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. 

Violence at the Accra Sports Stadium

Referees escape supporters' wrath under police protection 

I posted one of the two pictures accompanying this article on my Facebook wall late Sunday night. The reactions were fascinating. While some of my friends condemned the primitive acts of physically attacking referees for perceived non-performance, others couldn’t put away their fanaticism to see the danger in the behaviour of Hearts’ supporters.

They threw objects onto the pitch after their 3-1 miserable loss to Wa All Stars in Accra.

Graphic online, where I read the report on Hearts’ match captured it this way: "The trio [referees] needed the police to shield their exit into the dressing room as bottled and bagged water rained in their path after the match..." The angry Hearts supporters hurled objects onto the pitch and had the referees not been given police protection, something terrible could have happened but our football doesn’t need any ugly stuff.

That explains why the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Premier League Board (PLB) ought to quickly condemn this shameful act of violence. Football fans – regardless of the clubs they support must understand that, they have no justifiable grounds to beat, physically attack or do anything outside the rules of the game to referees if they supposedly underperforms.

The disciplinary committee of the FA must look into this disgraceful occurrence and take the appropriate action. Our league centres must be made safe and secure enough not only for referees but also for anyone who chooses to be part of the fun at match venues. Our domestic league has suffered from bad practices and publicity for long. Now that, spectators appear to be showing up at matches, for example, the last thing we should entertain is violence.

Talking about publicity and the increasing number of spectators at matches, I’m of the view that, the media is doing a fine job. They ought to be commended for how they have positively reported on the league. All things considered, one factor that’s contributing to the considerably good numbers at matches is how the media is paying close attention to the competition.

There's evidence to show that, the fair publicity being given to clubs and the league itself is progressively erasing the perception of many that, the domestic league is crap and that it doesn't warrant attention. Although we have more grounds to cover in the promotion of the league and getting the stands filled, efforts being made by the media deserve applause. This isn’t to spite any media house but clearly, some are doing very well.

For the five rounds of matches I have closely monitored (and that is the confines within which I’m judging), my observation is that, print and online news outlets have churned out some good information – news and analysis that have given the pubic so much to feed on. Social media platforms, especially Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp continue to be filled with massive volumes of reports and statistics on the league.

Live updates on matches, given by media – particularly the electronic and online, are in no small way whipping up interests in the league. This also molding a new perception about the competition. To some extent, there appears to be a shift from the previously wholesale assumption that, there's nothing good about the league.

The radio (FM) stations haven’t been left out. The sort of thinking that goes into certain radio shows on the league is admirable. There's been some noticeable, healthy competition brewing among some radio stations over who has the best Premier League show. I can’t mention all but I have liked Joy FM's Premier League Show every Monday – which is much like 3FM's recent league review I listened to.

I reserve praise for Kapital Radio’s Afia Acheampong and James Mensah of YFM, Kumasi, for their Ghana Premier League Podcast. They have been producing it over the last one month. I like their effort. These are all English radio products but the local language broadcasts on the league have also been good. No one wants to be left out of the publicity campaign.

Television coverage, no doubt, continues to be impressive with Supersport in-charge of the broadcast right. Now we even have highlights of matches on some local television stations. These and many more is helping in raising enthusiasm in the league. We don’t have to do anything to kill the fun. 

Avram Grant must watch his words

Black Stars coach, Avram Grant 

If there’s one trap so easy to fall into in Ghana especially as a public servant, it’s losing focus on your assigned task and responding to your critics. There are too many people presently in our media space with acidic tongues – people who have little or no respect for decorous language; people who equate speaking their minds to using strong, abusive language.

Sadly, they think they are right. From observation, such people enjoy cheap media attention. What they don’t know is that, they are hardly listened to by discerning people – not because what they say are always irrelevant but because of their choice of words.

The intemperate language they use often give them away as insolent. Even if they have a good case, they are unfortunately not heard. Our football, political and only recently, religious landscape harbour many of such folks. They are best known for negative, vitriolic criticism.

Sadly after the Ghana-Mozambique, 2017 AFCON qualifier in Accra, Black Stars coach, Avram Grant, fell into that “trap” I mentioned. He responded to his critics in the harshest possible manner and till date, the man himself and his employers see nothing wrong with his remark.

I wasn’t at that post-match event where the coach spoke but watching the video posted on TV3’s Facebook Page, it was disgusting seeing Avram Grant advising us to focus on the football yet at the same time, creating the platform for his critics to hit back at him for needless insult.

The coach just needs to focus on his job. If he has something to tell the public, he must do so employing the best language. His employers must tell him that. He can’t use any language and assume, Ghanaians will accept it. “If this nation will concentrate on the football and not the bull***t; just the football, because there’s a lot of passion, we can reach higher, high level.

It’s a long term target but it achievable…” Coach Avram Grant said.

This could have passed as a harmless advice. But was there the need for that foul term? His comment was (and still is) insulting. I can’t believe that, there has been no word or apology either come from him or his employers – the Ghana Football Association (GFA) up to Easter Monday when I wrote this piece. Is it that the GFA endorse his language or they see nothing wrong with it?

The coach may not be happy with his critics but he can’t talk anyhow. He may not like the sort of things said about him; his team or the GFA but is his choice of words the best? He and his agent who recently spoke appear not to have any respect for Ghanaians considering how their responses to certain issues.

It isn’t that, Grant doesn’t have the right to show his disagreement. The point is, his language doesn’t augur well for good discourse. He must be told rig

ht in the face. This is Ghana and Africa for that matter. Regardless of the state of affairs here, who you are and what you represent, we have customs, which instruct us on how to talk. If Avram Grant doesn’t know, he must be told to watch how he speaks publicly.

You can call me a purist, I’m not sure I’m one. I however detest public officials who speak anyhow and Avram Grant shouldn’t be one. We have very decent-minded individuals at the GFA. My question is: Would any of them tolerate Avram Grant’s choice of words any of our local coaches?

From June 2014, when the Black Stars exited from the World Cup in Brazil, their relationship with Ghanaians hasn’t been the best. Some people for example think, too much money is being spent, if not wasted on the Black Stars who haven’t given anything much in return.

Will those people be justified to mount media platforms and use Avram Grant’s choice of words on the Black Stars? If we are advising the media to be decorous, public officials paid with our taxes must as well embrace the same advice. It serves no good purpose talking to the media carelessly and when the media respond, we are quick to brand them as harsh.  

Thumps up, Tony Baffoe's PFAG

Tony Baffoe mooted the PFAG idea 

I have always insisted that, the various entities connected or related to club football development in our country have either been sleeping or aren’t doing much to ensure the proper growth of our football clubs. Again, it’s either that, football clubs in the country lack qualified personnel and resources to champion their development or that, the environment within which they operate doesn’t offer them opportunities successfully grow or thrive.

That partly explains why domestic football in Ghana isn’t what pertains elsewhere. It isn’t just about the Premier League Board (PLB) and its affiliate the Ghana Football Association (GFA) not doing more to ensure the development of the domestic league; it’s also and has always been about club owners and managers lacking the capacity to work professionally for growth.

I won’t mention any club as an example except perhaps WAFA. Whether it’s about the day to day management or administration; player recruitment, coaching, marketing and sponsorship; media and public relations; most of our clubs – even at the Premier League level haven’t had or employed the best, professional ways of doing things for a long time although I have to admit that, some are now making little progress.

That’s why for instance in the past, certain clubs could have 50 senior team players with no formidable youth side; no defined player development and performance policy. As a result, every season, some of these clubs bought and transferred players anyhow thereby creating serious and often embarrassing difficulties relative to the management of their players.  

For a club that could register 50 to 60 players for season, the payment of players’ salaries was definitely going to be hard in the face of low gate proceeds, absence of sponsorship or indeed sustainable means of generating revenue. Players generally felt frustrated every season and their hunger for less-fancied and in some cases non-existent lucrative deals in the Arab world, Asia and Europe grew stronger.

So where monthly salaries and other remuneration doesn’t come, it’s naturally hard if not impossible to think of investment or saving part of your meagre salary as a player in Ghana. It was good that, the GFA recently put a ceiling on the number of players (30) Premier League clubs could for example register in a season and from my observation and interaction with club owners and administrators, not only has that GFA directive, which they complied with, enabled clubs to keep sizeable squads; it has also given them the chance to better manage their players even if they don’t have adequate resources to pay them well or develop them.

The summary of my argument in this write-up is simply that, club football management needs to be given more attention. Deep thinking and good planning must go into decisions taken at the management and Board rooms of clubs not only to give our clubs attractive looks on the outside but to also make the life of their players better than what has been the case.

To some degree, this is the reason I commend ex-Black Stars player, Tony Baffoe and his Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG) team, who by all considerations, have been taking little yet important steps to help our players. For those who don’t know, the PFAG is “a union which mainly focuses on sustaining and protecting the interest of all professional footballers their player career and beyond”.

At press time, the PFAG were about to launch the "Insurance and Life after Football Fund", an initiative designed to deal constructively with the plight of our footballers especially after they have stopped playing. The launch was scheduled to take place at Alisa Hotel, Accra yesterday.

 A statement from the PFAG said: “The insurance package is designed to cover players for accidental deaths, critical illness and general accidents suffered by players on the field of play”. If this programme isn’t one of the things players here need, then I have absolutely no idea any example of the worthy things we would want to upgrade the lives of our players.

The PFAG and their collaborators deserve praise for their effort. I can only hope that, they will receive appropriate support from the various clubs and the GFA to carry on with their agenda.

Complaints over fixtures indefensible

Some Kotoko fans believe the fixtures are not fair. 

While on Kasapa FM’s sports programme over the weekend, my good friend and colleague journalist, Adam Adjei, played a voice clip of some Kotoko supporters expressing their disappointment with the Premier League Board (PLB) Chairman, Ashford Tettey Oku.

Their beef was that, the PLB chairman and the league management body deliberately handed Kotoko tough fixtures in their “despicable attempt to ensure that the Porcupines suffer”. The incensed supporters thus accused the PLB chairman, who formerly was an administrative manager at Hearts of Oak, of bias and manipulation.

After playing the audio file, Adam, then solicited my views – seeking to establish whether or not, I agree with the supporters. It was difficult accepting the supporters’ claims. These are accusations or allegations that come every season but I will be fair here. If you know and has a good understanding of the strength of teams in our league, you wouldn’t easily dismiss those supporters’ fears but then should we always tolerate such allegations without proof?

The PLB has previously dealt with allegations relative to the league fixtures vis-à-vis manipulation, saying that, there’s a computerized system that is used and which according to them, makes it impossible to manipulate the fixtures. You would by now know that, I don’t endorse the allegations of manipulation leveled against the PLB.

Let me however point out that, in the situation where human beings are those who operate or handle whatever system that facilitates the planning of the fixtures, the probability of manipulation or anything fishy being done is real except that in this case, I have no evidence to say anything substantial against Ashford Tettey Oku’s PLB or back those supporters’ claims.

I have deliberately decided not to reproduce the fixtures the supporters talked about in defence of their case for the simple reason that, I think we at Kotoko have to direct our energies to something more profitable or beneficial at this stage. That includes rallying behind Coach David Duncan and his players to get the team good performances and victories.

I plead with every Kotoko fan to help examine whatever is undermining our team in the league from perspectives that will ultimately serve the interest of the club rather than spending precious time discussing conditions that wouldn’t change. Assuming without admitting that, the fixtures were made to favour Hearts, absolutely nothing can be done to alter it.

All we have to do is to play and win our matches. We can’t draw twice at home when others have won and turn around to complain about fixtures, my dear supporters. Kotoko have the strength to take on and beat any team in the league although the team might have already lost and drawn against WAFA, Medeama and Ashgold respectively.

Had the Porcupines won or beaten WAFA, Medeama and Ashgold, we wouldn’t have complained about fixtures favouring one team. Kotoko haven’t chalked desired results in the matches they have played for varying reasons. The team has had to battle unforeseen events like injuries to eight of the 29 players registered for the season.

In other words, Kotoko’s strength in the last three matches was depleted by injury even before the matches got underway. The off-season stars like forwards – Kwame Boateng, Dauda Mohammed, Frank Sarfo Gyamfi and Akwasi Nti all missed the opening game. Not all of them have even been available for the subsequent matches.

The team, in fact, lost two players – goalie, Felix Annan and Edwin Tuffour Frimpong to injuries in its first league game of the season. The duo have since been out of action. The point is, the technical didn’t have many options to choose from ahead of those matches. Fortunately, some of these players are now recuperating or coming back to form.

 

Again, Kotoko haven’t fared well this season because of too much wastefulness upfront. Goals matter in football. If a team doesn’t score, it risks losing. In the same vein, if a team scores and doesn’t defend well, it’s likely to lose. My plea to all who have the club at heart is that, instead of ranting over fixtures, let’s urge Coach Duncan and his players to go all out; stay strong, take their chances and defend well to emerge winners in their matches.

The first win that never was

Ahmed Adams being consoled by Theophilus Nyame  

I like the way the Kotoko-Medeama game was hyped. Quite a good message was sent to supporters of the club and the general public. Given the kind of turn out that was recorded, it's right to say that, the supporters and the public found a good reason to show up for the game.

The lesson picked is that, when matches are publicized well and supporters given justifiable reasons to be at the stadium, they will come and come well. The supporters deserve commendation for their presence and excellent sportsmanship. It's however unfortunate that, the team couldn't deliver to expectation. That’s my biggest worry.

It’s lately becoming a trend that, anytime supporters come to the stadium in massive numbers, the team offers them little or nothing to warrant or sustain such massive stadium attendance. That’s something all of us at Kotoko must reflect and act on. The CAF Champions League, preliminary round, second leg tie at home to Eulma of Algeria last year is an example.

There was a full house. The massive crowd expected victory and qualification but none came to pass. The teeming supporters went home very disappointed. What happened in Sunday’s encounter against Medeama is similar to the Eulma experience. But we don’t have to give up. The Porcupines will bounce back. They must do so immediately to restore joy and confidence.

Recording a loss at Sogakope on match day one and having in hand a potentially difficult match against Ashgold, the Medeama duel should have been won. That was the natural expectation. We all expected the Porcupines to rise to the occasion particularly when they were playing at home. That didn't happen for varying reasons. I will look at a few of them.

One, the team couldn't utilize the chances they created. Obed Owusu had glorious opportunities to score but he wasted them. A few more wastefulness upfront by other players left Medeama off the hook. Unfortunately, when Medeama had theirs, they took advantage of it. I won't deride efforts Kotoko made to score but I agree with Coach David Duncan that, the goals the fabulous lads scored were fortuitous.

My take is that, had the other few chances been taken by the team in addition with the fortuitous ones, we would have deepened Medeama's woes. With the draw, Kotoko simply gave Medeama a breather. The revelation by Medeama’s Technical Director at the post-match press conference that, their Swedish handler, Tom Strand would have been fired had they lost, explains Tom Strand’s relief.

Coming back to Kotoko, it’s painful that, the Porcupines still couldn't get us that flying start we have been expecting. But again, all isn’t lost. We have 28 more matches to play. We need not throw hands in despair. We need not be despondent. We need not press the panic bottom. We need not blame the coach and the players anyhow. That only aggravates the tense feeling.

Such an attitude could even derail attempts to plan and focus on upcoming other matches. To halt the less remarkable result, everybody in the team ought to exercise restraint. We must carefully and patiently look at the issues undermining the club’s performance and tackle them head-on. That careful examination can be done under a temperate atmosphere.

I believe some of the players are yet to understand the magnitude of expectation at Kotoko.

And there’s a point that has to be hammered well into the psyche of the players. They need not rush in front of goal and waste chances. They need to be devastating in their finishing. Any instructions given to them by Coach Duncan and the other technical team members have to be precise and reinforced. The team must play with a sense of urgency and take their chances.

Broadly speaking, the team has to reorganize and come back strongly to secure results that won't only push us up on the table but also bring smiles on to our faces. At Kotoko, victory means a lot. A loss and a draw, no matter the circumstance, dampens supporters’ spirit and confidence. I urge all not to be too bitter. The ability to return to winning ways is there. The team will bounce back.

Promoting the GPL: Clubs must do more

Kotoko GM meets PLB Chairman, Ashford Tettey Oku

Chiko Lawi, the host of 'Play Back' – a Kenyan Premier League television show on Supersport, has this thing he says in a promo, which I like: "We’re a kind of people who love our own. Our own league, that's why we love to showcase it..." says this host. Reflecting on Chiko’s remark, ahead of this article and also observing trends since the 2015/16 Ghana Premier League (GPL) started, I have had reasons to believe that, we’re also a kind of people who love our own.

We love our league. It’s all we have and we must promote it. From match day one of the current season, I have seen conscious efforts by clubs and their Public Relations (PR) outfits making good attempts at not just increasing their social media presence but also providing news and information to the general public in a bid to woo them to their venues.

At Kotoko, we have had our own plans some of which would soon be made public. In the meantime, we have our website running. We have been providing up-to-date information on the team. Asantekotokosc.com is yet to be developed to the level we want to see it. However, within the context of the GPL and how functional club websites are, I believe we are ahead.

We have millions of hits in a month and there are plans to commercially utilize that. Kotoko's Facebook and Twitter accounts are for example very active. We give live updates during matches besides weekly interviews with the players on Twitter. I won't say we have arrived but certainly laudable steps are being taken to sell Kotoko while raising public interest in the GPL.

The good thing is that, other clubs are walking on the same path Kotoko have taken. They are making themselves known on various social media platforms, publicizing their matches and largely, telling their GPL story week in, week out. They are positioning their brands well to attract the best both within and outside their geographical location. 

For example, over the weekend, I saw Dreams FC’s well-branded bus and an artwork, circulating on Facebook and Twitter – directing the public to their home venue. Their message was succinct and it demonstrated the new ideas they have come into the game with. A few friends wondered why I will promote Dreams FC when what I was doing was only admiring what I saw as remarkably beautiful and progressive.

People should note this. I’m not a fanatic. Neither do I entertain blind loyalty nor uncontrolled passion. The fact that, I work for Kotoko doesn’t mean I can’t comment what I see as good. I have been seeing considerably good content from social media accounts of Inter Allies, Hearts, Berekum Chelsea and WAFA. My take is that, with time; deep thinking, adequate resources, planning and the resolve to uphold best standards, our clubs will be professionally run.

Some have shown the signs and that’s positive. Beyond these social media stuff, what clubs ought to do is to collaborate more with the media in publicising the matches. Publicity isn’t a one-day event. It’s process. If you plan and start well, you are likely to get desired result. Our clubs must note that, everything isn't about money. Often, it's about ideas, plans and the commitment see those fine ideas become reality with hard work.

Our clubs should thus be professional in their ways and sustain the little good efforts they are making to promote themselves and the GPL. We have always wanted the media to promote the GPL. We must however understand that, that media buzz can’t be done out of the vacuum. Clubs must reasonably open their doors to the media; furnish them with useful information on their training sessions, matches and the like.

Clubs, could as a matter of strategy, have media open days after training sessions or once in a while. The PR units of clubs must show the public they know their stuff. I repeat that, the media buzz, we want doesn’t emanate from nothingness. Clubs must take charge of their publicity and create a relationship between them and the media – not leaving out the public.

Winning matches is important but the off-the-pitch administrative work is also imperative. If fans will show good interest in the GPL, much will depend on their view of club management; the sort of information they receive from the media and how the GPL itself is managed!  

This is just the beginning

Disappointed Kwadwo Poku and Osei Agyeman. 

Things change and tables turn but in my view our reactions particularly when situations change from good to bad matters more than simply discussing or brooding over whatever might have happened. My position has always been that, where we can't reverse bad developments, the best we can do is to adopt a positive mentality and look beyond the present pain.

I opened today's article this way precisely because of what transpired in Sogakope where Kotoko lost 0-2 to WAFA on Saturday. I wasn't happy that we lost. I wasn't happy that we returned home with stories about injuries to Felix Annan and Edwin Tuffour. Indeed, I wasn't enthused that, we didn't get a favourable result. Life must however go on.

Our focus shouldn’t be derailed all because we lost our first game. What to do next to win upcoming matches is what I find most important. The defeat notwithstanding, I had quite a good time on Saturday. It wasn't my first time visiting Sogakope but it was certainly the first time I drove to that match venue. It was an exciting experience being on the road with my colleagues – Gideon Boakye Botchway and Bernard Nyankomago Yeboah. 

Our friend from Graphic Communications, Fred – a passionate Kotoko fan joined us. We picked another colleague, Seth, from Atimka FM half way into the journey as the vehicle he and other journalists were travelling on had broken down. Bongo of Peace FM was also with us on our return. Generally, it was nice being with all these friends. 

Despite the negative publicity some of us often give to the domestic game, there’s no denial that, we love to follow it. None of us want to be left out of the fun in either watching or covering our Premier League for example. This view is vindicated by what I observed at Sogakope.

Fans, a lot of them packed dangerously on motor bikes, rode to the venue from nearby towns. Hundreds of vehicles with supporters from surrounding towns and others from Accra and Tema were also seen on the road to Sogakope. Because it was the only Premier League game on the first day of the competition, and of course, involving Kotoko, most journalists couldn't stay back in their offices or homes to follow proceedings on television or radio.

I met colleagues I haven’t seen in a while. I asked: why could we all risk our lives on our usually perilous roads to watch or cover a game in a competition we irreverently label as unattractive? I learnt one thing and it’s something I have always insisted which is that, no matter how ugly our competition looks like, it’s all we have. We thus have a duty to make it appear good in whatever capacity we find ourselves.

I doff my heart to colleagues in the media because while at home on Sunday following other matches, one could tell that, most media houses were up to something positive with their coverage. So back to the Kotoko game, the pre-match fun was perfect but trends in the match weren't amusing. Kotoko’s intended flying start was not to be. The Porcupines were "grounded" and unable to take-off despite the good efforts they made.

There's no question over the quality of players Coach David Duncan has assembled but as he himself once put it, the other teams have as well built solid sides and WAFA proved that. Far from giving excuses, I think Felix Annan's 25th minute injury as bad as it was, somewhat affected the team's disposition. Felix was seen confidently issuing instructions to his teammates, organizing the defence besides making splendid saves.

Coming up against his former team, he was in no mood to drop guard. He made about five wonderful interventions minutes before he was forced out by injury. While I wouldn't take anything away from WAFA, I'm convinced that, the outcome of the game would have been different if Felix had ended the game.

Even as we express our disappointment at the loss, let's not forget that, the competition has just started. We only need to go back to the drawing board and prepare adequately for the upcoming matches hoping that, the threat injuries are posing to the strength of our team will be reduced to the barest minimum or even eliminated. 

Refereeing in the new season

Ghanaian referees are always criticised for non-performance 

The performance of referees in our Premier League came under scrutiny last week when reports emerged that, the Premier League Board (PLB) and the Referees Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) had met to deliberate on how the standard of refereeing could be improved going into the new season.

The GFA’s website termed that meeting as “fruitful” as it pointed out that they touched on many issues, “with the key area focusing on improving officiating” in the 2015/16 season.

At the meeting the PLB urged the Referees Committee to engage referees with proven competence and integrity. The newly appointed Chairman of the Referees Committee, Nii Kormiete Doku assured the PLB of the committee’s commitment to do a good work.

That there was a meeting to discuss how to improve refereeing goes to show that, all hasn’t been well with what we currently have. Refereeing plays an essential part of not just football but many other sporting disciplines. Without referees, there is the likely to be too much chaos in the game of football for instance.

Referees are like judges who adjudicate on cases but of course unlike judges in the courtroom who have ample time – often days, weeks, months and sometimes – years to pass judgement, referees have very limited time to decide on events in the game of football.

This certainly makes their work extremely difficult as they must have high sense of reasoning, impartiality, quick thinking and excellent physical strength to execute their assignment within very limited time or space. Referees must as well know the rules of the game. They must apply those rules flawlessly.

Without question, referees are powerful. They can decide which direction a game should go. That explains why every league competition must have highly competent men and women whose knowledge of the game can be trusted. Having followed our Premier League closely for years now, I have seen both good and bad referees in our competition.

I have seen referees in our league, who without fear or favour, apply the rules. In the same vein, I have seen very terrible referees whose objective for coming into a game, is to ensure that a team loses regardless of how well they perform.  

Such referees are no more than evil-minded individuals who our game certainly doesn’t need. It’s that type of referees the PLB must wish not to have and in fact, allow to handle matches going into the new season. The question may be with how we can ascertain that, this or that referee is or will be bad! It’s not easy to determine that but we must closely monitor and review referees’ performances to ensure that only the best are allowed to handle matches.

I wouldn’t recall past events and even mention names especially when we are opening a completely new chapter in the 2015/16 season. I will leave past events to the past and look ahead to a new things regarding refereeing. I however wish that, referees who will be appointed to handle matches in the new season, will be professional, eschewing things that bring their name and the game into disrepute.

Clubs spend so much preparing their teams in these days of hard economic conditions. It’s simply wicked on the part of referees to overlook the dictates of their profession, perform anyhow to undermine the efforts of club owners and managers.

I’m not one of those who will allege bribery and corruption in our game without substantial proof or evidence. But I am also not naïve to ignore the fact that, the issue of bribery in our domestic league relative to refereeing remains an undisputable perception. It’s a perception because apart suspicion, it’s hard coming up with anything to back one’s claims.

It should however be noted that, whether real or imagined, bribery if allowed to permeate refereeing and for that matter our football, will only ruin its beauty. Let’s have fair officiating in the new season so we can the strenuous efforts clubs make every day to purchase players, hire coaches, nurture and train players will not be made useless. Let our referees go into the new season resolving to give their best to make the game worth following.