As a young boy, Stephen started school at Eddheley International School in Mamprobi -Accra and was combining his education with playing football in his locality until he dropped out of school in primary class 6 to concentrate on football.
As a child he started kicking the ball at the age of 4 and he joined some of the area footballing teams, playing in areas such as Chorkor, Mamprobi, Bubuashi and Kaneshi all in Accra.
He played for Mighty Victory colts team in Mamprobi and he was spotted by Accra Hearts of Oak (one of Ghana’s top teams) – when he scored 2 goals in a game against Cow Lane Stars which featured household names like Laryea Kingston, Godwin Attram and Aziz Ansah to name a few.
He earned the nickname Tornado due to the fact that he is very dominant in midfield and is also very strong. A combative player, Stephen Appiah has a strong 'engine' and good tactical awareness. He is an
all-round box-to-box midfielder who is able to defend as well as create and score goals.
Appiah began his career at local club Hearts of Oak in 1995, at 15 years of age. In 1996 he had trials with Galatasaray’s youth squad but was not signed and he returned to Accra Hearts of Oak.
