Alidu Seidu: From street violence to football - how the game saved his life

Ghanaian footballer Alidu Seidu has shared insights into his difficult childhood, crediting football with rescuing him from a path of crime and violence.

Hailing from Kumasi, Seidu departed Ghana in 2019 to join Ivorian club JMG Abidjan before transferring to France’s Clermont Foot in 2020.

In January 2024, he secured a move to Stade Rennais.

The streets of Kumasi were both his playground and his battleground, a place where survival often meant surrendering to chaos.

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For Alidu Seidu, the line between a promising future and a life lost to crime blurred with each passing day.

But in the darkest moments, an unexpected lifeline emerged: the beautiful game.

During an interview with Ouest-France, the 24-year-old defender reflected on his troubled past in Ghana, where he was involved in theft, vandalism, and minor illicit activities.

We walked the streets with knives or machetes; I committed thefts, vandalism, and small-time trafficking.

My mother was always crying, and sometimes I ran away at night to avoid my father punishing me.

Amid the chaos, one voice cut through, a guiding force refusing to let potential be swallowed by the streets.

For Seidu, his uncle wasn’t just family; he was the hand that pulled him back from the edge, seeing a future where others saw only rebellion.

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Fortunately, my uncle was there and pushed me towards football because he knew I had something. He always supported me, and football saved my life.

The machete’s blade didn’t just cut flesh; it severed the last thread of his old life.

Lying in a pool of his own blood, consciousness slipping, Alidu Seidu faced mortality long before he’d ever touch glory on the pitch.

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What followed wasn’t just recovery; it was rebirth.

I lost a lot of blood; I couldn’t speak, and everyone thought I was going to die. It puts things into perspective.

Some men are forged in fire. Others, like Seidu, are the fire itself—turning the darkness that once threatened to consume him into light, one match at a time.

I’m still lucky to have become a professional player, to be here. I always try to turn the negative side into something positive; it’s in my character.

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Alidu extends his contract with Stade Rennes

Meanwhile the defender Alidu Seidu has extended his journey at Stade Rennes, as the Ghanaian international has agreed to sign a contract extension that will keep him there until 2029.

The Rennes club administration appears to have entrusted Seidu, having endured all the wars on and off the field, following a serious knee injury.

Since joining Rennes fourteen months ago during the winter transfer window, Seidu has emerged as a crucial member of the squad.