Sunderland winger Simon Adingra recounts being stranded in Benin at 12 after academy scam | OneFootball

Sunderland winger Simon Adingra says he was stranded in Benin at 12 after his family were duped by a bogus academy scheme.

According to Sunderland Echo, the Ivory Coast international is now at the World Cup, having not been selected for the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year.

Adingra had travelled from Ivory Coast with nine other boys believing they would join an academy. Instead, they found no accommodation, no support and no money.

Faced with either returning home or waiting for a chance, the group chose to stay together. They washed plates in restaurants for small payments and meals.

Their fortunes changed when a fellow Ivorian heard their accent in the street and stepped in. He found them housing and helped establish a small football set-up that grew into a real academy in Benin.

Adingra was later spotted at a tournament in Ghana by the Right to Dream academy, a move that shifted his career. He progressed to Nordsjaelland and Brighton & Hove Albion before joining Sunderland.

On 28 December 2025 he scored his first Sunderland goal in a 1-1 home draw with Leeds United. He then joined Monaco on loan for an initial £870,000 fee, with a £16 million option to buy last winter after struggling to secure regular starts under Règis Le Bris.

Source: Sunderland Echo