Footballers across the globe do not have a reputation for intelligence as there is an ill-conceived perception that unintelligent students venture into football and other sporting disciplines.
In the Ghanaian society, sporting personalities usually do not occupy top positions in the academic field but Michael Poku-Boansi has become an exception to the rule.
According to Michael Poku-Boansi, he didn't start his academic career as an excellent student but he started to take his studies seriously when his father (ex-soldier) threatened to let him quit football.
Young Michael Poku-Boansi didn't look back after making the promise to his father to pursue academic excellence while trying to chase a career in football.
While schooling at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, he won the top scorer's award at the GUSA Games on three occasions before ending his time at the university.
While in the university, Poku-Boansi was also playing as a youth team player for the record holders of the Ghana Premier League, Asante Kotoko.
Poku-Boansi decided to quit football in the early 2000s as it was affecting his academics.
Michael was a teammate of Francis Akwaffo, Eric Nii Baah, and Gabriel Opoku-Ware who went on to play professional football after graduating from the Asante Kotoko youth team.
Poku-Boansi was promoted to the rank of full Professor at the Department of Planning at KNUST on August 1, 2021, and subsequently appointed as the new Vice Dean, of the School of Graduate Studies at KNUST and the feat was celebrated by Asante Kotoko fans who were happy to see their former youth team player excelling in academia.
Watch Michael Poku-Boansi as he explained his journey in football and academia in an interview with Bengazi TV.
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