Of trolls and ludicrous arguments – Why else do clubs exist?

In my opinion, one of the most ridiculous arguments posited against Ghanaian clubs, particularly Asante Kotoko SC in more recent history (since it’s the only football club left in this country doing anything remotely close to being a football club) for participating in continental competitions is that, among other things, it’s NOT PROFITABLE!

Which of the domestic competitions is ‘profitable’ again? The GHPL or the FA cup?

As a football club, you exist to compete. It’s as simple as that. You’re not a singing band like a certain club would have us believe they’ve become since they last challenged for anything of worth both domestically and on the continent. It’s almost as if they were, as part of their last Africa title conquest, barred from future competitions, or perhaps the competition(s) suffered a cessation at the instant of their last impressive season.

For whatever it’s worth, their fans have found a calling in being about Asante Kotoko SC in the most flattering of ways while gloating in a never-ending charade of reminding us of the mathematical recency of their glorious past compared to Kotoko’s. ‘Limao’.

Before I lose track of my thoughts, let’s get back to the matter. Shall we?!

Manning any club profitably as a business entity is a direct function of excellence in corporate governance; the pivot of which is human capital/resources and the quality thereof. It is why Asante Kotoko SC must be preoccupied with attracting talents as good as Uniliver Ghana or Ecobank Ghana would.

It is why we hire the caliber of Dr. KK Sarpong and not Yaw Sakyere of Mankraso however the depth of his pocket because that’d just be wastefulness in waiting. It is the reason why we do NOT need loud-mouthed journalists feathering peoples’ ‘behinds’ for whatever comes out of it as favors in order for such persons to ascend to positions at the club only to wallow in the nothingness of their tenures but rather, offering a backing, financially, and a sound working environment to individuals with clear, SMART goals and demonstrated plans on reaching those goals. After all, we just want to see measured success.

It is also why Manhyia’s posturing and oversight need a reformation of its own as the sole owner of the club. It is too trusting or downright carefree of the fortunes of the club. I can’t quite decide which is closer to factual.

If you don’t understand, in 2021, that the club as an entity can and must grow independently and ahead of any sustainable gains, including the establishment of more sustained, diverse streams of income, then I don’t know how to help you.

Of course, it’d be equally untenable to suggest the absence of a correlation between team performance and club growth but there exists a certain threshold beyond which a club must be able to hold its own, despite a relative lack of success on the field.

Wonni sika a, wonni sika. If you withdraw from any competition, it must reflect the simple fact that ‘wo nni wɛ’. It is not a matter of choice because you clearly have none. Excusing the lack of player quality and the profitability of the competition is sheer nonsense because neither has a direct impact on your chances of success.

If you qualify for ‘Tontrowa Cup’ as a football club, compete for it. It is why you exist. It is also why Abena Agyeiwaa Cup rightfully has a shrine built for it at Asylum Down Barcelona. (Stay with me. Don’t lose the essence of my thoughts).

Happy New Year.

Fabu!

COVID-19: Hasn’t The Ghanaian Citizen Any Responsibilities?

Holiday revelers at a local beach during lockdown in Accra

There’s no denying the fact that I have handed myself the arduous task of understanding the mindset of the Ghanaian citizen and how it plays out in the general responsiveness of the country in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.

Safe to say that I have found no comfort in our posture as a people who have proven over time to be mindless and lawless about most things that affects our collective wellbeing – from illegally erecting structures in public spaces to littering our environment.

Is there any surprise in how Ghanaians keep flouting measures put in place to protect them from contracting and spreading the novel Coronavirus? And is it any surprising that our ‘vituperation culture’, targeted at government, is suggestive of a people who find no reasons to sacrifice a little bit of their comfort for the collective safety of all?

Now, why do I feel that this fight against COVID-19 has once again exposed a good blend of the Ghanaian’s entitled personality and reckless nature? And why has the media, as important as it is, chosen to foment this very retrogressive Ghanaian subculture with its own adopted rhetoric that seems to solely focus accountability on Government and state agencies at the forefront of this fight?

Imagine tuning in to, arguably, the best morning show Programme on radio to hear one of Ghana’s favorite political show hosts, Bernard Avle, vent in a manner we’ve almost become accustomed to and seeking answers to what might come across as rightly placed questions arising from the many directives and protocols announced by government but with a subtle taint of condescension; one that dumps all burden of responsibility in ensuring complete adherence to these measures onto the shoulders of government.

Listening to Bernard ask if “the (President’s) speech is going to implement itself” and going on to take swipes at political leadership will remain one of the most disingenuous of all I’ve heard thus far in our COVID-19 discourse.

Now, go on and imagine reading the next news update from the same media entity Mr Avle belongs reporting on how a court has fined some six persons for attending a birthday party in contravention of a Presidential order.

This is just 6/1000s of people still flouting COVID19 spread prevention protocols contained in the same “speeches” handed down to us by the President and through the many other public educational drives set in motion from the onset of this battle.

I’m left wondering what a perfect implementation strategy of these protocols would look like in the eyes of Bernard Avle. Are we to arrest and flood our legal system with a million of mindless Ghanaians? And should we freeze time, resources and the raging threats of the virus while at it?

Enti dabia “bad leadership” saa? Like we don’t know what breed of beings we are as a people? We’re all indisciplined and we have no one to point it out to us. We make ourselves ungovernable and still find ways to put all the blame on governments. No sense of personal responsibility on the Ghanaian. NONE.

Is Citi FM not the same entity that shared a video of our Uncles and Aunties at the Accra Brewery markets flouting lockdown regulations with disdain? Did the people captured in the video look like those you could just whisper “Stay home & Stay safe” and have them heed? It’ll take slaps but then again we would have had persons in the media and human rights activists in their full Julian Falconer regalia blasting government for it.

Lockdown is lifted and these are the same folks breathing down the government’s neck for loosening its grip on the restrictions they were already happily defying. And all we want to do is sit in studios and be questioning who’s implementing what?

My social media Timelines are flooded constantly with countless examples of how the Ghanaian citizen is brazenly undermining every effort by the so-called magic performing entity called ”the Government” all in the name of “poverty” and “they need education” and the media would have us think that we have no responsibilities as citizens?

Only time the media attempts to draw the greater citizenry into this fight is when it’s calling for education for the masses.

Edudeɛbɛncation?

We should now enrol citizens into Medical Schools and Public Health Institutions for degrees?

Even my 3 year old niece knows things are not the same and we want to paint grown folks as some daft stooges who can’t tell what the times are? They know. They just don’t care.

They’re aware of all we’re collectively going through as a WORLD. Nothing else has gone on for months except that which is related to COVID-19. So why don’t they care?

These are the question I’d rather the media ask. Channel efforts into finding why. Why is the Ghanaian so mindless and selfish?

Maybe if the mainstream media, as powerful as it is, quit being irresponsible in their production of comically themed vox pops and ludicrous interviews with citizens aimed at eliciting laughter for ‘clicks, Retweets and Likes’ on very serious matters with communal implications while channeling same efforts and time into sensitization drives, we could finally start tilting the heads of citizens into grasping the fact that its no one person’s responsibility to make all this go away and thus, the need for some attitudinal changes in real time.

It’s governance. NOT a magical show. The decision maker (Government) and the taker (citizens) must demonstrate equal levels of commitment if any of this would work.

Musings of a Commoner

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  Asante Kotoko SC Emblem

Even before my first ever post on Asante Kotoko Sporting Club on social media, I understood the culture of the club in ways most people only warmed up to fully understanding years later and the general proclivities for people to assume that one was lining himself up for a shot at a position has always been rife.

Perhaps this stems from the general lack of trust amongst us. So much that one couldn’t possibly be seen as just espousing his views from a position of sincere perspective and that there ought to be a catch somewhere. Likes person A against person B or one is just marking time to rob person C of his job.

Considering that there’s NEVER going to come a time where I shield my views on topics of interest on Kotoko, It’s only fair that I repeat what I’ve always maintained; a stance not lost on anyone who’s known me and my affinity with the club since I was a boy.

I have NEVER positioned myself to be considered for any role in the club. As honoring as that would be – given the esteem status of this club in the world – I have no aspirations of becoming anything in any official capacity at the club. At least not as I write these words.

I’ve noticed with subtle discomfort how some people have reacted to my personal views on a plethora of issues as though I was pitching for a position in the club.

“The next this, the future that”. Sometimes, I’ve found that complimentary but most times, it’s just uncomfortable.

I think it’s time we all start assimilating the fact that there’s a role for everyone in ensuring the club develops to the standards we seek of it and our thoughts shared on any aspect of this process are by themselves satisfying contributions which should only be judged on their merit and not on whether or not someone is like or disliked or that one is aiming to get another fired so they get to replace them etc.

I don’t subscribe to this type of thinking and I sure refuse to see Kotoko as some political establishment with a naturally established Opposition. That in fact is the mindset that needs changing else every pertinent issue is going to be reduced to the unhealthy culture of “he likes this and hates that and wants their jobs”.

Like many like-minded supporters, I’ve contributed to this club in many direct and indirect ways without necessarily being an official and just as is required of us to be citizens and not spectators, we do not need “a government official” sticker on our foreheads before contributing our quotas to anything of worth.

I’m a commoner and a supporter of ASANTE Kotoko and far as I’m concerned, it end there.

Have a great new week, protect yourselves and stay safe.

Kotoko’s King-making Media Cabal: The Agenda Must “agend” And At All Cost.

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Emmanuel Clottey

Recent events surrounding the latest fines handed to Asante Kotoko SC by FIFA for breaching standard protocols in the signing of former striker, Emmanuel Clottey, from Esperance of Tunisia, has elicited differing outbursts from a cross-section of stakeholders.

Since the FIFA ruling, there has been the usual apportioning of blame which has become a regular feature in the club’s problem solving technique with little to no attention on the root causes of what might have led to the club’s dire predicaments. This situation puts into sharp focus the posture of one of the most powerful partners in the general development of the club, the Media.

I must admit that I gain no personal gratification in calling out any section(s) of the media but when the very ethos of their profession is thrown to the dogs by certain actors within it in favor of deliberate mudslinging aimed at not only dragging the names of individuals chosen by Manhyia to run the club but also damning the reputation the club in the process, remaining silent comes at a heftier cost.

Why is a section of the media, particularly in Kumasi, scapegoating Dr. Kwame Kyei’s Administration for the fines that have accrued to the club for the wrongful acquisition of a player before his tenure? The answer smacks of the usually grand agenda often put in motion by a section of the Kumasi media against individuals and club Managements they don’t align with.

Why’s the focus being shifted from the primary cause of the current problem and hence the punishment by FIFA? Agenda foo bia na Kotoko Supporters so sɔ so. Who brought Emmanuel Clottey to even start with? Had that person not heard of due diligence?

Some prominent Sports presenters, after conniving, conspiring and contriving with elements within Asante Kotoko’s administrative hierarchy to bring about all manner of ill-intended ‘money moves’ aimed at getting cuts out of it, have created a huge mess but have turned around to act like saints to lay, wholly, the blame on an administrator who inherited these debts and has given the clearest indication yet to even go ahead to pay.

Can’t stand witches who find grounds to act sanctimonious.

No Administrator deserves to be undermined the way some of these so-called sports presenters, especially in Kumasi, hatch grand schemes to thwart the efforts of those “they don’t like.”

Their modus-operandi is simple: “Allow us to have our way – scout and poach players, organize useless friendly matches so we get our cuts or else we turn the supporters against you”.

They’ve built such cult following from among Kotoko’s large but passive, all-consuming set of fans who, at the least command would jump on the side of this established cabal in their attempt to perpetuate the same nonsense as previously handed to managements such as the one headed by Dr. K.K Sarpong in the not too distant past.

As a supporter of this club, I may not be the keenest admirer of Dr. Kwame Kyei’s work. Neither do I need not to be in agreement with his policies before taking a stand against the very established, evil unseen hands of self-appointed kingmakers at Kotoko.

These are the same people who couldn’t act on the lethargy of past administrators in pursuing cash owed Asante Kotoko by other clubs in the trade of players like Nathaniel Asamoah because if they did, they’d have exposed themselves for the lies they spewed against Dr. Sarpong.

Think about it. If you accused someone of chopping transfer monies, are you then able to publicly admit the existence of the monies and actually go after it?

I cannot emphasis this enough that there is a section of the media and in Kumasi, who, riding on the goodwill accorded them by the teeming followers of the club, have bequeathed to themselves authorities in the matters of Asante Kotoko SC and beyond their primary responsibilities as journalists and by so doing, have established themselves as a quasi Board, governance and accountability body who determines when and when not any particular administrator is fit for their role.

Not sure what height of naivety could possibly be assigned to me if I didn’t admit to how important and powerful the media in Kumasi has positioned itself in the affairs of the club.

Other well-meaning stakeholders, especially among the rank and file of the club, must wake up to the realities of the motives behind the utterances and general discourses set in motion by some elements with the sports media fraternity across the country and more dominantly in Kumasi.

2020 and Kotoko is still marking time for reasons such as these empowered elements.

KOTOKO MUST BUILD and SOLIDIFY A WORKABLE ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY & ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE.

The club need not to reinvent anything. Learning from the many best practices out there is all the club needs for a lift from the current management practice that does not ensure sustainable growth. Also this way, the many influences and intrusions from powerful elements outside of the club would be significantly reduced if not wholly curbed.

The ‘ABOUT ME’ I never wrote.

I’m NOT a Journalist. I’m just another news consumer with an opinion. I’d like to think that, like most professions, it’s a serious, special business being a trained journo. That’s not to say I take myself any less seriously but I won’t hold myself up as one, regardless of how anything I do bear any semblance with the practice by any measure including how much or less I know about it’s rudiments and inherent ethics.

This notwithstanding, we’d all agree that knowledge sharing isn’t quite the preserve of just a chosen few.

From politics (An area I deliberately restrain myself from) to sports and everything in between, we all hold a unique duty to build, inspire and educate each other by sharing those parts of the whole we hold relevant information, opinion, superior context strength etc to unravel and to surmount the challenges of these parts; the aggregation of which define those hurdles – physical and socio-economic – that confronts our localized settings from home, work place to greater Ghana.

In all this, being responsible with and about any kind of knowledge or information we wield, and for the persons likely to be affected by it, is what sets us apart individually.

For this reason, you can rest assured that I didn’t set up a social media account to prove myself right AT ALL COST, tow a popular line, cast myself, AT ALL COST, in the shadows of established theories and ideologies; the culmination of which, often, manifest as the many very stupid and blind cult personality/regime battles we have over “Paul and Apollos” while the real issues fester in wait to finally destroy us all.

When I share an opinion, when we engage in a banter, It is not personal. I hold no ulterior motives beyond establishing the nature of a thing – black or white. In every differing view of mine, I almost automatically look forward to the opportunity of reading a superior view point that’s factual and verifiable. I’m most willing to concede because I find no glory in necessarily being right and proving you wrong.

I am here to learn.

Historic! “I commented on an Unforgettable night of European football.”

 

Hours before the big game in Camp Nou, I had maintained that overturning a daunting scoreline wasn’t beyond this Barcelona team even though i still feel something has fundamentally changed about their play in a not so great way. Lionel Messi has not been at his terrorizing self in many games and perhaps details surrounding Luis Enrique’s announced departure from the club at the end of the season is proof enough that all has not been well with the great Catalonia side. 

6-1 regardless, they’re not even close to as deadly as they once were not too long ago in my opinion as a keen follower of football. But who wants to dwell on the slant in direction of a coconut tree when its still bearing sweet, juicy fruits? 

Sorry if you missed the game but “Like play, like play”, last night birthed one of the most intriguingly magical experiences in football with Barcelona defying all odds to spin a horrific 4-0 defeat to PSG a fortnight ago right on its head by posting an incredible 6-1 triumph over the Paris club. 6-5 it ended on aggregate.

A Luis Suarez goal on 3 minutes, Layvin Kurzawa’s own goal on 41 minutes, a Lionel Messi goal from the penalty spot on the 50th minute, a Neymar brace on the 88th and 90th minutes (pen), and a definitive sucker punch from Sergi Roberto on 90+4 minutes (ET) was not exactly what many people envisaged but just enough to record one of the greatest comebacks ever seen in the UEFA Champions League; qualifying into the quarter finals of the competition in a style no other club has ever done.

Now, to the nights most contentious moments.

 

Referee Deniz Aytekin, in the opinion of many who watched the epic duel, ensured he left an equally indelible mark; capped by 2 penalty calls that proved crucial to Barcelona’s win. 

But here’s what i made of it all. The 1st penalty call passes for the cleanest you’d get on any European night. Thomas Meunier had been beaten COMPLETELY and had only one motive diving onto Neymar’s path head-first; to obstruct. Even i would not have let that opportunity go and you expected less from a “desperate” Barcelona striker? That was BROADWAY baby! Nothing less than a Denzel Washington-esque performance could have been expected there. One could say that he over did it and needless as it was, the theatrics couldn’t have affected the correctness of that call.

 

The 2nd was simply a six of one, half a dozen of the other. Let’s just say we’ve seen worse calls in Europe this season. From a proper neutrals perspective, I counted more than 2 other potential penalty calls the referee didn’t look too interested in.

 

I’m neither for Barca nor for PSG and certainly not for “ASU’s mass choir” (considering the diversity of it’s membership from last night). By the way, it had Manchester United and Arsenal fans as well who needed a decent break of their own.

 

As you all know, if the results does not impact Asante Kotoko SC, i won’t particularly care and i don’t. But here’s to an unforgettable night of European football. Historic!

Shred the cloak: End culture of impunity to save media from abuse at league centres.

I’m not entirely sure where to even begin connecting my thoughts on this ugly, needless and rather primitive behaviour rearing it’s ugly head right back into our local game; the verbal and physical abuse of journalists at Ghana Premier League venues.

It’s only been 5 matchweeks into the 2017 season and already there’s just too many reports of journalist abuse and it’s quite discomforting for many well-meaning followers of the Ghanaian league. It is for me at least and that’s all the invitation I need to express my thoughts on it.

I read in subtle disbelief the narrated ordeal of Felix Romark of GHPLLive at the hands of officials of Aduana Stars last Sunday when he and his team were there to cover the club’s match against visitors, Accra Hearts of Oak. Maybe not unheard of especially when the venue is the Agyemang Badu park but all I retorted to myself as I skimmed through Romark’s Facebook post after the match was that; “You (Aduana Stars) should have had able-bodied men carry Felix and his GHPL team shoulder high for 90 minutes at Dormaa for all the exposure they give you and at no cost.”

These, I said while recalling how this same team of journalists at GHPLLive covered Aduana’s sometimes very primitive outlook at their home grounds, packaged it and opened their brighter sides up to the rest of the world and based on which Striker, Bright Adjei, won on two occasions, CNN’s goals of the week in the 2015/2016 season when Romark’s team posted video footages of both goals online and to the notice of the rest of the world.

“Na s3 w’ennya biriribi aama wase aa, wo san b) no kr)noo s3n?” (Do you rob your mother-in-law of what’s left of her after failing to honour your expected duty of adding onto what she has?)

Twi commentators especially, i’ve always maintained and in no attempt to undermine their contributions, are among the most ‘delicate’ bunch of stakeholders of our game today. That’s how far i can go to admitting that journalists also do err. From reporting factual inaccuracies from match venues through passing flawed judgement on games, to genuine professional errors nonetheless, we have made giant strides from when club officials and their supporters unjustifiably dished out instant abuses – verbal and physical – on journalists at match venues when they disagreed with their reports on issues.

These recent comebacks makes me wonder what, possibly, could be the threat to a club’s performance or influence on results by a journalist’s presence at a game except to report on what’s happening?

It’s even more baffling to think that photo-journalists; photographers are the ones now being targeted.

Also on last Sunday came Senuiedzorm Adadevoh’s unfortunate experience at the hands of, once again, officials and supporters Accra Great Olympic’s in their match against WAFA at Ohene Djan where she was badly heckled and abused for doing absolutely nothing she was not accredited by the Ghana Football Association to do.

A week ago, details emerged on how AshantiGold SC officials and supporters physically assaulted photo-journalist, Gideon Botchway, of the Kotoko Express at Obuasi on grounds of a baseless suspicion of carrying “juju”.

This is backward, and of the many challenges that Ghana football has to deal with in the 21st century, such behaviours should not be a part of it. In my estimation, only deep-seated ignorance and utter foolishness would move clubs into making it a point to frustrate the very agents who are supposed to shine light on their work.

As a follower of the local game and knowing very well what our genuine obstacles are, it’s sometimes very disheartening if not disappointing when such happenings are reported.

They often times leave you wondering if there really is hope in seeing the Ghana Premier League make that one giant leap onto becoming an authentic professional league when clubs and their officials, in this day and age, can’t seem to understand how to leverage what journalists and the media at large bring to the table.

Supporters cannot be possibly left out of the blame with most, rather than augmenting the efforts of other stakeholders in their gate-keeping roles, often emerge as architects of some of these barbaric acts meted out either to opposing teams and their supporters or the media as evidenced by some of the recent reported incidences.

The Ghana Football Association, through its spokesperson, Ibrahim Sannie Daara, has reacted to these recent, needless mishaps with strong condemnation on the attacks.

Much as I commend the GFA’s swift response, I’d also in the same breath, encourage them to not find comfort in reactive rhetorics and show some ‘balls’ by proving their will to instill sanity and discipline in our game. Let’s see the sanctions and biting fines and let them be consistent, commensurate and fair regardless of which club or official brings the name of our game into disrepute.

Violence and hooliganism, regardless of what shape or form they come cannot and must not be tolerated especially in such a time when portraying the good image of the League to attract greater Ghanaian patronage remains key.

If we can’t do these basic things right in this day and age, then we have no business running a football league.

Ghana footy!

Zdravko’s 3-5-2: A risk worth Supporters’ patience.

Emmanuel Gyamfi taking directives from Zdravko Lugarusic in a recent match.

After watching Asante Kotoko record a 0-0 result against Berekum Chelsea at the Golden city park on match day 2 of the Ghana Premier League, it became quite obvious what i reckon, in simple terms, holds true for Kotoko’s new found formation; the 3-5-2.

Clearly not the most comfortable formation even for a bystander/a fan watching across a TV screen so I can imagine how tough it possibly would be for the players expected to execute this to perfection.

This, notwithstanding, i believe strongly that if Zdravko Lugarusic, indeed, is out here risking experimenting with such a system this early in the season and with a club that has one of the worse coaching turnovers in the league, it only stands to reason that he is convinced it would work.

However you look at it, it is still early in the season to start raising alarms about how prudent or otherwise this choice of a strategy is for Kotoko and assuming you wanted to go ahead with a review of Zdravko’s plot with a focus on dimming the positives of his strategy so far, albeit with some noticeable discomfort, do save me a front row seat at your lecture. I’d love to hear how you back your call for a change in Kotoko’s current style in the face of the relatively impressive start to the season.

But really, how does one justify the continuous whining from a section of the club’s fans over what they often describe as a “struggle” to win games?

4 wins and a draw to amass 13 points from a possible 15 after 5 match days can’t possibly pass for anything beneath commendable. And to have arrived at this by picking a point in Berekum and 3 points in Obuasi, with all that history tells us about such fixtures, is indicative of a team with a working strategy.

And need i ask what systems and formations of convenience could we possibly deploy to guarantee flawless performances and results? Which formations did Kotoko deploy at Berekum and Obuasi last season? We lost both games with whatever we thought was comfortable. If the “uncomfortable” 3-5-2 formation is fetching he needed results, who needs comfort?

Our play may not be eye-pleasing yet but Kotoko is not a team under-performing. The statistics so far inspires a lot of confidence with only a goal allowed to slip through and scoring 5 times.

It is only a matter of time before the players gain mastery over Zdravko’s signature formation and I’m upbeat about the club’s chances of mounting a credible challenge at the Ghana Premier League title.

Fabu!

“Next official match” quagmire: Why Kotoko should quit the “Elite cup argument” for a second and look elsewhere.

In a space of just a couple of days, what was heading for a relatively successful season from a very poor start hit an embarrassing snag when Ghana champions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, lost out on the MTN sponsored FA cup with a defeat to Tarkwa’s Medeama SC at the Essipong last week, only as prelude to what many of its fans conclude on as a more painful ordeal of watching Hearts of Oak benefit from a successful protest against them for fielding an unqualified Obed Owusu in their matchday clash against the Phobians.

The outcome has seen the Porcupines’ accumulated points in the Ghana Premier league slashed by 6 points to not only rob them of a potential top 4 finish but also condemned to an unexpected battle for survival on the 15th slot of the 16 club league table.

The reactions have come in thick and fast since the verdict was released last Tuesday with a number of for and against arguments across Ghana’s football ecosystem and expectedly so.

Fast-forward to the 3 days later and Asante Kotoko handed in their Appeal to have the FA’s Disciplinary Committee’s ruling overturned but has the Oseikrom club a case to fight for? Maybe they do, maybe not but I have painstakingly read through the verdict and listened to differing commentary run on it, including those of Dr. Kwame Baah-Nuako, former Asante Kotoko Management member and Director of FA relations who like myself, believes there are some key issues needing clarification.

In plain language I think there is enough cause to think there are angles to the ruling from which Kotoko can fight back, hoping these were captured somewhere in their appeal.

First lines of the full ruling as published by www.Ghanafa.org read:

“The gravamen of the protest is that player No. 7, Obed Owusu who was fielded by Kumasi Asante Kotoko(hereinafter simply referred to as “Kotoko”) had received four (4) cautions in matches previously played by Kotoko, before the match in question and was therefore unqualified to play against Hearts of Oak in the 25th week Premier League match. The matches referred to were, (i) Match day 1 – Aduana vrs. Kotoko played on 17th January, 2015; (ii) Match day 7 – Ashantigold vrs. Kotoko played on 11th February, 2015; (iii) FA Cup Semi-Final match – Aduana Stars vrs. Kotoko played on 10th June, 2015; (iv) Match day 24 – Asante Kotoko vrs. Ashantigold played on 26th July, 2015.”

Note that Kotoko vs Aduana was on July 10th and not June 10th as carried in there. A minor error perhaps.

What does the rule really say? “Article 29 (1) (e) of the GFA General Regulations defines an unqualified player as: “A player who has received a caution in three separate official matches of the FA (i.e. the League and FA Cup Competition)”

This then begs the question of which particular game came next after Obed Owusu’s 3rd yellow card of the season which he received in the FA cup semis against Aduana in Sunyani on July 10th?

From the records, the answer is Berekum Chelsea on Matchday 22 – July 19th at the Baba Yara, making it the next official ame in which Obed should have sat out. Chelsea could have protested but they didn’t. Funny thing is, Kotoko rather did against them on another issue albeit shabbily.

After that was WAFA in Sogakope (Which the ruling even made no mention of or did i read wrong) before Ashantigold SC in Kumasi; a game where Obed received his first yellow card after the first 3 cited in the FA’s regulations. The DC kept referring to it as the 4th yellow card when nowhere in the FA’s own regulations makes mention of 4 yellow cards because really it’s a clean slate after a 3rd card is dealt with anyhow.

Well, Ashantigold then became first to file a protest against the player (who should have sat out of the previous game ie Next official game but didn’t because the opponent, Berekum Chelsea, waived the opportunity to or so it appeared).

Now, on what grounds could the miners have succeeded with their protest? Doesn’t the FA’s regulation make mention of a stipulated window of opportunity within which a club can file for a protest beyond which it becomes a dead case to pursue? From between the Chelsea game on Matchday 22 to the Ashgold game on matchday 24; had that window of opportunity not expired?

Does the automatic suspension for one match (Next official match) which in real context was that of B.Chelsea) has a carry on effect?

Again from where I sit, nowhere in the FA regulation does it say that if a player is suspended for a match and fails to sit out the next official match he remains suspended for other matches. Mr Nuako agrees by saying that “where the regulation wanted punishments to be rolled over until remedied, it states that clearly.” To buttress this point, he cites to examples ie

1. When you fail to submit your audited accounts

2. Where you fail to pay a fine duly imposed.

He argues that in both instances the regulation states that until the offense has been remedied, the club forfeits any matches they play in as Kotoko almost benefited from in their ill filed protest against Berekum Chelsea.

It is clear therefore that in the case of an unqualified players the regulation does not set such a rule. In both examples cited, the regulation does not give an expiration time frame after which the offending club is free with no protest brought against it. In the case of an unqualified player however, who is to serve suspension for receiving cautions or even expulsions the period for their suspension is definite which the “next official match.”

Which club owns the legitimacy to protest? The “next official opponent” (Berekum Chelsea) or the whole stretch of next official opponents (WAFA to Aduana an even Medeama in the FA cup final)?

Kwame Baah-Nuako believes the right to protest is not transferrable especially when even the next official opponent limited by a time period to file a case. “If the club with the right fails to protest, it is deemed to have waived that right and cannot protest even at a later date,” he said.

How then does an Accra Hearts of oak earn rights to protest against Kotoko, many matches after the next official game which had no one protesting on over a period, I wonder?

Why did the FA’s disciplinary body skip any reference to Berekum Chelsea or even WAFA to cite Ashgold and Hearts of oak when both were not Kotoko’s next opponents after Owusu’s 3 yellow card accumulation?

As if the verdict wasn’t absurd enough, Kwame opines that either the DC were not abreast with the records or perhaps they noticed how stating those facts would have pointed to the absurdity of the whole of Hearts suit against the player.

Upholding this verdict means Obed Owusu is yet to serve his suspension and thus remains unqualified till he sits out an official match when the regulation says the player is only unqualified for the club’s next official match. That makes no sense as it accords “next official match” a perpetual status but is that what that rule means?

On whether or not Kotoko could argue this line of thought at the appeals level if they did not in their earlier Kwame thinks it’s very much possible since the DC made the determination of what was the club’s next official match central to the decision and thus kotoko by arguing this would not be introducing new issues but only attacking the basis of the decision.

Kumasi Asante Kotoko SC After GHPL Matchday 13 – Missed Chance to Climb up League Log

Ladies and gentlemen, “Ayam weak la” and with all sincerity, my opinion, right here and now, is best kept straight to the following points.

1. We are just not good enough. This is admittedly the weakest Kotoko team I’ve seen in the last 3 years. Personnel wise, we didn’t entirely do a great job on the market.

2. Not a hopeless case, mind you but if you keep tackling problems cosmetically, you get exposed by “bad weather.”

3. David Duncan is, right now, a manager in the true sense of the word only trying to make sense out of a very bad situation from where I sit. It’d therefore be out of place to blame him for a lot of things, especially the kind that brings his capabilities into question. At least that shouldn’t happen till perhaps after “now,” if he’s allowed, with the help of a markedly transformed recruitment system, to build a side of his own based on KAK’s unique need assessment.

4. As i’ve held from the inception, Kotoko’s problems at the start of the season only had something to do with Didi’s own frailties and not everything. Sacking him was therefore an option we could have ignored but that’s water under the bridge.

5. To all Kotoko fans, can we all try to not be plastic a little? Don’t give up by any means but for God’s sake, let’s face and accept some truth for a change. Not fabricated truth; that’s part of the cosmetic answers but the factual kind that says “we buy too much of the bullsh*t sold to us on radio” and by people “closest” to this club.

6. Personally, I think its not beyond redemption and my expectations of this team to succeed by way of winning at least a laurel or 2 is unchanged but the critical level of this expectation was lowered to “mild” when I accepted this team for what it is.

7. REPEAT POINT 2

Unto the next one.

Still ‪Fabulous‬!