Clubs for sale: the problem is self-inflicted

Medeama's owners say the team is for sale.

News of Medeama and Berekum Chelsea being up for sale didn’t come as a surprise to me, even though, I found it disappointing that, two good clubs that have been with us for some time, were about folding up, if not giving up the fight for lack of funds.

On a number of the Facebook Pages where I read that news item – shared links – the comments by readers left me more disappointed. The sermons on how Ghana football was collapsing and how many more clubs would soon be sold by their owners dominated what I found to be stained, pessimistic view of Ghana football particularly by young people, who otherwise, should be positive, exuding optimism and critically examining the problem to offer solutions and not constant, caustic criticism that takes us nowhere.

I agree that a lot of things are wrong in Ghana. For instance, I have wondered why a lot of leaders in public service continue to fail at managing the smallest of things put in their care. So I admit that, not many things, including leadership are in a good state of affairs in our beloved country. 

Football and sports in general are no exceptions. There continues to be confounding rows over money for national team players before or after international matches. The various tiers of league football in Ghana are suffering. Clubs can’t pay their players and these same clubs have nothing specific in place to either measure their progress or ensure their survival.

I refuse to talk about the other sporting disciplines. Some of them are in sorrier state than that of football. Yet, in the midst of the dire situation, hopelessness or inconsolably describing the problems doesn’t provide any solution. The solution, in my view, lie in making managers of the game aware of the way out of the pit they have been trapped in.

From where I sit, Ghanaian football clubs are not suffering because there are no straws they can hold onto; they are struggling to survive due to structural deficiencies, lack of policy guidelines or direction, ill-planning, absence of ambition and sheer impatience.

In today’s organised business world, nothing happens by stroke of luck. Institutions in Ghana that are making it in our so-called unfavourable business setting, attribute their successes, no matter how small, to careful planning; absolute faith in their plans and the resolve to execute those plans irrespective of the prevailing economic challenges.

Most of our football clubs are not doing any of the above. I won’t mention names but I ask: How many Ghanaian football clubs in the various upper and lower tier leagues are properly structured? How many have clearly laid out plans – detailing their management structure; their business plan, what they seek to achieve, in what time space and with what personnel?

Elsewhere (and I’m not going to Europe but staying right in Africa), it’s very easy to point to these things, often seen as abstract and irrelevant, yet so important to the survival of football clubs in this modern era. We can for example, identify the successes of some African clubs on the administrative level, the same way we can finger-point their achievements on the pitch.

Is it the same situation in Ghana?

I believe, it’s so easy if not cheap to blame President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi and the organisation he heads, for not providing the required leadership to help our clubs. Assuming that blame is even legitimate, we may have to ask if the GFA, which Kwesi Nyantakyi heads, is a separate entity made up of people, different from those at our various football clubs. Whether or not these people are different; the question that begs an answer is: Season in, season out, do our clubs do anything to better their lot?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Nyantakyi, Nii Lante feud unnecessary

Almost 20 years ago when I started reading newspapers and keenly followed news and current affairs, my favourite sports paper was Kwabena Yeboah, the Writer’s Africa Sports. Aided by my mum, coming by newspapers generally wasn’t difficult. And when I could afford them myself with the money given to me for school, Africa Sports particularly benefited from me.

I was about 15 years. I remember reading independent-minded write-ups by the Writer himself; Kofi Opare-Addo, Karl Tuffour and other writers whose names I’ve forgotten. Later on, articles and stories by Michael Oti Adjei and the late Tony Owusu Amofa became like my lesson notes.

I hardly missed an edition which had the stories and opinion pieces of these two. Those were the days that, I read of Black Star players paying their own airfares to represent Ghana. Those were the days that I read that, the GFA and indeed the Ministry of Youth and Sports couldn’t afford Economy Class tickets for national team players, not to talk of Business Class ones.

Reports of such humiliating stories in Africa Sports were unbiased. The reader would end up learning something new and further, pass informed judgement. No disrespect to the Writer, Kwabena Yeboah; but he’s the only one that can best explain the demise of Africa Sports.

And it’s not only Africa Sports that has been dead. The practice of Black Star players footing the bills of their air trips has as well been dead years back. It’s not difficult to tell you why. Anyone who has closely followed Ghana football over the last two decades will agree without stress that, the current administration at the Ghana Football Association (GFA), led by Kwesi Nyantakyi has done well transforming the Black Stars into a global brand.

Questions over their management of domestic football always come up but under their tenure, the Black Stars have undoubtedly become attractive that, degrading stories of players paying their own airfares ended long ago. But now we are being told that, Dede Ayew would be paying for the air tickets of seven players when they come for the AFCON qualifier against Rwanda.

We’re told that, Sports Minister, Nii Lante Vanderpuye says his Ministry doesn’t have the money to carter for the tickets. The Ministry wants to use their limited resources on other things. GFA Spokesman, Ibrahim Sannie Daara told Accra based Happy FM that, some of the players have opted to pay for their teammates. Is that how low and populist we want to be?

Sannie, my senior colleague, ought to know better. Even if that populist decision is right, how long will Dede Ayew be taking up the responsibilities of the state? Let’s face it: We’ve come to this point not because Ghana is so poor that, it can’t fund activities of her senior national team.

We’re here only because of the bad blood between the GFA and the Minister. The Minister and the GFA should spare Ghanaians their name-calling in the media; sit around tables like men; discuss their differences maturely lest their rift would soon hurt our football fatally.

Isn’t it true that, the conflict between the GFA and the Minister takes new dimensions every week? It’s pathetic that, the people caught in this vicious, unnecessary media-war, each trying to look good in the eyes of the public, don’t see the embarrassment they causing the nation.

Leaders must not be mean towards each other when all that’s expected from them are solutions to problems. Please, Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuye and Kwesi Nyantakyi; you obviously have issues with how things have been handled by either by of you. The public knows it. You can’t hide it. Your feud is unnecessary. The path you have both taken to resolve it isn’t the best. Get over chilled drinks on a table; sit, openly talk; iron out your differences and save Ghana. 

PLB reaction justified

PLB Chairman, Ashford Tettey-Oku with (mic) at an event. 

The Honourable Sports Minister, Nii Lante Vnaderpuye managed to get all of us talking throughout last week about the Ghana Premier League and its attractiveness or otherwise. The Minister, in an interview with Asempa Sports said, the Ghana Premier League wasn’t as attractive as it should be. That view, expressed by the Sports Minister was reported by almost all online news outlets and radio stations nationwide.

I didn’t hear the Minister on Asempa FM making that pronouncement. I however read quotations attributed to him and one of the reports I read didn’t present the Minister’s quotations as clearly as the man put them out, therefore giving the impression that, the Minister made a categorical statement that, our league wasn’t or isn’t attractive.

I’m not here to teach journalism but it’s worthy of note that, we always report or quote authorities appropriately otherwise we run the risk of misinforming, misreporting if not misrepresenting these authorities to create wrong impressions for our audience. Having made this point, let me move on to address the substantive issue.

For many, once the honourable Minister didn’t make a blanket statement that, our league is unattractive, it was rash for the Premier League Board (PLB) to respond with their lengthy press release; detailing why the Minister was palpably. The Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Kwesi Nyantakyi subsequently in a Starr FM interview reacted to the Minister’s claim among other issues, saying that, Hon. Nii Lante’s remark was unjustifiable.

In my view, the PLB didn’t rash. Their quick response was necessary. Their brand, no matter how it is, had been unfairly touched – perhaps by the premier sports authority in the country and that, any remark by such authority, particularly if it was disapproving couldn’t be glossed over. That’s why I see the PLB’s immediate response as one that was good and timely.

“Any enthusiastic follower of the Ghana Premier League will firmly disagree with the Minister's claim that the league is unappealing. The PLB wishes to put on record for the information of the Honourable Sports Minister that, the GPL is the most attractive sporting product in the country, in terms of organisation, quality, patronage and media coverage” said the PLB’s statement.

“As the torchbearer of sports development in Ghana, the PLB expects the Minister's public comments to inspire investor-confidence in football” it added. I will reiterate that point. No matter how genuine the Minister’s observation was (and still is), his remarks, because of the high office he occupies, should be the type that do not impair the image of our league.

As the PLB noted, a good part of revenue from league matches are paid to the Sports Ministry through the National Sports Authority (NSA) which the NSA normally use to maintain the various stadia in the country besides funding some of their events and activities. Therefore, the best well-placed people like the Minister should do must be to help make the league better. In that regard, the mutual benefits will be bigger. 

Knowing the challenges the GPL face vis-à-vis the strenuous efforts football clubs in the country have been making to survive; I will be the last person to say that, the current situation is desirable. It’s not. Yet if I have anything to offer to improve the situation, mine would be to make outsiders see the good attempts our clubs are making and why they need more support.

It’s now so common to find people who claim to be passionate about the domestic league making so much noise about the fact that, our Premier League has no headline sponsor. They say that to give the impression that, without sponsorship, our league is a useless competition.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t report or comment on the good things absent in our league. I’m only arguing that, we serve no one’s interest but rather destroy what’s already in our hands anytime we become so caustic about league, to the extent that, some people can’t see anything good in or about our competition.

Again, I’m not saying we should glorify mediocrity. I’m rather reminding us, in conclusion that, with how far we have come; there’s more we can do if we remain optimistic about our league. 

Anti-violence crusade…

Police vehicle waiting for referees at the stadium 

It’s not for nothing that in the past two weeks, management’s corner, published every Friday in this paper has focused on hooliganism. I’m not part of management but reading the two articles, the second part of which published last Friday, it’s been easy to observe management’s abhorrence for acts that bring the name and image of the game into shame.

How ironic that at a time when management has been preaching peace and also condemning hooliganism with vehemence, some supporters, obviously disappointed with refereeing decisions have been showing their frustration and anger in an unacceptable way.

Prior to the acts that characterised the aftermath of the Kotoko-Aduana Stars match, some disgruntled supporters roughened journalists at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, apparently for expressing a divergent view on a decision by the referee in the Kotoko-Dreams FC match.

Management issued a press release to condemn the attack on the journalists and there were media reports indicating that, the fans who allegedly attacked the journalists have been arrested by the Kumasi Police. It’s always and naturally difficult talking about a wrongdoing doing when friends or relatives are involved yet it’s important we remind ourselves that, lives are precious and state property should be protected.

No decent, civilised society endorse violence. Like management reiterated in their article, football can’t thrive on violence. Football is to entertain us and while we derive fun from it, we shouldn’t forget that, football has also become big business and that hooliganism has the potential of killing both the fun and business that football offers people.

Through football, hundreds if not thousands of young men and women who would have hopelessly been on street, have been employed even if their wages or salaries are nothing to write home about. Our Premier League, for example, has 16 teams competing. By the Ghana Football Association (GFA)’s directive, each of the 16 clubs register 30 players.

That gives us 480 active young men training and playing over nine months every year.

Do we know what would have happened to these young men if there was no football in Ghana? Each of the 16 teams also have coaches and technical assistants – undertaking different assignments. The teams, in addition, have people at their secretariats; drivers, security men and many other people tasked with jobs that, no matter how meagre their salaries are, they go home with something that supports their lives one way or the other.

This is why anything that has the capacity to destroy football like violence shouldn’t be entertained. We should at all times resist the temptation to express our displeasure violently. Violence never pays. Where violence lives, there’s always harm and destruction.

While preaching against violence, it’s necessary that, refereeing issues are as well given attention. Cheating, unfairness and injustice breed violence in any human environment. Where and when people feel cheated or unfairly treated; they are bound to show their dissatisfaction in any means possible particularly when they lack the power to take on authority the appropriate way.

We shouldn’t forget that, not all of us would react gently in the face of provocation or injustice. Referees have a duty to be fair. It hurts when teams prepare with hopes of winning only to lose not as a result of bad performance but a referee's ill-judgement.

Some referees are bad. I’m often left to wonder if they purposely underperform or that, they are just incompetent. I will refrain from mentioning names but our referees seriously need to be professional. I have seen Kotoko supporters applauding referees and damning their players in times of defeat; that’s to tell you that, football fans just don’t wake up to show their frustration and anger at referees.

Kotoko have lost matches at home his season yet there were no acts of hooliganism. I charge every Kotoko supporter to shun violence; please resist the temptation to be violent. Encourage others to be of good behaviour at the stadium or any other public place. Let’s all play our role effectively to derive the best from football. Let’s not take the law into our own hands. Let’s be law-abiding people; let’s stay away from violence at the stadium. Let’s cheer our team and enjoy the game. 

It isn’t cooked food yet

Kotoko players celebrate their win over Liberty at Dansoman. 

In my last write-up, I talked about how the 2015/16 Premier League was nowhere near closure and why it was just too early for supporters of any of the top four teams to start celebrating.

I went further on radio to share why I felt Kotoko were still in the reckoning and indeed, why I was also convinced that, quality-wise, Hearts of Oak were no better than Kotoko and that, should Kotoko start winning, pressure would mount more on any of the top three teams.

People with sympathies for Hearts of Oak didn’t like my submissions on Asempa Sports. Some wondered why I could describe Hearts as poor when on the league table, they were and are still well-placed than Kotoko. It’s fair for people to always disagree with you on the basis of statistics but statistics no matter what they show are not sacrosanct.

Good pundits often look beyond statistics and also suppress their sentiments. They focus on what the statistics may not be revealing to simple minds. I was quite confident of Kotoko being convincing at Dansoman after the Dreams FC struggle, not only because I work for Kotoko but also because I had seen the potential of the team and could vouch for their comeback.

Kotoko haven’t been so convincing but in terms of performance, the team isn’t as weak as some want us to believe. Again, given the difficulties the team faced at the beginning of the season and how their recovery to, for example, place second at the end of the first round, it was in order to believe that, once the coaches and players accept criticisms, and work seriously on their faults, bouncing back was only natural.

And guess what? Isn’t it intriguing that, a team that was ridiculed in every available media space in the country at the end of match day six (when Kotoko were 16th) are now hot title contenders? What were the other teams doing when Kotoko was struggling? The answer to that question is quite simple.

The other teams no matter their strength and quality, normally don’t come up to our standard. For me, you will be naïve if not ignorant of trends in our Premier League to write off Kotoko as a likely winner of this season’s competition. That doesn’t mean the Porcupines have arrived yet.

From where I sit, we don’t have a cooked food yet. We seem to have had our ingredients right and the preparation as well as the boiling of our food went well at Dansoman against Liberty Professionals as we secured an emphatic 2-0 win but there are six more matches to be played.

The amount of work left is huge with as the six matches left have the potential to determine our fate. The first among these matches is the date with Aduana Stars on Wednesday. The remaining matches – Hasaacas, Berekum Chelsea, Medeama, Ashgold and WAFA will all be difficult encounters; let’s not deceive ourselves. It’s the more reason we must win when we have the chance to do so. Victory against Aduana Stars will add so much to our ambition.

The remaining matches are what my colleague, Kofi Achampong has termed as title winning matches. I have no fear whatsoever that, all things being equal, the Porcupines can battle all the teams mentioned above to triumph. They must do exactly that to make in the last days of the competition more thrilling.

I’m of the opinion that, it’s all right to commend the players for their impressive show at Dansoman but please, let’s get back to work immediately. We have an unfinished business, which is to perform well, win and overtake teams ahead of us on the league table. We can’t compromise on that or our desire to be champions.

What’s important is winning even though we just can’t do away with enjoying the good feeling that comes with sweet victories like the one at Dansoman. We have to cut short the celebration and spend time reviewing the game; looking back on all that went on with the objective of correcting our mistakes and improving. When that’s done, we will celebrate more soon.

Title race far from over

Frank Sarfo Gyamfi soars above all in Dreams FC's defence. 

Kotoko's victory over Dreams FC in Kumasi on Sunday have sparked a litany of arguments over whether or not Referee Nathan Anafo who handled the match was fair. There have been questions over the so-called soft penalty he awarded Kotoko in the last minutes of the game. 

I don’t know what a soft penalty is. What I know is that, there is too much hypocrisy in our system. Until, you become a victim of poor officiating, you wouldn’t know what it’s when other club officials are complaining about referees’ bad performance.

Referee Nathan Anafo exercised good judgement at that crucial moment. He should be commended instead of being condemned. Now, the results of the weekend’s matches have given weight to remarks that, the league competition is far from over. First of all, Hearts were humiliated by WAFA; Wa All Stars posted a convincing win over Bechem United; Aduana Stars lost away to Sekondi Hasaacas and as mentioned earlier, Kotoko beat Dreams FC.

WAFA’s thrashing of Hearts of Oak at Sogakope wasn’t the least surprising. I had predicted elsewhere that, there was no way the Phobians would return from WAFA’s base unscathed, especially when the academy side has proven almost impregnable on their artificial turf at home. In addition to that, Hearts, despite having more points and also being well-placed, haven’t been playing well and as a result, I had seen their downfall at Sogakope.   

Hearts’ loss was good for Kotoko especially when we earned a hard 1-0 victory at home to Dreams FC. The win completed the double over the league’s new boys besides giving Kotoko the chance to close in on teams that have taken a fine lead on the league table. Wa All Stars, who have actually been in and out of the first position this season, dislodged Hearts with their emphatic 2-0 triumph in their date with Bechem United.

Aduana Stars, even in the 2009/10 season when they were league winners, didn’t appear strong outside their hostile Dormaa Park. Therefore, Aduana Stars’ 2-1 fall in Sekondi was nothing surprising too. In consequence, the results, recorded by Wa All Stars, Hearts of Oak, Aduana Stars and Kotoko, for me, opens the race for the league title a little wider.

It will be interesting to see the results of match day 24 fixtures. On Saturday, we will be in Dansoman, Accra against Liberty Professionals who are presently 8th on the table. Liberty’s position matters not, since they have lately proven to be a thorn in Kotoko’s flesh.

Last season, Liberty hammered Kotoko 3-1 at Dansoman after we had taken an early lead.

It was a painful defeat particularly when we had shown positive signs in the early minutes.

I’m hopeful that, Kotoko will this time battle Liberty victoriously to enhance our chances of winning the league title which is still within reach. Those who dared called this season’s league for Hearts are quickly revising their scripts. They must because Kotoko aren’t giving up.  

Our team just have to lift their performance. Things have to change. We need to win our matches. We need to progress. The so-called virgin trophy unveiled by the Premier League Board (PLB) last Thursday can be in our trophy cabinet in Kumasi if we double our effort. Between now and September when the league will end, there will more movements.

Definitely some teams will lose while others win. There will be wins and losses to ensure these movements on the league table. It’s my fervent wish that, Kotoko’s movement will be upwards and that, we will be crowned champions eventually. What a reward that would be for Coach Michael Osei and his team given the kind of season they have had. Anything is possible. The team needs to work hard. Their hard work will surely pay off.

Patch your differences GFA, Sports Minister

Sports Minister, Nii Lante Vanderpuye and GFA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi

A couple of weeks back, colleague journalist, Tophic Abdul Kadir Seinu posted on his Facebook wall a photo of Sports Minister, Nii Lante Vanderpuye and Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Kwesi Nyantakyi that created a storm. To many, the picture, published with this article, summed up the tension brewing between the Minister and the GFA.

When I first saw it, I felt that indeed relations between the Minister and the FA President was indeed worsening as their facial expressions and the unoccupied seat in between them gave them away as people not on good terms. I shared the picture on my wall, writing that, with their sullen looks, they might have felt bad watching the Black Satellites fail in their bid to qualify for the African Youth Championship in their game against Senegal.

Commentaries on my post suggested to me as pretending not to know the rift between the Sports Minister and the GFA President. That was allowed but then I couldn’t have used that photo, taken at the VIP Stand of the newly built Cape Coast Sports Stadium, as the premise to conclude that, there’s uneasy calm between the Sports Minister and the GFA President.

Thank God the Minister subsequently came out, saying that, the picture actually gave the wrong impression since there was someone in between him and the GFA President; who was clearly not in his seat when the picture was being taken. The Minister’s explanation is fair. Yet it doesn’t negate the strong public perception that, his Ministry and the GFA have had differences over certain issues.

Numerous explanations have been given by the Minister on the issues that have divided them; particularly regarding the handling of the Black Stars – their friendly matches and the seemingly never-ending bonus matters. On the GFA’s side, spokesman, Ibrahim Sannie Daara and the admirable Vice President, George Afriyie have also been shedding light on the issues.

However, with new angles being introduced to the so-called rift every week, it’s all right to assume that, we may not have seen the end of this unhealthy conflict. Ghanaians don’t need the Sports Ministry and the GFA to be at loggerheads. I won’t go into what the issues seem to have set the Minister and GFA on ‘warpath’ but I say without fear or favour that, it’s not in Ghana’s interest to have the two bodies ‘fighting’ for instance over who owns the Black Stars.

Pardon my ignorance, if I’m being ill-informed but how can the senior national team or our national teams be owned by the GFA? How? At best, as the body mandated to manage the country’s football, the GFA, can only be managers of the national teams – not owners!

Ghana sports is faced with too many problems. Our football has its unique challenges. That’s why whether as the GFA or the Sports Ministry, time and attention should be devoted to solving these problems or challenges, not continuously arguing in the media over issues that shouldn’t take an hour to solve at the Board room.

I have liked the Sports Minister not only because I listened and loved his radio commentaries as a teenage football fan back in Koforidua but also because I have heard him speak with clearness besides acting with some forthrightness that have been missing in the management of the country’s sports for a long time. That’s why I will back him to be successful.

The Minister must however be cautious with his approach of clearing any mess in the system. Any obstinate posturing may not augur well for the good intents he has. In similar fashion, the GFA ought to show good faith and work together with the Minister. Differences the GFA have or the Minister has with the GFA must be resolved amicably behind closed doors.

Ghanaians deserve better from the Minister likewise the GFA. In a nut shell, neither the Minister nor the GFA can deny that, there have been disagreements over certain issues. This should be seen as natural in any human institution and worked at. The last thing Ghana needs is this rift. It’s important that the Minister and the GFA mend their broken paths. Their raging fight is truly unwarranted.

New path for Kotoko Express

It’s been six long weeks since the official mouthpiece of Asante Kotoko Sporting Club – the Kotoko Express – went off the newsstands following some operational difficulties. When the paper first put out an announcement on-line that, it was going to be off for some weeks to sort out financial issues with its printers, not many of our readers and supporters liked the idea.

But the move was necessary since we needed to iron out a few issues that threatened the sustenance of the paper. We are thankful that, our break, though regrettable has given us the chance to better address certain critical issues. It’s important to stress that, the issues have been reasonably dealt with and even though there are a few others that have to be tackled, those issues are the type that are handled internally.

My conviction is that, as we do that, Kotoko Express will be better and indeed, Asante Kotoko will be the ultimate winner in the whole enterprise. I will not put in the public domain, all the issues that needed to be addressed but the ones I can touch on are the management of the paper and the leadership that existed and of course the debt situation we had to deal with.

I’m mentioning these ones not only because they were the most crucial but also because they dominated media discussions. For me, the survival of the paper rested on the two issues and again, it explains why we needed to take a break and get the two issues satisfactorily dealt with.

I’m happy to report that, Kotoko Express has a new management setup. The paper is now directly under the day-to-day managers of the club. It’s no longer under the watch of the Publications Board – whose obvious inactivity in the past few years suffocated the paper’s operations.

Thus while we went off, we engaged the club’s Board of Directors over the role of the Publications Board and why the paper had to be under management’s supervision. Thankfully, the Board of Directors agreed with the editorial staff and therefore granted that request. Again, it was accepted that, to better handle our debt situation at G-PAK, our printers, management needed to meet with the leadership of G-PAK to find a reasonable payment plan for our debt.

I can’t divulge the plan that was eventually settled on but the good thing remains that, something forward-looking was arrived at, based on which G-PAK agreed to print for us. We hope to meet the terms and conditions of this payment plan while meeting other equally important demands to keep Kotoko Express on its feet.

It’s on the back on this that, I commend my colleagues who were involved in ensuring that, the right things were done to bring Kotoko Express back onto the newsstands. I also reserve great praise for the Samuel Opoku Nti-led management for the bold steps they have taken not just in accepting to walk the paper out of the litany of difficulties it ran into, but also for the good faith they showed particularly during the meeting at G-PAK. 

I have said and will continue to say that, there are numerous positive moves the present management makes that doesn’t get publicity. Perhaps if light was to be thrown on these numerous positive things they do amidst the difficulties they face daily, their critics will be charitable somewhat.

Talking about criticism, let me quickly point out that, the editorial team takes divergent opinions in good spirit. There were critics who ignorantly accused me of being an impediment to Kotoko Express’ progress. Those are accusations lack correct basis but then, I appreciate the support and encouragement I have received from readers, colleagues and people I can’t name.

The editorial team as a whole accepts and also welcomes fair and constructive criticisms as we chart a new path, hoping that, with that, we will all contribute meaningfully to make Kotoko Express and largely, Asante Kotoko better. I encourage Kotoko supporters and all who have Kotoko at heart to patronise the club’s newspaper as that’s one way of truly showing one’s support for the club.

Will Opoku Nti quit Kotoko on June 30?

Kotoko General Manager, Opoku Nti. 

When I first heard news of General Manager, Opoku Nti, being handed a letter by the Board of Directors to vacate his post by June 30, 2016; my first reaction was to treat the story as a rumour. That was so because, as it has often been the case for Kotoko media personnel, such stories always have to be confirmed by an officer of the club before taken to town.

This story was already in town, eliciting various commentaries with some news outlets treating it as headlines on their midday bulletins. That shouldn’t be surprising. It’s Kotoko we are talking about, unquestionably Ghana’s biggest football club by any reasonable analysis.

What I found surprising though when I later got confirmation of the story was why and how the General Manager would be asked to vacate his post midway into the season. The second round of the Premier League had barely started and in purely football sense, instructing your General Manager to prepare his handing over notes and leave office in seven days was ill-timed.

The explanation from reliable quarters within the club was that, the letter sent to Opoku Nti was just an administrative reminder that, his mandate was for a certain period and that, if that period was coming to an end, there was the need to notify him.

As someone who believes in procedure, proper managerial or administrative practices in or outside football, that explanation made sense to me. I was actually not also worried too much about who ‘leaked’ what should have simply been an internally circulated letter.

All over the world, confidential documents from whatever sources get leaked in the media. They are at times “intercepted” – Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, Editor-in-Chief of the New Crudsading Guide, would say. Right or wrong, it has to be said however, that, Kotoko as a football institution has suffered too much from that negative, vile, and often mean practice.

As much as I won’t hastily condemn “leakages” in general terms, I find it disappointing that, Opoku Nti’s letter got leaked to the media from within even before he received his copy. It’s shameful! I don’t know who did that but whoever orchestrated that must be ashamed!

Now, to the big question: Will Opoku Nti step down as General Manager on June 30 as directed by the Board of Directors? My analysis of events doesn’t give me that picture. That’s not to say, as a gentleman as Opoku Nti has always been, he will disrespect the Board. In the worst case scenario, Opoku Nti could reply the Board’s letter; what his reply will entail is anybody’s guess.

Overtime, I’ve patiently learnt how not to take on the institution I work for at least publicly. This article should thus not be equated to a critique of the Board’s decision. Having made that point, it has to be said without any equivocation that, the Board’s letter could create a needless vacuum. Who takes over the management of the club after June 30 should Opoku Nti leave?

What succession plan has been laid by the Board in the first place? Who will lead the team for instance to Accra on July 1 for the President Cup match? What happens in terms of leadership; the day-to-day management of affairs because the club still doesn’t have an administrator?

What about decision taking, control, organization, supervision and the actual running of the club now the league is in session? Has the Board any replacement plan, assuming Opoku Nti and his management quit; and don’t take the option of hanging on till the end of the season?

Granted they take the option and stay till September, what would have been the essence of the letter given to them? For me, these are valid questions Kotoko supporters and the media must to ask. Any decision taken by the Board or management without a careful evaluation of the team’s stability in this season's league and the need to sustain it could be detrimental and supporters of the club won’t forgive anyone for that. 

Pampering hooligans...

A referee beaten by irate fans 

It’s harsh to say that the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and police personnel sent to some league centres to ensure security are “complicit” when it comes to the issue of hooliganism.

But watching pictures of how some referees have been mercilessly beaten by miscreants parading as fans, I can’t help but conclude that, the GFA and our police stand accused.

I’ve said before and will say it again that, not until the scoundrels who go to match venues to visit their sadistic acts on precious lives and properties are arrested, prosecuted and jailed if found guilty, this downright nonsense of individuals misbehaving at match venues won’t stop.

It’s shockingly disgusting how the Police will be sent to match centres and reprehensible acts of violence will take place yet there will be no arrests although at some of these match venues, cameras would have captured fans on rampage, physically attacking people.

I’m not talking about replaying recordings on CCTV cameras to identify misbehaving fans for instance at the Accra Sports Stadium to go after them later. I don’t even believe in that, since overtime, our weak national identification system has either made that exercise impossible or that those in-charge of the CCTV cameras at venues which have it have no faith in the devices they are to manage. 

What I’m referring to is the police personnel’s incredible failure to physically arrest hooligans at match centres despite being present and indeed being witnesses to these primitive acts of violence. I have been to places like the Accra Sports Stadium, the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, the Len Clay Sports Stadium, the Dormaa Ahenkro Park and the Berekum Golden City Park over the last five years and seen violence being perpetrated by a handful of fans with police personnel detailed at these venues looking on helplessly. In the end, no arrests were made. The hooligans went home “justified”.

Why shouldn’t I believe that, the police haven’t helped much in dealing with hooliganism? As for the GFA, it’s horrifying that, for a country that has witnessed a stadium disaster that killed 127 people in hours, the FA is still not strong in the fight against the same acts that senselessly snuffed lives.

I can’t think of anything except to say that, the FA’s continuously late and frail response to acts of violence in our game is contributing to the near-fatal events we have seen lately. If this worrying attitude of the GFA doesn’t change, it will one day be better if they remain silent on violence. After all, their delayed punishment will do little in halting if not minimizing the shameful incidents.

A female beaten footballer receiving treatment at the hospital. 

Saddick Adams of Atinka FM in a recent Facebook post listed acts of hooliganism in our game. Check the list: “A little over a month in the various Ghana football leagues; a camera man has been beaten to pulp at Bibiani. He almost lost one eye and [he’s still] receiving treatment. A club president was attacked by fans in Kumasi for wearing a smock. Referees were accused of cheating a home team and pelted with missiles in Accra. [A radio] presenter was assaulted in Techiman for being biased against local club, leaving him almost unconscious.

A female footballer went into coma for over ten hours after home fans and players assaulted her in Tamale. Players and officials were beaten by home fans in Akyem Techiman because their goalkeeper saved a penalty. A coach and two fans were shot with a gun in Tamale when riots broke up. A referee and his assistant missed death by inches when they were beaten with clubs and chains at Kwahu Praso, leaving center ref with deep head cut and facial wounds”.

Are we living in jungle? Going through the list and gauging what the police and the GFA’s action on these violent incidents have been, my conclusion is that, collectively the football association, the police and the entire state; we have been pampering hooligans. That shouldn’t be the case. If it’s the GFA’s laws that must be amended to deal with hooligans severely, please, let’s do it!

No one has the right to assault, maim and kill in the name of football or anything. Let’s get better security at match venues. Let’s start arresting hooligans. Let’s put them before the law.

Let’s jail them if found guilty. Let’s name and shame convicted hooligans. Let football clubs embark on aggressive public education on hooliganism. That way we will be back on track in fight violence in our game. For now, we are pampering hooligans, sadly!  

Nkawkaw Park needs facelift

Abandoned project: Dressing rooms at the Nkawkaw Park. 

I have visited the Nkawkaw Park five times since 2005. My first was the last time Okwawu United hosted Kotoko in a Premier League match. My second visit was in the 2006/07 season, when Kotoko played Olympics also in a league match at the time the Baba Yara Sports Stadium was being renovated for the AFCON 2008.

Subsequently, I have made two more visits to the venue to cover friendly matches between Kotoko and lower division clubs. In all my visits, I haven’t seen conditions at the famous Nkawkaw Park improving. Instead, they have been deteriorating. The Park, if it were human, would have been retrogressing in life. That saddens me as a local football enthusiast.

Maybe, this is no news given the kind of country we live in. It's no news because, even well-built stadia, like the Accra Sports Stadium and the Sekondi  Sports Stadium, which host international matches are all being left to rot. So why the bother about a town Park that is not a premier league centre?

The state of affairs at the Nkawkaw Park truly might be no news to most Ghanaians because the country has a very bad maintenance culture. That sub-culture is so ugly that, it seems we are a people who love to see things ruined or deteriorate before we attempt to take any action to remedy the situation. Well, not all of us are like that, I must point out. But really, the Nkawkaw Park, which I'm complaining about, isn't the only sports facility in Ghana, which has been carelessly abandoned.

It hurts to make the point that, our sports authorities and some club football managers seem to have become accustomed to watching the game on terrible match venues to the extent that, their conscience isn’t be pricked when they see teams playing on those rough pitches every day.

It's sad and disappointing especially if you think about how loud we are about being a passionate football nation yet we are not making serious plans to build good infrastructure to support the development of the game. I know people who will quickly refer to the recently commissioned Cape Coast Stadium, which I must admit is a plus, but please, that doesn't change my argument.

There’s a lack of basic infrastructure for our game and sadly a good maintenance culture. On my visit to the Nkawkaw Park on Saturday for the Storm Academy-Kotoko FA Cup match, I was initially taken aback by the condition of the road leading to the Park. The bumpy, dusty ride to the Park was the first of many unpleasant notes I made. Upon entry, I was struck by how the structure, built presumably as changing rooms has remained uncompleted for more than a decade.

It has been abandoned. Players of Storm Academy and Kotoko wore their jerseys and boots inside their buses. What was more disgusting was seeing the referees dressing up openly on the pitch. The referees, apparently didn’t come with their own vehicles, and since they couldn’t dress up in the public transport that brought them or at their hotels and walk to the Park, they had no option other than dressing up on the pitch after their warm-up session. What a shame.

Why a so-called football nation will subject its footballers and referees to such an embarrassing sight saddened me. I won't talk much about the state of the pitch since I didn't get close to it but from a distance, I could tell it has many undulating spots but Nkawkaw being a forest zone, with fine rainfall patterns, the grass has grown well to cover some of the holes.

The abandoned changing rooms at the Park must however be revisited. Nkawkaw is too popular a town not to have decent changing rooms at its football venue. Referees or anybody preparing for a match at that venue must not come and dress up in the full glare of spectators.

Whoever's responsibility it’s to complete the building hosting the changing rooms must wake up to his task. Okwawu United play their matches there. Are they or the authority concerned waiting till they gain premiership promotion before they work on the structure? They shouldn’t and need not wait till that time. 

Hearts’ punishment: my take

The referees in the said match fled under police protection 

The Ghana Football Association (GFA)’s Disciplinary Committee finally adjudicated on the supporters’ misbehavior that rocked the 2015/16 Premier League, match day six fixture between Hearts of Oak and Wa All Stars at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Their verdict wasn’t disappointing. What has been disappointing for me is how long it took for them to arrive at a decision on what was an obvious dent on the image of our game. I’ve had friends especially on Facebook, ask me why I had so much interest in the case.

Their claim was that, I was making noise about the timeliness of Hearts’ punishment only because I’m with Kotoko and as a result, I would naturally wish that Hearts are always in trouble. That’s cheap and demeaning. I have grown above such infantile fanaticism. While I may not usually expect that Hearts triumph in a competition where there’s Kotoko, I wouldn’t wish Hearts evil because their good could be Ghana football’s good. Since I want to promote our domestic league, under no circumstance, would I waste my emotional energy and intelligence on seeking the downfall of Hearts.  

Having establish this point, let me stress that, the GFA’s Disciplinary Committee’s judgment regarding the violent incidents at the Accra Stadium on April 3, 2016 is fair. I’ve heard some colleagues say that, the ban imposed on Hearts’ Board member, Barimah Atuahene and my friend Kwame Opare Addo, Hearts’ spokesman, is too harsh.

I wouldn’t say it’s too harsh but then my heart tells me, their sanctions should have been minimal. I agree that, inciting fans to misbehave as claimed by the FA’s Disciplinary Committee, is as dangerous as the misbehavior itself. But being first time offenders, Kwame Opare Addo and Barimah Attuahene should have had punishments less than what they have been handed.

Like many have done, I would equally entreat Opare Addo and the Board member to appeal the committee’s decision. But while urging them to seek an appeal, it’s important that, we all learn from the punishment handed to the rainbow team. Football is supposed to entertain us, not to divide us. We must share and enjoy the fun football brings to our hearts.

At no point should football bring irreparable pain, misery and fatalities to us. If it does, then football ceases to be what it should be. It’s very unfortunate that, exactly 16 years after the catastrophic events of May 9, 2001; we are here talking about fans showing civility at the stadium. What it simply means is that, we haven’t learnt any good lesson from the disaster.

But lessons must be learnt. We must know that, life is precious and should constantly be protected even though ultimate protection comes from above. State and private property at league centres or match venues should as well be maintained and put to good use and not destroyed because our team lost.

Despite their delay, I laud the GFA’s Disciplinary Committee for the commitment they have shown to making violence in our football unattractive. Violence, no matter the quarters it emanates from, must be condemned by all right thinking people. I use this platform to urge Kotoko supporters eschew violence anywhere they find themselves.

I will be the first to condemn violent behaviour involving Kotoko fans. There has usually been the view that, much as we want fans to behave well at the stadium, we must make the same demands of referees whose decisions or indecisions often become the catalyst for violence.

I agree. That point can’t be disputed. Referees, like all humans are prone to wrong judgment. They make genuine mistakes even though some turn out to deliberate. Whatever the case, when you are pulled before the law as a hooligan; bringing a referee’s underperformance as  defence for your unruliness will surely be a weak, unacceptable defence.

This is the time for all who profess to have Ghana football at heart to rise against things that have the tendency to destroy the image of our domestic game. The needless intimidation at some venues; referees’ poor show, hooliganism; are but few examples. Let’s with one accord stand up against these ugly, negative tendencies in the supreme interest of Ghana football.

Selling the replica jerseys

Kotoko's replica jerseys have been on sale. 

Merchandising at Kotoko. This perhaps used to be one of the most discussed issue.

More than a decade back when I joined Kotoko Express as a cub reporter, it was one of the issues I was tasked to interview supporters on. I remember speaking to fans who couldn’t understand why for decades, Kotoko haven’t taken the sale of its paraphernalia seriously.

Fans I interviewed between 2005 and 2007, shared fine thoughts on the subject among which was the call for the opening of Kotoko shops across the country. The shops, the fans argued needed to be opened in the regional capitals and notable towns nationwide.

Besides situating such shops in Kumasi and other regional capitals in Ghana, there were many other suggestions that, online avenues could be created to enable supporters outside the country to purchase any of the paraphernalia and later get it delivered to them via courier.

Reflecting of these suggestions more than ten years on, it’s sad to note that, successive managements don’t seem to have taken the issue of merchandising very serious. As a club, we seem to have concentrated on building the team on the field and even with that, the overall results especially in continental competitions haven’t been anything anyone of us have liked.

Let me state before I’m misunderstood that, this write-up isn’t to make any management or indeed, Kotoko look bad. It’s rather to briefly look at the subject of merchandising with specific reference or attention to suggestions that have come from supporters who have been engaging us at the Kotoko Express office in Accra over the last one to two weeks.

We need to come out with plans to help the sale of the replicas. There’s no denial that, Kotoko supporters love everything branded in the name and colours of the club. They will got every extent to have one with them. Years ago and even now, some unscrupulous people designed and continue to design anything – sometimes mediocre, substandard paraphernalia that the supporters don’t mind buying all the time.

Some few years ago, there were announcements to the effect that, such unscrupulous people were going to be arrested and prosecuted as they were infringing on the copy rights law. As I said, it’s been years but no one has been caught by the law; found guilty or punished for that illegality. That’s bad news if you ask me.

The good news however is, we have authentic replica jerseys at the moment. News on these jerseys have been everywhere but not the jerseys itself. Specific locations where the jerseys have been on sale are the club secretariat, Kumasi; Kotoko Express office, Adabraka, Accra including match venues either home or away.

Apart from these outlets, the replica jerseys can’t be found anywhere. Throughout last week, Kotoko Express’ office was inundated with calls from supporters in Tema, Ho, Aflao, Akosombo, Koforidua, Cape Coast, Tarkoradi, Sunyani, Elubo and many other towns – all inquiring about locations they could purchase the jerseys. Many of the calls also came from abroad.  

Some of these passionate fans weren’t too happy hearing that they could only get them in Kumasi and Accra. Those who could afford the cost of courier or the postage charge have had theirs mailed to them with the others who couldn’t courier cost, advising that, the jerseys are made available at notable places so they could go and purchase.

When you have supporters expressing such interest, the best we can do as a club is to ensure that their demands are met. It’s over to management. The humble suggestion coming from the supporters is that, where possible, we should arrange with post offices across Ghana to sell the replicas. That just was one of the many advises. We ought to look at the issue of merchandising.

There isn’t any official Kotoko paraphernalia to sell apart from the jerseys which are of high quality. Post offices, prominent supermarkets and the likes could be fine sale points for the jerseys one of which cost GHȼ40. The commentary on how well Kotoko could sell its replicas and further get a real merchandising policy should be encouraged. At the end of the day, all that must lead to a positive management response. 

Reality check

Dejected Kotoko bench 

Could it have been fatigue? Was it that Edubiase were simply better than us? Or that, the Porcupines had every opportunity to win the game yet still blew it? The latter observation, I suspect is true. Edubiase has been a bogey side. There has been no game between them and Kotoko that, we’ve had it easy. To assume that, Edubiase would come easy was to deceive ourselves.

Thankfully, there was nothing to convincing that, Kotoko’s approach to the game was bad. I believe we were determined to win. The quality of play was good but we were lousy in attack. An error in defence got us punished. That was it. Such is football. Teams win and lose often because opponents make mistakes and they pay a price for that.

On Saturday night, Kotoko paid dearly for a defensive mistake. They also paid for not their inability to put in the net. I wasn’t at the stadium. I watched the game on television. I had a bucket full of disappointment seeing the decent chances that were created yet thrown away.

That’s our bane. Goal scoring remains a problem. It’s important Michael Osei take up the challenge and teach the players lessons on the art of scoring. Contrary to what disillusioned fanatics want us to believe, I don’t believe we have poor players. We have good players and they ought to be constantly encouraged to keep sober heads when they get to the goal area.

It’s not enough to create chances and not score. That leaves fans hurt. All that matters in football are goals. Mamelodi Sundowns coach, Pitso Mosimane in their Nedbank Cup game against Orlando Pirates over the weekend made similar observation when his side failed to convert their chances resulting in their 2-0 defeat.

"You don't win the game through possession or chances. You win the game by putting the ball in the net. It doesn't matter how many chances you create. Football doesn't work like that” he said. I reproduced this quote to buttress the point that, Kotoko must get goal scoring right.

I won’t dwell so much on this subject or go to the extent of name-calling but then it was excruciating watching Ahmed Adams for example, fire off-target in front of an empty net.

That has to stop. It has to stop if Kotoko are to make progress in the league competition.

These may be early days yet but it must be understood that, the competition won’t remain in its so-called young stage.

It will travel its full distance. It will get to the point where the curtains will be lowered on it.

At that point, the goals teams have scored; the wins teams have had and all other records will be put together to determine teams’ position. It will be like judgment day. Kotoko won’t have the chance to undo anything. This is the time to perform and await judgment.

The team must utilize their scoring chances. The current trend isn’t the best. They must take note. For me, Edubiase didn’t only re-establish the point that, they are our bogey side. They also gave us a rude awakening. They gave us a reality check. Next time, our attitude towards them ought to be different.

Truth be told, Kotoko are far away from having a finished product. Clearly, the triumph over Dreams FC made us forget so easily the difficulties we’ve experienced lately. Those difficulties notably with scoring, I’m afraid to say, aren’t gone. They are there. They are present. We must eliminate them. The technical team should work on the players’ temperament in front of goal.

I don’t know how they will do that, but at the risk of being repetitive, my message to Coach Michael Osei is that, he must work on the players’ disposition or composure in the goal area. There’s always the need to be calm, pick your spot right and fire home as best as you can.

Where you don’t have to shoot, you tap in. Where you don’t have to tap in, you place the ball. I know it’s easier said than done but any way you look at Kotoko’s situation only one conclusion can be drawn, which’s the team’s conversion rate must improve.

From Tumu to Dawu with fondness

Halipha Sedogo in action 

It must have been a really different and truly exciting experience for my colleague, Gideon Boakye Botchway who accompanied the team to Tumu in the Upper West Region for the FA Cup match between Real 24 Hours FC and Kotoko. 

I say this because, even for me who wasn't part of the contingent to Tumu, I enjoyed myself, staying actively online late Friday evening to Sunday dawn – picking reports and photos from Gideon to feed our online audience. From their Kumasi departure to their arrival in Tumu and to the match itself and their return to Kumasi Sunday morning, it was an engaging moment decoding every item Gideon sent to make it public.

The club's website, Asantekotokosc.com and the Facebook Page were the places every major news item concerning the team's presence in Tumu was broken and it was done in good time. The response from the millions of visitors to our website and Face Page was remarkably good. Supporters and the public's hunger for news on Kotoko’s match in an area they perceived as remote was met with a good meal of timely information and exclusive pictures.

I doff my hat to Gideon once again for his apt responses to my demand for updates which at some point created the erroneous impression for many that, I was in Tumu myself. This is information technology and communication era. Multitasking in our field of work has become essential; therefore reducing the reliance on many people to execute a simple assignment.

Once again, well done, Gideon. Our professional work was commended by our audience. Their responses underscore how we can't take the club’s social media presence for granted. There has to be a well-cut out plan on how to package ourselves and what we put out there on such serious platforms if we are to be taken seriously every time.

Our task at Kotoko Publications, which has two notable outlets – the Kotoko Express and Asantekotokosc.com, is to promote and defend Kotoko – using acceptable, journalistic practices. In difficult times like now, our job at the paper and on the website turns out to be crucial to building and sustaining supporters' interest in the team.

The team must make our job easy by winning like they did at the Tumu Community Park on Saturday. Close monitoring of proceedings clearly showed that, good team play, unyielding spirit propelled the Porcupines to victory. They defied several oddities like the horribly bad pitch to win and progress in the FA Cup competition. 

Kotoko may not be living up to expectation lately. The team’s position in the Premier League might not be desirable but their progress in the FA Cup ought to be applauded. Every step forward in a knockout competition is significant for Kotoko whose millions of fans don’t take defeat of any kind lightly.

That’s why interim head Coach Michael Osei deserves to be encouraged to triumph in upcoming matches now that the focus is on the league. The dream to come back on track will only be real if the team continues winning. The mention of dream brings me to Kotoko’s next league game against Dreams FC at Dawu on Wednesday afternoon.

For me, the Eastern Regional town of Dawu evokes fond memory. As teenage Kotoko fan in Koforidua in the 1990s and early 2000 I usually had the chance of travelling with some adult relatives to watch Kotoko vs Dawu Youngsters particularly when their bankroller Seth Yeboah moved their venue from Koforidua to Dawu.

Dawu were relegated in 2002. Kotoko’s last game at that venue saw the Porcupine Warriors whitewashing them 4-1. This week, Kotoko return to Dawu after 14 years to face Dreams FC. Coincidentally, one of the players who scored in that 4-1 win at Dawu is Godwin Ablordey who’s presently interim assistant coach.

Godwin Ablordey and his senior colleague, Michael Osei must map out a good strategy to conquer Dreams FC who are yet to lose at home this season. Dreams FC naturally have been comfortable at Dawu but with the massive support base Kotoko have in the area and other surrounding towns, we must on Wednesday, turn Dawu into an uncomfortable place for Dreams FC. The way to do that is to beat them. 

Supporters’ demonstration needless

Demonstration by the Kotoko Circles not necessary 

News of some disgruntled supporters planning to go demonstration first got me thinking. I wondered why anyone would want to demonstrate over developments in the club and my wonder wasn’t because I thought there weren’t issues that could send people on the street.

I was just fascinated by the fact that, some of us felt the best way to address issues in Kotoko is or was to seek police permit, wear red armbands and hit the streets with brass band music like we have seen people do lately against the government over perceived incompetence.

As someone with a libertarian inclination, I’m not against demonstrations. In fact, within our fairly liberal, democratic environment, everyone has the right to demonstrate especially when the correct processes are followed but then, I have often questioned the objective and in actual fact, the basis of some demonstrations of which the imminent our fans’ demonstration is one.

I seriously don’t see the basis for that demonstration. It’s true that, not everything is right with Kotoko. Only a week back, the club sunk deep into the relegation pit when it lost 1-0 to Aduana Stars on match day six of the 2015/16 Premier League. That loss wasn’t the least surprising to me for the simple reason that, Aduana Stars have been difficult beat in their hostile backyard.

Losing to Aduana Stars however capped moments of grief and the state of near-hopelessness that had engulfed the team. So management, hours after the Aduana Stars game, announced that, head coach David Duncan was to step aside in the next few matches as part of measures to halt the unimpressive Kotoko league run.

Coach Duncan essentially rejected that notice from management. His lawyer wrote to management, asking that his client is reinstated. Coach Duncan actually went to Adako Jachie on Tuesday to train with the players while the entire team was at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium working under the supervision of assistant coach, Michael Osei.

That act by Coach Duncan was embarrassing. The media picked it and made Kotoko look bad. All that happened on Tuesday and the surprise visit by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, later that day climaxed the dramatic developments of that fateful day. The Asantehene’s visit was important as he charged the team to win their matches while leaving issues relative to management to him.

The Asantehene also addressed the supporters at the training ground – sharing the same information he shared with the players. This long narrative is to establish one point, which is that, where the Asantehene had come in to demand nothing but a win in the team’s matches; and the leadership issues left to him, moves to exert pressure on the current administration without recourse to the Asantehene’s directive are or were needless to say the least.

Like I alluded to, I’m not sure the right to demonstrate can be curtailed anyhow but then as Kotoko supporters and people who truly love the club, we must respect the position of the Asantehene. A demonstration for the removal of any member of the current management or the Board of Directors isn’t the way out to Kotoko’s problem. The way out is to support the players while waiting patiently and trusting the Asantehene’s word.

It’s important we give due respect here. It wasn’t for nothing that the Great King moved straight to Adako Jachie to inspire the team and demand the best from them. We should do away with personal differences with members of the current leadership and seek the club’s interest. Therefore the best we can do with our energies as supporters is to throw our weight behind the team; not to demonstrate and make news headlines for nothing.

Let’s support the players and the technical team to give us desired result like they did last Sunday against Liberty Professionals. That result has changed the feeling in and around the club. Thus what the players need this time is encouragement while we leave the leadership issues to the powers that be! Let’s shelve our differences in opinion over Kotoko’s leadership issues and give the players and the technical team the needed support. We must believe that, all will be well with time.