lit a candle 13h agosaw this on my phone out in the yard, pulling weeds before the heat got bad, and it stopped me for a second. never heard of the man until today, only know the son from watching arsenal a few years back when my nephew was obsessed with them. but that story about him selling land and property just to get the kid football boots, that's the kind of thing that sticks with you. i think about my own dad sometimes, not the same thing at all, different country different everything, but there's something there. anyway. didn't mean to write this much, just struck me more than i expected. edit: 65 years old apparently, read that after i posted this
Their story
Jacob Teye Partey was a Ghanaian father best known as the parent of Ghana international footballer Thomas Partey, the Al Shabab and former Arsenal midfielder. Little about Jacob Teye Partey's own life, career, or background has been made public, and no Wikipedia page or detailed biography exists for him independent…
Jacob Teye Partey was a Ghanaian father best known as the parent of Ghana international footballer Thomas Partey, the Al Shabab and former Arsenal midfielder. Little about Jacob Teye Partey's own life, career, or background has been made public, and no Wikipedia page or detailed biography exists for him independent of his son's football story. What is known comes almost entirely from how his son has spoken about him over the years and from the news reports that followed his death.
Jacob Teye Partey became a familiar name to football fans largely because of the sacrifices he was said to have made to support Thomas Partey's early career. <cite index="4-0,4-2">Jacob Teye Partey reportedly sold personal properties to finance his son's early football career abroad, and a resurfaced video recalled the sacrifices he made for Thomas Partey's career.</cite> That story, drawn from an old interview in which <cite index="3-2">Thomas Partey revealed that his father sold belongings, land and property to buy him football boots</cite>, became part of the narrative around his son's rise from Ghana to European football and later to Arsenal and the Saudi Pro League.
Beyond his role in supporting his son, Jacob Teye Partey lived largely outside the public eye. He was not a public figure in his own right, and reputable sources have not published details of his occupation, place of residence, marital history, or other children. The limited coverage of his life has focused almost entirely on his relationship with Thomas Partey and the part he played in enabling his son's football journey.
Jacob Teye Partey died on Wednesday, 30 September 2026. <cite index="0-2">Jacob Teye Partey reportedly passed away on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, with the news leaving the Partey family in mourning.</cite> The cause of his death has not been made public. <cite index="2-2">Thomas Partey, who plays for Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab, had yet to publicly comment on his father's death</cite> in the hours after the news broke.
The news of his death came at a difficult moment for the Partey family and for Ghanaian football more broadly. <cite index="5-1">Thomas Partey was mourning his father as Ghana reeled from a painful result in AFCON qualifying.</cite> Tributes and reactions from the football community followed quickly, with many commentators recalling the story of a father's sacrifice that had helped make his son's career possible, even as full details of Jacob Teye Partey's life and the circumstances of his death remained unconfirmed.
Biography adapted from News reports and the sources cited on this page; death reported by Modern Ghana.
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1by People Forever
