Muhammadu Faal has a dream many of us aspire to achieve: to become a professional footballer.
The 27-year-old couldn't believe his luck this summer when newly promoted Crawley Town contacted him to say they wanted to bring him to the club from National League South outfit Maidstone United.
But what transpired was a period of uncertainty, deceit and broken promises, with Faal having now exclusively revealed the often unseen side of what we like to call the beautiful game.
Muhammadu Faal reveals how Crawley Town ruined his dream of becoming a professional footballer
Faal has bounced around the non-league space for almost most of his career, enjoying fruitful spells with Enfield Town, Havant & Waterlooville and Maidstone Town.
A move to Bolton Wanderers then developed during the COVID pandemic, mustering up just two appearances. Injuries and the effects of an ever-changing world meant his dream looked to be slipping away from him, but this summer, that changed again.
Faal was contacted by Crawley in July with the intention of bringing him to the club ahead of the approaching 2024/25 campaign. Feeling like this was his big break, the former Enfield striker jumped with both feet. He told The Athletic: “It felt like my second bite of the cherry, my second chance. It seemed like the perfect opportunity.”
Was transpired was a horror journey for Faal, who now plays for National League South side Worthing FC, after Town first miscommunicated that he had failed his medical at Broadfield Stadium. He then signed a six-month contract with the West Sussex outfit. The club's sporting director, Tobias Phoenix, who had also ended his time at Bolton some years ago, then told the 27-year-old his deal was off and that he better find a club elsewhere.
“When I was at Bolton, he was the reason that I left,” says Faal. “From August to November, I broke my foot and was injured for three months. As soon as I came back, he told me I had to leave and couldn’t stay, made threats of sending me to train with the young kids. He made my time at the club miserable."
Nevertheless, Faal was then told by another member of staff there were no problems with his medical and he quickly joined up with the club for regular training in pre-season. The former Havant forward also featured against Crystal Palace, with his dream of becoming a professional now seemingly a reality.
Faal picked up a slight injury as the season's opener against Blackpool approached before being told the club needed to prioritise other players’ registrations after a change of secretary. “I said: ‘OK, no problem — I’ll sit this one out’,” Faal remembers, detailing the conversation he had with former manager Scott Lindsay.
More problems followed, with the six-month deal he thought he had signed now illegal and having not been registered, Faal was left perplexed. “I received an early morning call from Tobias. He told me what the situation was. I said, ‘OK, no problem. Can we change the deal?’
I thought we could make it six months plus six months or something like that. He told me, ‘No, the club doesn’t want to do that. This is the only deal the club wants to offer you. The decision is final’.
Where is Faal now and what happened next?
Faal was told he was free to find a new club and after ongoing legal disputes, he now plans to take Crawley Town to an employment tribunal, seeking damages and the full pay he believes he is owed from his six-month contract.
The Worthing striker has also been affected mentally, losing out on a dream home he had put a deposit down for to help support his young family. It remains a mystery as to why Town decided to treat him in the way they did.
“My theory is that there were people at the club who wanted me to begin with, and there were people that didn’t,” he said. “But then, as time went on, I think people changed their mind, and thought to themselves, ‘We’ve not seen enough of him — let’s try and find a loophole to get rid of him’.”
As mentioned, Faal is now with National League South side Worthing and has found success so far this season in scoring in the FA Cup. A competent, tall centre-forward, the former Barnet man is looking up rather than down but believes his summer transfer nightmare has affected him wholeheartedly.
“I wasn’t just building a life,” he says forcefully. “I’ve got a life. I was going to move my whole life for Crawley. I was willing to take that risk. It just crumbled right in front of me. They’ve wrecked my opportunity, and my second chance.”
