Ghana defender Abdul Mumin says his journey to the top level of European football was built on a childhood passion for the game while growing up in Sawaba, Kumasi.
Mumin, 28, recently joined Girona on a free transfer and signed a three-season contract after establishing himself in Spanish football with Rayo Vallecano.
The centre-back says football dominated his childhood, with street games forming an important part of his early development.
"I come from a small place in Kumasi. It's like central, a little bit south in Ghana. And I come from a small town called Sawaba. It's a little bit like the ghetto, you know, and we used to play a lot on the street."
Mumin recalls how he and his friends would head straight to the park after school, often without even changing their clothes.
"So football was everything for us, for me and my friends and the people around me."
Those childhood experiences remain vivid for the Ghana international, who says football has continued to define his life.
"I had great memories and for me to even think about it now, it feels like it was yesterday because time moves very fast."
Mumin developed at the Right to Dream Academy before beginning his professional career in Europe with FC Nordsjaelland.
He later played for Vitoria Guimaraes and Rayo Vallecano before securing his move to Girona.
