The Ghana’s version of El-classico comes off at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on Sunday as Asante Kotoko welcome perennial rivals, Accra Hearts of Oak in a match week 31 encounter of the Ghana Premier League.
This fixture hitherto would have dominated discussions on local radio stations weeks before match day, but the situation is different with two days to the super clash.
Back in the days, the “Garden City” would have been flooded with the flags and souvenirs of the two giants with taxi and other commercial drivers hoisting the flags of the two teams on their vehicles.
From lorry terminals to markets, and from drinking bars to food joints, people would be discussing such a match with so much passion, thereby contributing to the hype which often drove thousands of fans to the stadium.
These discussions were fuelled by heated debates on local radio stations by leading members of the two sets of supporters whose duties were to motivate their fans to come to the stadium and contribute to the demolishing of their opponents.
Those were the days when the late Kwaku Adusei Kanewu and Ali Maradona would be touring radio stations full of confidence that it was a done deal for their respective teams, thereby generating excitement and suspense among football fans in the Metropolis and beyond.
On match days, buses full of supporters would invade “Oseikrom” from all part of the country just to witness one of the most important fixtures on the football calendar.
Businesses, especially food and beverage vendors at the precinct of the stadium would cash in on the thousands of fans who would show up to catch a glimpse of the well-marketed match.
It is however not surprising that the narratives have changed drastically in recent years considering the average performances of the once fearsome teams.
Standards in the two teams have dropped to the point that teams can now walk to both Accra Sports Stadium and Baba Yara Stadium and pick maximum points without sweat.
Their positions on the current league table sums up how bad the situation has become with both teams conspicuously missing out of the top four teams – positions which was their preserve in the past.
Asante Kotoko, at some point, in the current season recorded seven-matches winless run until Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Patron of the club called for a crisis meeting before they returned to winning ways.
The Phobians on the other hand have been threatened by relegation in the last two seasons leaving their fans frustrated.
With only four matches to end the season, this match could have been a title winning encounter for either of them, but here they are struggling to make the first halve of the table while a team that barely joined the league is on its way to winning the title.
The rise of these two glamorous clubs would undoubtedly add to the passion Ghanaians have for football in the country, but they seem to show any sign of bouncing back to reclaim their rightful place in Ghana football.
As football lovers in the city of Kumasi appear to be indifferent ahead of the upcoming encounter, the expectation is that they would take the right sporting decisions to reverse the dwindling fortunes of the clubs.
GNA
WE
24 May 2024
