Tom Vernon is a former Manchester United's scout and the founder of Africa's top football academy, Right To Dream. Originally from England, Vernon founded Right To Dream in his early twenties in 1999, when he was scouting Africa for the Manchester United club. Right To Dream started on a small scale before becoming today a notable Ghanaian brand that Vernon and his team have built up and are now taking around the world.
Based in Ghana, RTD is a football academy that offers underprivileged children the opportunity to reach their true potential in life through sports and education. Its goal is to develop critical, engaging minds, capable of achieving academic success and understanding its application to life beyond the classroom. The academy counts eight grass pitches and is also the only residential girls' academy in Africa. RTD trains young boys and girls in order for them to fulfil their potential both in classrooms and on the soccer field, and provides a graduate pathway for them. With their strong academic potential acquired at the academy, students have the opportunity to further their education on student-athlete scholarships at the academy's partners in the U.S.
After years of growing and training top players, Right To Dream bought Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjaelland (FCN) in 2015, with Tom Vernon becoming chairman. It was the first time a European soccer club had been purchased by an African nonprofit. In 2022, for the FIFA World Cup, three RTD graduates Kudus Mohammed (ex FC Nordsjælland), Kamaldeen Sulemana (ex FC Nordsjælland) and Kamal Sowah were selected to represent Ghana Black Stars.
SIA-Africa awards Tom Vernon our Person of the Month for November 2022, for shaping a different future for children and for helping them achieving their dreams through education and sports.
