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.

Questionable league management

The GFA's management of the league isn't the best 

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) is one of the most talked about institutions in the country. They are talked about often for the wrong reasons and it’s not as if people simply choose to give the GFA negative publicity. The GFA actually creates the platform for the bad press they often receive. That’s a conclusion I have drawn based on certain observations.

If you doubt, just check recent developments by within the corridors of the FA regarding the management of the domestic league. You won’t find it difficult to agree with me. I have said over and over that, I hate to criticize the GFA for the simple reason that, there are extremely nice people and good friends in there. It’s however sad to observe that, these people in the exercise of their mandate as managers of the domestic game, often disappoint me.

And their unimpressive management of the domestic game frankly is hurting local football enthusiasts like me. It’s heartbreaking and from where I sit, I can only write and complain, drawing their attention to the fact, our local game deserves the better management.

The GFA often cry wolf over how the media likes to dwell on negative things instead of giving the positive things prominence but what they forget or overlook is that, there can be no bad way of advertising our game than exposing it to decisions that only confound football enthusiasts and the media.

A typical example is what we were subjected to last week. After officially releasing the Premier League fixtures for the new season thereby aiding the clubs to properly plan, it was announced that, Techiman City – one of the newly promoted teams have been demoted to the third tier of the country’s football over a bribery case.

I love disciplined people and institutions. I also admire individuals and groups that adhere to rules and regulations but then I hate it, when in ensuring that, rules and regulations work, common sense is overlooked to create unnecessary confusion, which in the long run, overshadows good effort.

I won’t interrogate the bribery issue involving Techiman City. I am not doing it because I sympathize with Mickey Charles and his team. I’m refraining from that because for me, my primary issue isn’t with punishing crime but with how crime is punished to affect others who aren’t complicit or involved in the crime.

How league fixtures could be planned and released by the GFA with Techiman City acknowledged and paired against other clubs only to be demoted days later leaves me to question the management of affairs at the GFA and the sort of coordination that exists between bodies like the Ethics Committee and the Premier League Board (PLB).

Again, my beef isn’t about the punishment meted out to Techiman City and whether or not they deserve it! That’s another matter for discussion. My problem is with the confusion Techiman City’s demotion has caused; their looming appeal; review and all the long, boring legal actions they could take to seek justice and eventually prolong our already long wait for the season.

I have been wondering if it was necessary to release the fixtures, knowing that, one of the participating teams would be demoted and in consequence, issues were going to be raised about the much publicized league start date and its feasibility.

Did the PLB know the outcome of the case and still went ahead to draw the fixtures with Techiman City? Is there no cooperation between the sub-committees of the FA so that, the release of the fixtures could have been suspended until every issue surrounding the start of competition is amicably dealt with.

We wait to see what will happen on February 20, 2016 – whether the league will start, and of course, if there will be 15 participating teams or indeed, we will have the full complement of clubs qualified to compete in the league. Whatever system on which domestic football runs in our country needs to be looked at because certain things are not right.

The statement by the FA that, its domestic football programme will proceed as plan doesn’t reveal anything substantial with particular reference to the league. And I dare say that, local football enthusiasts risk waiting for a longer time to see the season underway. We wait to see what will happen.

Why Stephen Oduro is still useful

The evergreen, Stephen Oduro (in yellow shirt) 

Days after the publication of our 2016 registered players, my good friend George Addo Jnr. of Joy FM asked me what exactly influenced the club’s decision to once again add the name of the midfield gem, Stephen Oduro to the list of players for the upcoming season. It was an interesting question but it wasn’t difficult understanding the import or significance of that question.

Stephen Oduro has been with Kotoko for nearly two decades and especially in the last decade, many have wondered what his contributions to the team has been on the pitch. More so where everybody can see or tell what Stephen Oduro does on the field of play when selected for matches, no one within Kotoko can throw dust into the eyes of the public.

Numbers, figures and statistics say a lot about players when it comes to their appearances and performance. Barring injuries, ill-health or any other thing that prevents a player from playing regularly for his team, a good player is always likely to be fielded by his coach.

Stephen Oduro was for instance fielded six times in 30 league matches of the 2014/15 Premier League. Thus coming from my statement about appearances and a player’s quality; performance or usefulness, the obvious question to ask is: if Stephen Oduro is that good and has so much to offer Kotoko, why was he fielded only six times in a season that saw the Porcupines struggle?

That’s a legitimate question. It’s the type of question that many people, like my friend George Addo Jnr. genuinely asked when they saw our publication and the inclusion of Stephen Oduro. I decided to write on Oduro and his relevance to the team not just to add to the information already out there on his registration but to also buttress the point that, for a player who has spent practically his entire career at Kotoko and largely on the domestic scene, it’s appropriate that, we keep him if we still find him valuable.

Stephen Oduro is a local jewel. He hasn’t just spend a chunk of his playing time at Kotoko, he has additionally made immense contributions to our course. I lack the strength to describe Stephen Oduro’s time at the club simply because of the weight of his contributions. They are too heavy for my shoulders.

His unalloyed loyalty and dedication to Kotoko has been unquestionable. His intelligence and sheer brilliance with which he has dazzled millions of supporters are public knowledge. My good friend and a Hearts fan, Obed Echia once wrote this about Oduro: “Stephen Oduro’s dexterity in midfield poses a worry to opponents. He initiates attacks that leave goalies too disturbed. In Europe, Christian Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard, Lionel Messi, David Beckham are noted for brilliant free kicks and in Ghana, Stephen Oduro holds that accolade.

Oduro is fondly remembered for his breathtaking free kick, which dazed Sammy Adjei who despite seeing Kotoko fans celebrating still looked for the ball outside the net, in a Kotoko-Hearts league fixture in Kumasi”. If a journalist with a soft spot for Kotoko’s arch rivals will write that about Oduro; then I need not continue eulogizing the player.

People have talked about Oduro’s age. They have asked if he still has the verve to run. Every living thing ages with time and aging, for want of a better expression, comes with some wear and tear. In consequence, it’s no news to if Oduro is aging and that, comparatively, he isn’t as energetic as he used to be. But please, if I may ask: what’s age when the man is still devoted to the Porcupine agenda on and off the pitch, sharing his priceless football wisdom?

We ought to celebrate Oduro and duly honour him at the right time. George Addo Jnr. and others who have asked about his inclusion in the current team didn’t seek to ask embarrassing questions but rather solicit useful information, which we must always give in accordance with the club’s communications or Public Relations policy.

Someday, I will return on this subject. For now, all I say is, Oduro still has a lot to offer on and off the field of pay. We must, as supporters and the general public, respect the club’s decision. At the right time, when he decides to hang his boots, Kotoko and may be the Premier League Board and the Ghana Football Association will give him a befitting send-off party for his service to the club and the domestic game.

Domestic football deserves better

Kotoko players - Jackson, Adams and Dauda. 

It should have been refreshing news that the Premier League will finally kickoff on February 20, 2016 but I'm not sure it was as hours before that piece of news could settled on the minds of domestic football enthusiasts, reports emerged that, the announcement by the Emergency Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) was hasty and not consultative.

Claims that some Executive Committee members of the GFA were left in the dark on discussions which paved the way for the announcement of the league start date were worrisome as that alone threatened to open a fresh page to the stalemate that has rocked domestic football organization in the country.

Reaction from notable GFA voices that, its Emergency Committee, legally committed no wrongdoing by making known when the league would start was important. Yet observing events and analyzing issues critically, those reactions by the well-placed officers of the GFA have done very little to change the near hopelessness fans feel over the delay of the league.

Naturally, complaints over the league delay and associated adverse effects should have emanated more from the quarters of our clubs, who in practical terms, bear the brunt of the current discomforting situation but the clubs not complaining that much. If they are, it's been on the quiet, or in fact, silently. That shouldn't be too difficult to understand.

In our case, I mean the Ghanaian football situation, where club officials either hold positions at the GFA or are key men in the FA's schemes of things, it will certainly be illogical to hear "friends of the FA" raising critical voices over the league delay and its accompanying problems.

Secondly, most of us in Ghana have this unpleasant attitude of failing to keep, for want of a better expression, a malfunctioning system on its toes, so much that, we will rather remain quiet than be heard loud complaining and later labeled as anti this or that! That attitude has become a sub-culture in many parts of our national life. Sadly, it has a place in our football.

For me, the announcement of the date doesn't give much joy. It doesn’t call for partying because the FA haven’t given us a complete calendar, which details its domestic football programme for 2016. I hate to be too critical and cynical too but truth be told, by furnishing us with the date as to when the Premier League will start, the GFA has only touched on the surface of a deeper problem, which is their disappointing management of domestic football.

It's good that the online player registration introduced last season as part of the club licensing has ended successfully. However by now, we should have had a comprehensive local football time-time table for the season. Now that we know when the Premier and Division One leagues will start, do we know when it will end? When will the first round of the Premier League close?

When will the FA Cup start and end? Do we know? Is there a meticulous programme to that effect? In societies that we claim to be learning from, Premier League dates are not announced without a comprehensive season programme. The Premier League Board (PLB) and the GFA must take note: their management of local football despite their good efforts still isn’t the best!

The Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) captured that succinctly in a press statement: “It’s an indictment on [our] two football regulatory bodies for their inability to maintain a fixed and predictable football calendar, as the last few Premier League seasons have been bedeviled with protracted litigation which cause delays… And its negative effect on the performance of Ghanaian clubs [in Africa]. After organizing the Premier League for over two decades... It is rather disappointing that we are still grappling with very elementary problems..." SWAG said.

Clubs may well be the ones at each other's throat. Clubs may as well be the ones who drag the FA to court but that only happens when grievances are not handled decisively and expeditiously. The failure by the FA to even accept responsibility for the present state of affairs buttresses the view that, they aren’t as interested in local football as they are in the Black Stars.

This is the time for them to change.

Back from Libya with good news

Kotoko players disembark after arrival from Libya 

I wasn’t in Libya. I didn’t travel with the team. Yet playing my role within the club’s media team, especially at Kotoko Express and Asantekotokosc.com, it was fun reading the stories and seeing the exclusive photos sent by our photojournalist, David Kyei. The pictures told diverse stories and the stories themselves gave so much information on the team. Only one conclusion could be drawn: that, it was worth going to Libya.

The political situation in the North African country isn’t the type any reasonable student of society admire. Libya used to be peaceful despite the seemingly despotic if not tyrannical administration of their former ruler, Muammar Gaddafi. Following his overthrow, Libya hasn’t been the same. The political crisis in that country have succeeded in tearing social life apart.

Competitive football league hasn’t been played there for instance in a long while. Well, before Kotoko left for the North African country, the news was that, the team was traveling to honour friendly matches to send signals to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) that the country was in a stable condition to guarantee the safety of football fans and for that reason, the ban on the beautiful game could be lifted.

Again, we were told that, invitations to clubs outside Libya and indeed on the continent, to come and play friendly matches had been turned down on grounds of insecurity but rivals Hearts of Oak accepted an invitation to play there. Soon Kotoko followed. Hearts of Oak were beaten in their two games but the Porcupines lost one and drew the other game.

Sections of the media have had their own way of analyzing Kotoko’s performance and that of Hearts of Oak, easily concluding that, Kotoko fared much better than Hearts. I haven’t been interested in those analysis for the simple reason that, whatever Hearts did in Libya can’t be the measuring rod for Kotoko although I can understand why these comparisons are being done.

Kotoko and Hearts are sworn rivals so you can expect people, especially supporters on the street to compare and contrast, in search of bragging rights. Beyond the fanaticism, it’s important for us at Kotoko to look at our performance within the proper lenses. There’s no doubt that, what the Porcupines did in Libya would add to our quest to reclaim titles they lost in last year. The Porcupines were impressive especially in their last game.

The good news we have had at Kotoko is that, we have recruited the best materials. We have a good coach – a coach who notwithstanding great difficulties last year, managed to steer his team to a respectable second place last season.

Our team is more organised technically and without question, if the league was to start now, Kotoko would be more than ready. That’s why it’s misplaced for any serious mind to compare Kotoko to a team that appears not to have confidence in their foreign coach; in fact, a team that seem be struggling to win both low and high profile friendly matches.

The standards at Kotoko presently regarding the playing body are high and it’s wrong for anybody to compare Duncan’s team to what pertains at Hearts. Let’s us look at our strengths and weaknesses on their own merit and rectify any identifiable problem also on its merit with the aim of getting our arsenals sharper than they are presently.

Kotoko have returned from Libya with another good news, which is that, the players on the basis of their exposure, feel confident. There have been suggestions that, the Libya side is pitched against the triumphant G-6 team. I endorsed that. It would add not just to the fun of supporters watching the two teams in action at a time there is no competitive league; it will additionally give the technical team one more opportunity to look at the two teams separately.

It would be interesting to see how Michael Osei’s team fares against David Duncan’s side. Let’s commend management and the technical team for the careful decisions they have taken in the past week, regarding the splitting of the team – one for Libya and the other for the mini tournament. Let’s continue to rally behind the team as they prepare for the new season. 

Thumps up, Ghalca and Kotoko

Kotoko, maiden G-6 Champions 

I have been one critic of the Ghana League Clubs Association (Ghlaca) – having had cause to question their relevance. People within the Ghalca setup not surprisingly weren’t happy with my questions over their usefulness and whether or not they had been playing their role well, apart from organizing competitions which lately run into problems.

Some of those questions still stand but this is not the time for that. It’s rather time to pat the league clubs association for mooting the G-6 idea and luckily having some reasonably good sponsorship and on top of it all, putting together a competition that undoubtedly has again negated erroneous impression in some quarters that local football is (or was) dead.

We must give praise where it’s due. That’s why despite all the issues I have or have had with the clubs’ body, I find it necessary to commend them for bringing to our tables fine domestic football excitement, using the FirsTrust G-6 tournament as the conduit. Before the competition started, many wondered if it was feasible and even proper to have teams playing matches every 24hours between January 7 and 10, 2016.

The clubs – knowing and assessing the difficulties associated with the time between their matches, saw wisdom in Ghalca’s arrangement. In the absence of a competitive league, the clubs descended on Sekondi to sell fairly decent games. After the first and second round of matches, the public could easily tell which teams appeared ready for the league. Teams that needed to return to the drawing board were as well made palpably evident.

That Kotoko was likely to win the competition was quite clear but against the backdrop of the league champions – Ashgold’s presence, it was necessary not to see the Porcupines as an unbeatable side before kickoff. I mean it was fair to respect Ashgold and their status. That respect for Ashgold however waned when they were generally found wanting especially against what many saw as Kotoko’s second string side.

By winning the G-6 tourney with the so-called second team, deputy Coach Michael Osei has irrefutably proven to be a worthy assistant having done a similar thing in a more competitive field in 2014, when in the absence of ex-Coach Didi Dramani, he led the Porcupines to win the FA Cup. Michael and his team deserve loads of praise. The technical team, management and the playing body deserve commendation for they have rightly earned it.

I was impressed with the grit the relatively new and young players showed in the tournament. The careful thinking that went into the decision to split the team – one participating in the G-6 and the other going to Libya also can’t be overlooked. Management and the technical team again must be applauded for that. Let’s be hopeful that the team in Libya will also bring us joy.

It’s important we celebrate the G-6 triumph G-6 but let’s not forget that, more hard work will be needed when the league season finally opens. Our quest for title reclaim will not come easy. Whatever that has ensured victory in the G-6 will have to be sustained. It’s evident that, good recruitment has been done. It’s left with the players – both the retained and new players to continue working collectively to achieve 2015/16 objectives or goals.

No good achievement comes without hard work, dedication and discipline. Let’s all commit ourselves to the course of success and surely the results – that’s the fruits of our labour will be enjoyable. Let’s thank Ghalca for the opportunity they have given us to test our preparedness for competitive matches. Let’s applaud the hundreds of fans who frequented the stadium not just to watch matches but to cheer the team to victory.

Let’s additionally praise FirsTrust Savings and Loans along with the other sponsors for having faith in the domestic game; supporting it unreservedly in many different ways over the last few days. Regardless of the perception out there; no matter the weight or side of that perception, local football isn’t dead. What local football needs is better management, resources and more attention. The habitually caustic criticism of our game is toxic and must be done away with.