoming. I always put it to them that Qatar is one of the most welcoming, peaceful and hospitable countries. The only thing I would change is the ability to change jobs easily without any restrictions.

By living and working in Qatar, I am pursuing my dream to buy a home for my family. I have acquired the land, and the next step is to lay the foundations. I will work until I can afford to complete the home.

For success, we must put the maximum effort into our actions. This is what I would do on the football field, then in my education, and now in my career.

Today I am an Electrical Technician with EMCO. Alongside working in the field I studied, Qatar has enabled me to pick back up my passion for football. Every year, EMCO organizes a football tournament for the workers.

Due to Coronavirus, the tournament was cancelled in 2020 and 2021. I played all the matches from 2017 to 2019. In January 2022, Qatar Foundation organized a football tournament for the workers dubbed the Shukran tournament and EMCO won.

Being part of the EMCO team has given me exposure to a lot of people from all walks of life and given me the opportunity for networking. My passion for football reignited with this opportunity to play again.

With my photos I was trying to show that football is a way of life that brings people together. It is a path of joy and a path of relief. I showed one woman playing football with the men, breaking the barriers for women. She has proven what men can do, she can do better. I also captured our EMCO team offering prayers to God for victory and playing matches.

As the saying goes, football is a way of life. For me, football is a path of joy and relief. This year is particularly special with the FIFA World Cup. Ghana has qualified for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, my hope is the Black Stars of Ghana will win the trophy!

The World Cup will be extraordinary. I believe whenever you are given an opportunity to perform a task, it must be done very well. All the stadiums and the metro system are incredible and fans will be able to watch more than one match per day.

An American called Lewis Grizzard wrote about American football, and it is how I feel about the real ‘football’. He said:

“The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, score your points when you get the opportunity.”