Story added: 20th August 2018
Former CSF Football & Education student Ishmael ‘Ish’ Fatadjo has agreed a deal that sees him sign for prestigious Portuguese club S.C. Beira-Mar.
Eighteen-year-old Ish swaps the CSF classroom for a 12,000 capacity stadium in Aveiro, Portugal, and joins a club who list the late, great Eusébio as one of its former players.
New signing Ish Fatadjo at Beira-Mar
Fatadjo first engaged with the Foundation through our Premier League Kicks programme, an initiative which provides evening sport sessions and workshops for youngsters. A young “street footballer” with great potential, the Great Yarmouth High School student was made aware of the Foundation’s Football and Education Programmes by Foundation staff.
Celebrating a goal at a Kicks session in 2016
Achieving the programme’s necessary entry grades of 5 A-C GCSEs was a challenge for someone who didn’t see English as their first language, but with hard work, and some additional support from the Foundation’s Education team, Ish was able to do exactly that.
Taking on a representative Leicester City side while with at CSF
Adam Drury, Canaries Legends and CSF Football Development Manager (16-19) said he was delighted for the student:
“Ish has worked so hard to get this opportunity. It has been extremely rewarding to see him develop as a player and a person over the last two years. He is a great role model to other student to never give up, and keep working hard both on and off the pitch.”
Beira-Mar were founded in 1922, and have spent much of their history in the top flight of Portuguese football. They won the country’s premier cup competition, the Taça de Portugal, in 1999, and made a UEFA Cup debut the following season. They currently play in the third-tier of Portuguese football.
Fatadjo follows in the footsteps of fellow “class of 2018” student Billy Johnson, who recently signed a professional contract here at Norwich City FC.
To find out more about the Foundation’s Football and Education programmes click here.
Ish Fatadjo was one of several students on the programme who benefitted from a partnership between the Foundation and First Buses. The partnership allowed him to receive funded travel for the duration of his two year course in Norwich, via the transport company’s X1 bus route.
He says: “It would have been very hard for my family to support me financially with my travel from Great Yarmouth every day. Being able to access the course has enabled me to achieve my dream of playing professional football, and I’m truly grateful to the support of First Buses for this.”
Steve Wickers, Managing Director at First Eastern Counties said: “It is great to see students partaking in the CSF programme achieve such high accolades.
“Our involvement in the partnership is to provide students with free bus travel to and from lessons and training, giving them an opportunity, which in normal circumstances would not be an option, to aspire and accomplish their ambitions.
“Great work and commitment is put in by the team at CSF to develop, support and provide students with the tools they need to progress mentally and physically and reach the highest standards of ability. The successes with Billy and Ish are great examples for all young people to aspire to and is proof that with the right support anything is achievable”.
"Ish has worked so hard to get this opportunity, and I'm delighted to see him get this move. It has been extremely rewarding to see him develop as a player and a person over the last two years."
Adam Drury
Football Development Manager (16-19)
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