LEFT BEHIND..THE SAD REALITY OF THE KINGDOM CLUB, KUMASI ASANTE KOTOKO SC

A terrifying name, a conquering emblem and Africa’s football royalty. That was Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

Founded during the era of colonization in 1926, then Ashanti United, renamed Kumasi Asante Kotoko in 1935, thirteen (13) young Ashanti men laid the foundation for what we have today. A historically glory towering club with a tremendous support base globally.

When Mr Kwasi Kuma and his comrades nurtured the idea of forming this totemic football club, little did they know, that, they were actually planting a generationally lasting legacy that will outlive, transcend and birth out invaluable economic, cultural and sporting contributions towards the advancement of the Ashanti Kingdom.

It is for such reason that during the renaming of the club to its present name, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, an official permission had to be sought from the then Asantehene, Nana Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh II who by cultural significance and embodiment became the club’s first life patron.

The name “KOTOKO”, meaning “PORCUPINE” represents the official symbol of the Ashanti Kingdom. This Kingdom has its unblemished, unequalled and iconic place in human history. It is famously known for its fierce war against the British forces which lasted for several months.

History as documented by Martin Meredith in his book, “the state of Africa”, clearly narrates without equivocation how the Ashanti Soldiers besieged the British for four solid months until reinforcement was sent in to suppress the resistance of this Kingdom to the fall of British rule.

Eventually, Nana Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh II, the Ashanti King, was deposed and exiled due to the advanced sophisticated weaponry might of the British. The note of pride in this historical antecedent was the sheer gravitas of territorial resistance, defense and protection in the face of a superior foe. It goes without saying, the Porcupine is indeed a warrior! Not so much out of place when you hear the matchless vibrant supporters of this club, chant the ‘Porcupine warrior’ themed song to motivate their players before, during and after every game.

Kumasi Asante Kotoko’s dominance in the football space birthed on the 1st of April 1960 when in the final League game of the 59/60 season, a 3:0 victory over Corner Stone was enough to win their first ever League title of many as a football club. Baba Yara, Wilberforce Mfum and Kwame Adarkwa were the scorers on the day at the newly built Kumasi Sports Stadium.

This stadium will later be renamed the Baba Yara Sports stadium. Just so to honor the memory and Legacy of this skillful right winger who contributed immensely not only to his club, Kotoko, but to the national team of Ghana also. He died in a fatal car crush whilst on national duty. His career was evidently impactful though short-lived.

Till date, the Baba Yara Sports Stadium has been the home grounds of this influential football club. Having won twenty-six (26) league titles as advanced by the club’s history department but countered with twenty-four (24) titles, officially published by the Ghana Football Association. A haul of nine (9) F.A Cup titles, three (3) Super Cups and two (2) magnificent CAF Champions League titles.

This and many other trophies of significance speaks to the might this club wields in the African football ecosystem. In the process of winning the Two (2) coveted Caf Champions League titles in (1970 &1983), they have made seven (7) final appearances in the competition since its inception in 1965. On the flip to the second tier Africa Inter Club competition, thus, the confederations cup, which debuted in year 2004, this club made the final but lost.

Their fiercest domestic rivals, Accra Hearts of Oak, was the competing finalists who eventually won the trophy.

You may not judge this club by only trophies. Take a look at this.

By this club’s own merits and capacity has produced players adjudged as the best players on the African continent by France Football since 1970.

Ibrahim Sunday (attacker) and Robert Mensah (goalkeeper) was named the best and second (2nd) best players respectively on the African Continent in 1971. This must have followed their heroic feat in the 1970 Caf Champions league victory over TP Mazembe, then known as FC Englebert. Same feat was achieved in 1978 when Karim Abdul Razak affectionately called “golden boy” was adjudged best player on the continent by same awarding institution

Until 1994 when CAF took over the award of African players on the continent, France Football had done that since 1970.

In Kotoko’s quest to conquer African football in the 80’s having done so in the 70’s, there was an offensive forward nicknamed the “Lord of the green turf “, Opoku Nti, who led them to an eventual conquest after the failure in the preceding finals of 1982.1n 1983, under the ruler ship of Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings, in the peak eras of the infamous famine in Ghana, Opoku Nti inspired a fearsome Kotoko side to avenge the 1982 loss to Egyptian giants Al Ahly in a 1-0 aggregates over two legs. After a goalless game in Cairo, Opoku Nti scored the match winner in what sadly, will be their last grip on this priceless continental trophy. The ‘Lord of the green turf’ will then be adjudged by France Football as the 2nd best player to Ahly’s Mahmoud Khatib in the 1983 best African player award.

The last attempt at conquering African football at the champions league level came in the 90’s as Kotoko lost to Zamalek, another Egyptian giant on penalties in the 1993 finals. Since then, the weight and dominance of this club has been on a poco a poco decline and no one seemed alarmed or alerted to avert the situation.

After the failure in the 90’s, the prowess of the club could only suffice a participation and a little lived dominance in the second tier continental competition, the Caf Confederations Cup. A final berth in the inaugural year of the competition (2004) was secured but lost painfully at home on penalties to, Accra Hearts of oak after a 1-1 aggregate over two legs.

This event, marked the end of the influencing participation of Kotoko in any Caf organized competition. It is, however, in the light of such accomplishments, that the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) named Kumasi Asante Kotoko as the African Club of the 20th century ahead of all her contemporaries.

RELINQUISHING ROYALTY FOR DISHONOUR

The instance of relinquishing royalty for dishonor is in sync with the powerful biblical parable of the ten (10) virgins.

The once feared Kumasi Asante Kotoko, the porcupine warriors, are now an absolute illustration of the five (5) of the ten (10) virgins who took their lamps without oil and missed out when the bridegroom appeared because their lamps were going out.

At the start of the new millennium, i.e. year 2000, where club administrators, globally, were advancing thoughts on the transition of football administration from the ‘analog’ to a new and modern approach, this magnificent club was sleep snoring.

The new millennium brought a dynamic shift in business modules relevant to the running of football clubs, new technologies, new administration principles and ethics, improved player welfare and the commercialization of the sports through mass media and other significant media outlets.

I dare say, this huge institution, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, was not awake to these or perhaps ignored the visible writings on the wall and stuck to its ‘analog’ principles of administration.

It is sad to note that this club has descended so low that it fails to qualify past the first round of any CAF interclub competition at the group stage qualifiers level. Very recent is the loss at home to FC Kadiogo, (a non-entity in African football), on penalties in the first round of the Caf Champions League group stage qualifiers. The list of abysmal letdowns includes Barrack Young Controllers FC, MC El Eulma, CARA Brazzaville etc. all of whom Kotoko failed to edge out in the preliminary qualifiers. A flash in the pan ‘success’ was recently chalked by this fallen force in 2018/19 season where they made the group stage of the Caf Confederations Cup yet failed to advance in a set of Zesco United, Nkana and Al-Hilal.

The story on the continental level hasn’t been too different from the story on the domestic scene. The last time Kotoko won a domestic league title was in the 2021/22 season which was the first in seven (7) years. So it stands to reason that the anchor of this club holds no more even in his comfort zone. Territorial dominance is being competed for by other rival clubs in the ultimate preference of complete dominance and the continental conquest has entirely been lost, painfully.

For a club that could make a back-to-back final appearance in the Caf champions league whilst whittling down opponents to win consecutive domestic league titles, now competing football ‘non-entities’ for same glories is suffocating and couldn’t be said much better than a total LEFT BEHIND by their competing peers in time past still establishing football authority and dominance in the present.

THE MIX BAG OF FAILURE ENABLERS

It’s been argued over the period on the exact reasons for the continuous fall of the club. Here, I try to point out some reasons that are enablers of the downward slide of this humongous institution.

· The appointing principle. For decades, this club has seen administrators appointed with tenures directly from the Manhyia Palace; the cultural and spiritual soul of the club. This practice is to ensure the Palace’s oversight in the affairs of the club. I may not have a difficulty understanding this principle but the deliverables after decades of practice is what frustrates me to death. In instances where the appointees are seen to be doing something good in the course of the club, some saboteurs (shamelessly parading as management in waiting) spring up from nowhere through collaborations with some notorious and self-seeking media goons, wage a smear campaign, placing impediments and moving mountains to ensure the failure of these administrators so they could be sacked when supporters aren’t happy and petition the king for a change in course. This vicious cycle of fruitless appointing principle has been going on for years and no one seems to be interested in tweaking this system to purge itself from the weakness these saboteurs take advantage of. It is said that, madness is when you keep doing same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.

· Orphaned and Starved of Direction and Investment. In every corporate setting where the board and management are responsible for the forward and upward growth of the institution, it is the duty of the board to provide policy directions and resources that are left in the charge of the management to realize the ambitions of the institution. In most cases and through observations, this club does not even get run by corporate principles, structure and ethics. It is mostly about who has enough money to take the financial responsibly in running the club from the shoulders of the owners. And when it’s been poorly run by these rich but clueless and novices to a halt, the ‘owners’ then comes in to clean the mess. Till date, this club of 80 years and over lacks proper infrastructural edifices befitting of an institution with such beautiful historical narratives and tangibles.

· Fame over Substance. Quite unfortunately, people appointed by the Palace tends to prioritize the trumpeting of their names and businesses over the substantial infrastructural and economic growth of the club. The focus is no longer on making the club a commercial juggernaut and leveraging on that to boost its economic and financial standing but on personal gratification and advancement. The consequence of this is the poor financial standing of the club making it extremely difficult to maintain any key player for more than a season. A clear example is the mid-season sale of Kwame Poku and the end of season sale of Mbella that botched their league title and African campaign respectively in two seasons.

ANY HOPE FOR A REVIVAL

As the saying goes in the Akan Language; “akyea nanso embuu y3, 3y3d3 sen ab3buo nyinaa” to wit, bent but not broken, the sweetest of all proverbs.

There is certainly hope and more so as the club is now realizing and waking up to the demands of the millennium. In truth, comparing the current state of the club to its contemporaries on the continent is a look down from the mountain top for a fallen needle. The gap and the possibility of sight is almost non-existent.

The excitement going forward is that, though player retention continues to be a seasonal problem, moves are been made to make the club financially self-sustaining where no single individual will subject the ambitions of the club to the whims and caprices of the dictates of his pocket. A very sound corporate principles, structures and ethics are currently been practiced. An era of a complete wipe out of a ‘one-man show’ is largely on course.

Made possible by the roll out of the supporters’ registration program named; fabucencus.

Structures have been erected though not befitting of the stature and magnitude of the club, it is always a one step forward and that’s impressive. At least, players will have access to decent washrooms, gyms and other ancillary facilities to aid in their welfare. Whereas it will take a moment to measure up to the excellent sporting levels of competitors on the continent, the club is gradually dusting itself from the ruins of the past by positioning its brand appeal rightly whilst leveraging on its effect to draw resources to the club.

I am by this article calling on the teeming supporters of the club to be financial involved in the product offerings of the club to make it a self-sustaining economic and sporting juggernaut.

A conquering Kotoko is a vessel of joy to the Ashanti Kingdom. Wo kum Apem a Apem b3ba!!