By Ken Bediako
The lobby to get Accra Stadium renamed after Ohene Djan the legendary sports administrator, continues unabated.
I believe strongly the government decision in 2004 to honour outstanding sports personalities by naming sporting facilities after them was fitting and proper Sports legends like Baba Yara, Azumah Nelson, D G.Hathiramani, Mrs Thodosia Okoh and Ohene Djan all had famous sports facilities named after them. Strangely enough about six months after the naming ceremonies Ohene Djan’s insignia was unceremoniously removed from Accra Stadium allegedly by a riotous gang of hired hooligans. End of story.
Perhaps the many people who say Ghanaians take things for granted may be right after all. How the sports authorities have turned a blind eye to such a destruction to the nation’s sports history is baffling.
Well, the sages say better late than never. Ace Radio sports presenter Dan Kwaku Yeboah of Peace FM fame, has admirably launched a silent crusade to get Ohene Djan’s name back to Accra Sports Stadium at least for the sake of posterity. I back him to the hilt. My motivation is I was right in the thick of affairs in the 60s as a young sportswriter with the Daily Graphic newspaper when Ohene Djan. Ghana’s first Director of Sports put Ghana on the global sports map with his top level achievements.
From the 1960 Rome Olympic Games silver by boxer Ike Quartey Snr through 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games Gold in athletics and boxing, twice Afcon champs in 1963 and 1965 not to mention first ever world professional boxing title fight in Ghana a la Klutei Robertson in 1964, there is little doubt that Ohene Djan deserves to be celebrated. The list of honours is long.
The last but not the least Ohene Djan was one of the brains behind the inauguration of the National Football League in 1958.
In fact, he was chairman of the FA at the time. He became executive secretary from 1960 when President Nkrumah made him Director of Sports in the newly created Central Organisation of Sports (COS). As the powerful Executive Secretary, Ohene Djan run the National League efficiently till 1966 when he was sacked by the Police cum Military coup makers who overthrew Kwame Nkrumah’s CPP government.
Starting this week I will publish my recollection of how the league fared under Ohene Djan’s administration from the 1958 season to 1966.
HEARTS WIN MAIDEN LEAGUE
July 6 –Nov 16 1958
After the fiasco of the abandoned league in 1957, a properly organised national league was launched in March 1958 by the newly elected chairman of the Ghana Football Association.
It was agreed by all that the Football Association should be the only authority to organise, promote and sanction inter-club competitions and matches throughout the country.
Ohene Djan rounded up the inauguration by stating that the object of the league was, “to provide a constant flow of material for international assignments and provide Ghanaians generally with a well-needed source of relaxation”. The GAFA selected the strongest eight clubs from the Municipalities of Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi and Cape Coast to play one another regularly on home and away basis, always fielding their strongest available side.
The pioneer clubs were Hearts of Oak and Great Olympics (Accra); Asante Kotoko and Cornerstone (Kumasi); Hasaacas and Eleven Wise (Sekondi);
Mysterious Dwarfs and Venomous Vipers (Cape Coast).
Accra Hearts, bent on proving that the gold medal awarded them two years earlier was no fluke, won this first ‘properly organised’ league with 21 points. They were followed closely by the two Kumasi clubs, Cornerstone and Kotoko with 20 and 19 points respectively.
At one stage of the competition, Great Olympics were the strong favourites for the league cup as they won most of their away encounters. Sadly, they crumbled towards the end of the competition and didn’t live up to expectation.
The proverbial traditional rivalry between Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak has its roots from the very beginning of the league when their very first fixture on August 24, 1958 in Kumasi was abandoned in the second half due to crowd violence. Hearts were leading 4-3 at the time of the hold up.
Hearts had taken a commanding 3-0 lead at half time through Ofei Dodoo, Charles Kumi Gyamfi and Nii Dowuona but Kotoko scored three times in ten minutes through Kwame Adarkwa, Wilberforce Mfum and Fred Akuffo on resumption. Ofei Dodoo made it 4-3 for Heartswhen a clash of heads involving Hearts goalkeeper Addoquaye Laryea and Kotoko defender Moro Gago brought fans onto the pitch.
The League Management Committee blamed the crowd for disrupting the match and ruled that there should be a replay.
Hearts won the replay 5-2 at the Jackson Park on Nov 2, 1958. Kotoko had problems at the back when Opoku Mensah was sacked for rough play and Kwaku Tawia was carried off the pitch with injury. Hearts players were carried shoulder high for that convincing victory.
Hearts, (by now, popularly known as The Phobians) a nickname given to them by their vociferous supporters, were crowned Ghana’s first league champions on Nov 16 1958, five days after their 47th birthday. Asante Kotoko almost spoiled the party by defeating The Phobians 4-2 on the final match day at Accra Sports Stadium but the results of the match didn’t matter, the Phobians had already won.
Baba Yara scored first for Kotoko in the 15th minute and Adu Darko replied from the spot 10 minutes later. Fred Akuffo restored the lead for Kotoko also from a spot kick and Agyiri-Fynn levelled matters for Hearts before half time.
The anti-climax was a free for all fight after the match between the players and among the supporters. Massive police protection was necessary before the Kotoko players could enter the dressing room.
Mr. H. P. Nyemitei, then President of Accra Hearts of Oak, in a public statement condemned what he described as, “the shocking attack on the Kotoko players and supporters”. He recalled that when Hearts were attacked in similar fashion in Kumasi he also condemned the action. “I cannot condone this just because it comes from my camp,” he said. To curtail further incidents of this nature, he suggested the formation of a Union of National League Clubs which he hoped would improve relations between all league clubs.
It took a decade before Mr. Nyemitei’s suggestion was considered by the clubs when a National League Clubs Association (NLCA) was formed. Later, the name was changed to Organisation of Ghana League Clubs Association (OGLCA). It is now known as The Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA), a powerful affiliate of the Football Association, which takes a percentage of gate takings of all league matches to run the association and cater for members in distress.
The exciting discoveries in the historic 1958 league were Aggrey-Fynn of Hasaacas, Duncan of Vipers and Kwame Adarkwa of Asante Kotoko who later played for the Black Stars in the early sixties.
Cape Coast Venomous Vipers set an unenviable record for not winning a single match in the competition.
Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.
