Wilfried Zaha has bought the Ivorian club Espoir Club D’Abengourou, reports Sport-ivoire. The Crystal Palace attacker becomes owner of the club, while his brother Carin becomes vice-chairman. The club currently plays in the Division d’Honneur, the fourth tier of Ivory Coast.
Carin Zaha indicates that he is happy with the step that he and his brother are taking. “We have an Under-19 academy and will be playing in the Division d’Honneur this season. The aim is of course to get promoted, but first we want to get our youngsters fit and gain experience.” Wilfried Zaha has also set up his own charity and is also the founder of his own football academy in South London. The 29-year-old winger was born in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan, but moved to Croydon, a suburb of London, at the age of four.
There he entered the youth academy of Crystal Palace, where he was promoted to the first team in 2010. Zaha earned a transfer to Manchester United in 2013 and returned to Palace in 2015. In buying the club, Zaha is following the example of a number of compatriots who are also active with football clubs in the West African country. For example, former Arsenal and AS Roma winger Gervinho and ex-Bournemouth striker Max Gradel both own a club in their country. In addition, Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessié has set up a training center.
Zaha made a name for himself over the past decade and earned two in addition to a transfer to Man United caps for the England national team. Due to lack of perspective on playing time at the Three Lions he decided in 2017 to exchange his English football nationality for the Ivorian one. In front of the Elephants Zaha has so far made 28 appearances, scoring five times. He is currently preparing with the national team for the friendly against Guinea. Zaha has started the season in the Premier League with four goals.
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