The whistle had barely settled in the cool night air of Dalian when disaster struck. It was the grand finale of the 2025 FISU Universities World Football Tournament, University for Development Studies (UDS) of Ghana, against Paulista University of Brazil. Barely 20 seconds into the match, a miscommunication between goalkeeper Emmanuel Edo and central defender Jonas Agyemontor left the packed stadium stunned.
A harmless-looking kick skipped past Edo’s outstretched boot and rolled helplessly into the net. Paulista had scored the fastest goal of the tournament, and UDS were instantly staring at the abyss.
For a fleeting moment, silence engulfed the Ghanaian bench. Was this the cruel beginning of another African heartbreak on the world stage?
But if Paulista thought the early blow would break the spirit of the Ghanaian students, they miscalculated.
By the 2nd minute, UDS were demanding a penalty after Fawzan Dandawa was felled in the box, but the referee waved play on. A minute later, Dandawa was elbowed; again, no whistle.
The injustice lit a fire in the UDS attack. In the 7th minute, Ezideen tested the Brazilian keeper. A free-kick in the 8th minute flew over the bar. From that moment, UDS launched wave after wave of attacks.
Renchi, charging from the centre circle, almost produced magic with a shot from 12 yards, but the Brazilian keeper smothered it. Hamza Abukari tried his luck from distance in the 20th minute, narrowly missing. By the 24th minute, Paulista had won two corners, UDS one, but it was clear who was hungrier.
Chances came thick and fast: Ezideen’s effort in the 25th, Renchi’s dancing past three defenders only to lose the final touch, and Alhassan Zakaria missing narrowly in the 32nd. Edo atoned for his earlier mistake with a brilliant save from Paulista’s number 18 in the 33rd. The game turned into a frenetic exchange:
Frimpong’s shot was saved, Ezideen forcing a corner, Hamza firing from range to win another. In the 40th minute, Hamza Abukari floated in a cross, Ezideen’s header flying agonizingly over the bar. Mohammed Asigre tested the keeper soon after, and Paulista’s number 11 wasted a rare chance. By halftime, UDS had pinned the Brazilians back but still trailed 1-0.
The second half began with the same Ghanaian ferocity. Ezideen tore through the Brazilian defence in the 46th, only to be cut out at the last second. Mohammed Asigre unleashed a thunderbolt in the 51st, brilliantly saved.
Paulista turned to their bench in the 56th minute, but UDS were unrelenting. Mohammed’s strike in the 57th, Gerald’s in the 59th, and Frimpong’s in the 60th all tested the Brazilian fortress.
By the 68th minute, Zakaria Alhassan, exhausted, made way for Ibrahim Salifu. The substitution added more bite. In the 69th, Mohammed’s header from a corner was denied yet again. Jonas tried a spectacular long-range effort from the centre circle in the 70th. Paulista reshuffled with two more substitutions by the 77th minute, but the pressure was suffocating. By the 82nd minute, UDS had earned five second-half corners to Paulista’s none.
Then came the breakthrough. In the 85th minute, with fatigue clawing at every muscle, Frimpong burst into the box. The Brazilian goalkeeper stretched, but could only parry. The rebound fell kindly, and skipper Mohammed Asigre blasted it home. 1-1. The Ghanaian bench erupted, fists pumping, voices trembling.
The equaliser pushed the final into extra time.
The Brazilians, shocked, tried to rediscover their rhythm. Ezideen slipped in the box in the 92nd minute; Frimpong went close in the 114th. Then came the heartbreak of a different kind: Hamza, who had been immense, collapsed injured in the 118th minute and was stretchered off, replaced by Abdul Ganiu Musa.
And then, in the final breath of the game, the 120th minute, destiny arrived. Ezideen, with one last surge of energy, whipped into a corner. The Brazilian goalkeeper, heroic all night, misjudged it. The ball sailed, dipped, and bounced into the net. 2-1 UDS.
The final whistle confirmed it: the University for Development Studies had scaled the summit of world university football. Not only had they become the first Ghanaian and African university to win the title, but they also delivered Ghana’s first global football crown since the Black Satellites’ U-20 World Cup triumph in 2009.
Since then, Ghana had known only near-misses, the AFCON finals of 2010 and 2015, but now, against all odds, UDS had dragged Ghana back to the top of world football.
In Dalian, China, the chant rang loud and clear:
“UDS! Africa! Champions of the World!”
By Abdul Hayi Moomen , UDS Media
