Swedish Allsvenskan side IF Elfsborg, have announced the capture of Ghanaian promising defender Rufai Mohammed from Ghana’s First Division club Inter Allies FC.
Rufai, a talented Centre-back joins the club after signing a contract through the 2028 season.
“I’m very happy to be here. The people I’ve met in and around the team are amazing and very helpful,” Rufai told the club’s website.
For a couple of months in the spring of 2023, Rufai visited Elfsborg for the first time and then trained together with the U19 squad and played matches with the U21.
“Even then, I felt strongly that I wanted to come back and become an Elfsborg player for real,” said Rufai.
IF Elfsborg is not entirely unfamiliar to the Ghanaian centre-back – and in the first team, there is also a familiar face for him for a long time in Jalal Abdullai.
The two players grew up in the same village in northern Ghana and together received their basic football education in Inter Allies FC academy called Cedar Stars, in Ghana. They were both then promoted to the first team.
“Jalal and I got to play about a season together in Inter Allie’s FC first team before he left, and it will be a lot of fun to play with him again. He’s a really good player.
Rufai has also represented Ghana’s youth national team on several occasions. Among other things, he made three appearances in the WAFU tournament where Ghana’s U17 national team finished in third place.
“When we took third place in WAFU I was captain and got to lead the team, it was a great experience and one I will take with me,” . Rafui continued.
When asked how he would describe himself as a player, Rufai doesn’t have to think long, but has a clear picture of his qualities.
“I’m tall, strong and I like to play in the backline. I always work hard because I demand a lot from myself and I always want to develop and improve,” he says.
Rufai is now joining IF Elfsborg’s first squad, and he is very much looking forward to getting started with the rest of the team.
“I’m positive about the future and can’t wait to get the chance to fight and contribute with good things for the team and the club. I just want to get started for real now,” he concluded.
