Michael Essien a Ghanaian international. At youth level, he represented his country at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship and 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship, with the latter team finishing as runner-up. Essien made his senior team debut in January 2002 and has represented his nation at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. Essien has also represented Ghana at the 2006 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. Born in Accra to Aba Gyandoh and James Essien, Essien attended Gomoa Nyanyano DC Primary and JSS. He began his football career after graduating from St. Augustine's College in Cape Coast, playing at a local club
African Cross Country Championships IAAF have had their own regional cross country championships on an annual or biennial basis, Africa did not have a regular competition in this mould for a long period. This may have been due to a number of factors including: the high status of annual cross country meetings such as the Kenya National Cross Country Championships and the Jan Meda International Cross Country (which doubles as the Ethiopian championships), the size of the region, the prominence of smaller regional championships, and the comparative lack of resources available to the Confederation of African Athletics. The fact that the majority of the