David Hockaday says Antoine Semenyo was “lost” when he first came across him. He says the forward looked lost, talked lost and had “no belief”. The story that follows is not a neat academy-to-stardom arc. It runs through failed trials, non-league football and a coach who kept turning up early.
Hockaday's role in Semenyo's rise
At 5am on Saturday mornings, Hockaday was driving Semenyo from Swindon to non-league matches. He also had to keep knocking on the door to get him up. “I had to bang a few times on the door sometimes to get him up. But we got him there, and we got him playing,” Hockaday said.
That patience fed into a spell that changed the player’s outlook. Hockaday said first season in non-league “allowed him to believe in himself”, and that Semenyo was then facing top sides in the south west who “couldn't control him”. During pre-season, SGS beat five or six professional teams and Semenyo drew interest from multiple clubs.
There was talent there before the belief caught up. Hockaday described him as someone who could deal with the ball with both feet without thinking about it, and as a player who looked like he would become “a specimen in the right environment”. He was also clear on how persistent the impression was: “I am good at spotting talent. I've described Antoine to his family as an itch that I just couldn't get rid of.”
The personal side of it matters too. Hockaday said Semenyo’s family trusted him with their son, and that he believed the forward could become a professional footballer before Semenyo believed it himself again. When Semenyo later signed for Bournemouth, he sent Hockaday a bottle of Champagne with “hunger and belief” on the label.
From non-league lessons to Ghana and England
Semenyo's route took him through failed academy trials at Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Millwall before an eight-week trial at Crystal Palace aged 15. He signed his first professional contract with Bristol City by January 2018, aged 18, and the journey from those setbacks to the World Cup stage with Ghana is the part that stands out most.
The latest World Cup number is modest rather than flashy. His recent outing brought a 6.3 rating across 51 minutes, which fits the wider picture: this is not about claiming he has arrived as a superstar overnight. It is about how far he has come from the teenager Hockaday first found.
England are the next opponents in the World Cup picture, and Ghana go into that game with a recent 1-0 win over Panama behind them. Semenyo’s story has already done the heavy lifting. The remaining question is how much he can add when the stage gets bigger.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →