Where is Kotoko’s administrative structure?

News of the appointment of Ali Maradona and Solomon Nkansah as the Public Relation Officers of Kotoko came as a surprise to a section of the club’s supporters. Their surprise, from what I gathered, stemmed from the fact that not many of them had wind of that interim appointment.

Ordinarily, supporters not having prior information about an appointment in the club shouldn’t raise eyebrows because overtime concerns have been expressed over how Kotoko ‘top secrets’ are shared in the media before they are officially made public.

But as I searched deep into the supporters’ surprise reaction, I found out that there is a silent yet strong dissatisfaction with how matters relative to Kotoko’s administrative setup have been handled lately. Ali Maradona and Solomon Nkansah as spokespersons for Kotoko? How? For some, the problem with the latest appointment has nothing to do with the personalities involved but rather what the long term, policy direction of Kotoko is regarding communications or PR.

What's our view of PR? For others, there are critical issues relating to the background of the personalities appointed, exactly what their roles are or will be and whether or not, on the whole, they will bring the expected growth Kotoko needs in that office. The point about Kotoko having a firm administrative structure has been made before and it has been argued repeatedly, that, Kotoko’s performance on the pitch cannot be delinked from how strong the club is on the administrative front. I also share that view.

I do not know of the past but in this present generation, no institution, whether in football, finance or politics can be competitive in its area of operation if it is administratively weak. Kotoko is administratively weak at the moment. The current situation is one that many supporters of the club do not like. I dare add that throughout the times that Kotoko underperformed on the pitch (at least in the last decade) the club did not have a proper, well-defined administrative structure.

Those who disagree with this view can check Kotoko’s performance – starting from 1999 to date. There is ample evidence to show that when Kotoko was administratively strong in the regimes of Herbert Mensah and Sylvester Asare Owusu, for example, the team chalked relative success on the pitch. I say without fear of contradiction that, the immediate past Executive Chairman, Dr. K. K. Sarpong and his team of managers also solidified Kotoko’s administrative structure. It was no surprise that they chalked significant successes in the three-year stay.

This is not to their defence but I sincerely think that Dr. Sarpong and his management and the Board did a good job administratively. Now certain questions have to be asked in the supreme interest of the club. Apart from Opoku Nti, the acting General Manager (who was Dr. Sarpong’s Special Assistant), virtually none of the managers under Dr. Sarpong are not in office. Why is that? What happened? Didn't we have to ensure that they stay in office to bring consistency? Ok, so now, when will there be substantive CEO? Will Opoku Nti be confirmed? Will he be sacked? Who has been handling the building projects that the last administration started? Who is the marketing manager?

Members of Kumasi Asante Kotoko's current Board

Who handles administrative issues? Who represents Kotoko in Accra? And who has been speaking for Kotoko? Projects, administrative work, marketing, representation in Accra and public relations: these are sensitive areas in Kotoko’s administration which deserve utmost attention because no matter how removed these areas are from the players’ performance on the pitch, their importance cannot and must not be underestimated.

On the matter of who speaks for Kotoko, it must be noted that, what Kotoko needs is not individuals who seize the airwaves to regularly speak on behalf of Kotoko with or without approval from the club. What Kotoko needs is a qualified communication strategist; a media or Public Relations expert who would work with well-designed communication strategies tied to the club’s marketing ideals, objectives and to ensure that there is maximum achievement.

Projecting or enhancing Kotoko’s image in the eyes of the public or the media; communicating Kotoko’s aspirations require proper expertise. It is must not be done anyhow. If Kotoko will be able to market its brand, attract substantial capital for development and also compete favourably on the continent, not on the domestic scene, managers of the club ought to urgently look the administrative structure.

The current state of affairs can be better. Kotoko have the potential to excel in terms of raising adequate revenue to fund its activities but that potential can only be realized when clear-cut administrative structures are laid with people assigned specific duties and targets and in addition, supervised to live up to expectation. I thus make a passionate appeal to the Board of Directors to critically consider this matter and do something about it.