Sarkodie brothers are soccer royalty
When the Indiana Hoosiers and Akron Zips meet on Friday, it will be a battle of royal supremacy for control of a coveted kingdom -- the soccer field.
Brothers Ofori and Kofi Sarkodie will face off at Lee R. Jackson Field in their final head-to-head college soccer match. Their grandmother is a traditional female leader, or queen mother, in Kumasi, Ghana, where the family is from.
Kofi will lead the No. 1 Akron Zips against his older brother's No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers. Akron and Indiana played to a 0-0 double-overtime tie last year.
With professional soccer aspirations in the future -- their older brother, Kwame, is a midfielder with the Rochester Rhinos in the United Soccer League First Division -- the Sarkodie brothers hope to become American soccer royalty.
Ofori and Kofi, sons of Ghanaian immigrants, grew up outside of Dayton, Ohio, with a deep-rooted passion for family at a young age.
"My family is really close knit," Kofi, the youngest of the three brothers, said.
"My mom and dad revealed to me my grandmother was the queen," said Kofi, who can converse in Twi, the local language in Kumasi. "It was surreal."
As a young boy, after his parents explained their family's royal lineage in Ghana, Kofi jokingly dubbed himself "Ashanti King" after the region under his grandmother's reign.
"She [grandmother] just jokes around with me and laughs when I call myself the 'Ashanti King,'" Kofi said.
It would be soccer, however, that would quickly become the Sarkodie brothers' kingdom. Ofori and Kofi were already playing by the time they were in kindergarten.
Growing up, Ofori, 21, taught his brother Kofi, 18.
"Every summer I trained with Kofi, teaching him," Ofori said.
After one year at Dayton's Carroll High School, Ofori entered the residency program at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla., and became a member of the U-17 U.S. national team.
"The international travel and representing my country was extremely humbling," Ofori said.
While spending semesters in Florida, Ofori relied heavily on his family in Ohio for moral support. Kofi followed the same path, joining the residency program three years later.
"It was difficult only seeing family every three to four months, but it was the best place for a soccer player," Kofi said.
After spending three years at IMG Academies, Ofori had to decide whether to go to college or take a chance on playing professional soccer.
"I was mentally buying into the hype of going pro," said Ofori, who had just been named to the U-17 All World Cup Team. "The decision was done with family. For me it was necessary to get a college education."
Ofori eventually decided to attend Indiana University.
"Indiana has been a helpful situation in terms of maturing into a man," Ofori said.
University of Akron head coach, Caleb Porter, recruited Ofori and Kofi.
Although he didn't sign Ofori, Porter remembered the Sarkodie family when Kofi began his recruitment process.
"Soccer and education have always been big in my family," Kofi said. "We try to balance it as best as possible."
Unlike his older brother, Kofi signed with Akron to play for Porter.
"Kofi is an incredible young man," Porter said. "He's intelligent, worldly, extremely mature, extremely driven and motivated. He's a great leader, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to coach him."
Both brothers welcome a chance to compete against each other on the field.
"I'm extremely excited to see his progression as a player," Ofori said about the matchup he's calling the teacher against the student.
"I'm looking forward to going out there and competing," Ofori said. "There will be smiles from the inside on the field, but we both want to win."
Kofi looks forward to meeting his older brother on his home field.
"We're going to really get going at each other," Kofi said. "It's going to be exhilarating."
However, winning, not a royal family rivalry, will take precedence on Friday in Akron.
"It's just another game," Porter said. "We need to focus on performing and winning the game."
At the end of the season, Ofori, a senior, will put his dream of becoming a doctor on hold to continue playing soccer.
"I want to play at the next level," Ofori said. "I'm really hoping to play in the States in the MLS or overseas.
"This [soccer] is my first and foremost passion. I can always hop back into the medical field, take the MCATs and go to med school," Ofori said.
Kofi, a sophomore, also anticipates a career of professional soccer after graduating from Akron and would like to play in Europe.
The two look forward to the day they can join older brother Kwame as rivals or teammates at the pro level.
"He's given me a lot of advice," Ofori said. "Stay healthy, compete every day and be a pro."
"I can't even imagine it," Kofi said. "I think about it all the hard work we put in when we were young and how far we have come as a family."
Family values continue to drive the Sarkodie brothers toward a place in American soccer. The two are also planning a trip their family's homeland this winter or next summer to connect with their Ghanaian heritage. Both were born in the United States and have never previously visited Ghana, but respect the culture.
"I feel extremely privileged," Ofori said. "It gives you a humble upbringing. It's really an amazing experience."
Patrick Carney is a contributor to ESPN.com. He may be reached at patrickcarney86@gmail.com.
