Brighton winger Minteh shares English Premier League advice with Kenyan players
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Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 03.09.25. | 07:19
The 20-year-old earlier recalled the sacrifices he had to make during his rise
Brighton & Hove Albion winger Yankuba Minteh has advised Kenyan players aiming for the English Premier League (EPL) to remain disciplined, train hard and stay focused, noting that there are no shortcuts to reaching the top level in football.
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Minteh is part of The Gambia national team currently in Nairobi preparing for Friday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Harambee Stars at Kasarani Stadium. The two teams last met in March in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where they settled for a thrilling 3–3 draw.
Both sides are technically out of contention for World Cup qualification, which is set to be hosted next year in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, and Friday’s clash will mainly be about pride.
Speaking to the media after a training session at the Kasarani Annex on Tuesday, the winger underlined the importance of hard work and discipline for any player seeking to feature at the highest level.
“The most important thing is to focus and train hard,” Minteh said. “It is not easy to get into the Premier League. When you look back, three or four years ago, I was playing in Gambia, and now I am at the top level, which was not easy. The journey was really hard.”
Minteh, who described the process of breaking into top-flight football as challenging, added that players must also be committed to their coaches’ instructions while keeping faith in God.
“For me, what I do is focus on God first, training and listening to the coach on what to do because they can guide you as they have the right weapons for you to be at the top.
If you listen to your coaches, do what you have to do and pray every time, then everything gets easier,” he explained.
The 20-year-old earlier recalled the sacrifices he had to make during his rise, including intense training routines and leaving home at a young age to pursue opportunities in Denmark before later moving to England
“I just kept believing in myself. I trained three times a day, every single day. It was really hard,” he said. “It was difficult being so young and without your parents.
You are always around them, and then suddenly you are on your own. But my mentality has always been, ‘I must win.’ That is all I had in my head.”
Kenya will take on The Gambia on Friday, 5 September, at 4 PM.
