The wretched pitches for the so called Ghana Premier League have taken so much centre stage we are losing sight of the tremendous rise of teams from the erstwhile Brong Ahafo enclave.
Take a quick glance at the league table. After nine matches, Brong Ahafo teams proudly occupy the top three led by Aduana Stars, followed by new entrants Nsoatreman, and the renascent Bofoakwa Tano, with Berekum Chelsea in the 5th position. Bechem United are 8th and that means the five BA clubs are all in the top half of the competition. Fantastic.
The remarkable thing about these clubs in question is they are all community-based. Massive home support is guaranteed. This reminds me of Abuakwa Susu Biribi in those days. They were tagged “Kwaebibrem boys” in other words “the men from the dense forest.” The centres in Brong Ahafo are always filled to capacity and that is what makes the league worthwhile.
It’s true none of the playing fields at the centres under review can boast of international standards, they count for nothing when expensively built national stadiums in Sekondi, Cape Coast and Tamale are left to rot.
It is difficult to understand why those paid to maintain these sports facilities fail to perform and they see nothing wrong with it.
Our playing pitches are a complete eyesore especially on TV and you wonder how the foreign based Black Stars are supposed to cope after getting used to the red carpet pitches abroad.
Enough of this bogus pitches saga. Let me continue to congratulate the BA teams for their brilliant performances that remind some us the great foundation laid by legendary footballers and administrators from the region. Players like Agyeman Gyau, Adasi Fofie, Atta Kwame, Barnier Snr and Jnr, Agyeman Badu (soccer articulator), Ntow Gyan, Kwasi Owusu, Dan Owusu, Saarah Mensah and Co come in for honourable mention.
So are administrators like Yaw Ampofo Manu,
T. K. Obeng, Capt Okyere, Ntow Fianko, Kofi Mainoo, J.Y. Appiah who almost made the Ghana League Clubs Association more powerful than the Football Association itself.
I would like to single out Ampofo Manu, a citizen of Nsoatre, who for a sustained period contributed a lot to make Sunyani based BA United a formidable club, fondly dubbed “Apostles of power soccer.”
I can’t imagine his excitement if he were alive to see the first ever premier club from his home town called Nsoatreman, capable of beating time tested Kumasi Asante Kotoko in their league debut at Nsoatre it is no mean achievement if you recall that Wassaman were whipping boys on their debut in the 1964-65; league conceding a record 122 goals in 30 matches. They won only two and drew eight. After a modest 2-2 draw against Hasaacas in the opening match at Tarkwa on Nov 29 Wassaman went on a heavy losing spree. Some of their heavy defeats were 7-0 to Corners in Kumasi; 11-0 to Olympics at Tarkwa; 10-0 to Great Ashanti in Kumasi, 7-0 to Susu Biribi at Tafo 10-0 to Kotoko at Tarkwa. Their two wins, both at home, were 3-0 over Harbour City and 1-0 over Eleven Wise.
Sports historians say November is always a month to remember in Ghana sports.
November was the month in 1976 when Ghana’s first professional world boxing champion David Kotey Poison, lost his title in front of a packed home crowd at Accra Stadium. On a cool Nov 6 night, D.K. Poison was beaten by Danny Little Red Lopez who snatched away the WBC featherweight title.
Poison had, in Sept 1975, beaten Reuben Olivares of Mexico in Los Angeles for the crown.
Another November disaster in the sporting history of Ghana was the sudden death of national goalie Robert Mensah Rated Africa’s number one goalkeeper in the 70s. Robert with his trademark cap had on Jan 24 1971 inspired Asante Kotoko to their first Africa Cup triumph in Kinshasa nut barely ten months later his football career was cut short when he was stabbed at a drinking bar at Tema in an attempt to separate two friends engaged in a fight.
He underwent a major operation at the Tema General Hospital where he died two days later.
His funeral was the most elaborate in the history for a Ghanaian footballer. The body was flown from Accra to Kumasi by the Ghana Air Force. Libation was poured at Manhyia before the body was flown again to Takoradi and then by road to Cape Coast.
Burial took place at Queen Anne’s Point in gold plated casket provided by Mt Frimpong Ansah, Governor of the Bank of Ghana and Asante Kotoko board member.
Robert joined Asante Kotoko from Cape Coast Dwarfs in 1970 after he had been voted the best goalkeeper in Africa at Afcon 70 in Sudan. His movement to Kotoko raised a lot of storm when Dwarfs accused Kotoko of poaching their best player. In the midst of the confusion Robert was found guilty of double registration for both Kotoko and Dwarfs.
The GFA had to sit on the case three days to the start of the league and Robert was declared eligible to play for Kotoko. Incidentally his first assignment for Kotoko turned to be a disaster as Kotoko were beaten 3-0, by Cornerstone in a local Derby. Robert subsequently played a major role in Kotoko’s Africa Cup triumph.
This November the Black Stars have a World Cup preliminary match against unsung Madagascar at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi. Football fans are sitting on thorns not too sure what to expect from the relatively unstable Black Stars. What can the matter be? Is it going to be another November to remember for good or for bad?
Your answer is as good as mine.
Just as I finished writing this piece then came the news that the Olympics-Nsoatreman outstanding league match at Accra Stadium on Monday was abandoned midway through the second half due to poor visibility. Initial reports seemed to suggest there was controversy over who should arrange and pay for the floodlights.
This is unacceptable and must not happen again.
Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.
