Richmond Forson


Richmond Forson is a naturalised Togolese professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career

Forson was born in Aflao, Ghana. As a youngster who started out with Sporting Club de Lome, Forson moved to France to FC Metz. His early promise which saw interest in him by such big clubs as Arsenal was almost eliminated when in 2001, while only 21, he was the victim of a serious road accident in France which left him unable to play for almost a year. Determined to get his career back on track, Forson then played as a defender for Luçon and an amateur team Vendée Poiré sur Vie.
Following the 2006 World Cup from January 2007 – August 2008, Forson played two seasons for AS Cherbourg Football in the French Championnat National. In 2008 after a falling out with the coach having lost his place in the side following a period with injury, he left Cherbourg and moved to Thouars Foot 79. On 30 January 2012, Forson signed for Championnat de France amateur side AS Yzeure along with David Pathinvo and Guinean international Aboubacar Sylla.

International career

While still an amateur player, Forson became a member of the Togo national team. His national debut came in May 2001 in a 1–0 victory against Senegal. His revelation was in a four countries tournament in Iran. He was called up to the squad to participate in the 2006 World Cup where he started in two games vs France and Switzerland. Both games resulted in 2–0 losses though Forson played strongly in the game vs France, effectively marking and containing French notable players such as Thierry Henry, Ribéry, Govou and Malouda.
His top performance in the World Cup re-established his career after several wilderness years.
At the 2006 World Cup, Forson was involved in the bonus dispute where the entire Togo threatened to go on strike after the national federation failed to pay the bonus money that was owed to the players. The situation was resolved with a partial payment to the players.

Ghana and Togo naturalization

Forson is the second football player originally from Ghana who plays for Togo. The other one is Eric Akoto.

Trivia

Forson speaks both English and French. As a youngster, Forson had the choice of playing for Ghana, the country of his birth, or Togo, where he grew up, and he chose Togo. He holds passports from France, Ghana and Togo.