Sammy Osei Kuffuor
Former Black Stars central defender Sammy Osei Kuffour has admonished the Asante Kotoko newly appointed board of directors to run the club as a business unit.
The 2000/01 UEFA Champions League winner said the Kumasi-based club ranks among football powerhouses, having decorated their medal hall with countless silverware; hence the admonition.
To the former Bayern Munich tough defender, the board is blessed to lead a side with a fanatic support base who can go the extra mile in every aspect, and therefore, should run it on high professional lines.
Kuffuor, a member of the Black Starlets which conquered the world in 1991 in Italy, said the club has attained a height that needs little effort (business module) by business-minded folks to succeed.
“Well, I think they should take Kotoko as a business, that’s the basic thing. Kotoko is an institute and you cannot handle Kotoko with anything, you have to handle Kotoko with care because people put their life on Kotoko.
And anything you ask my people, especially those in Kumasi, they will do it for Kotoko. If you say somebody should cut his head for Kotoko, you will find somebody who will sacrifice for that,” he told Joy Sports.
The former Ghana deputy captain added, “So Kotoko is not just like a normal club, it’s a totally different entity. Kotoko is a business entity and I know the people who are coming in are all business-minded so they won’t go to a different direction, if you want to handle Kotoko then you have to do it like a business.
“Everything you touch with Kotoko is gold and Dr. [Kwame Kyei] knows, he is my neighbour. He knows that Kotoko now is a business, he knows from the beginning and he has to stick to that. It is a business and they have to go in with a business plan,” Kuffuor indicated.
Last Thursday, a nine-member board chaired by Kwame Kyei and assisted by Jude Arthur was announced. Others are Alhaji Abu Lamini, who is making his third appearance on the Kotoko board, Joseph Yaw Adu, Laryea Kwamina Mensah, Kwadwo Boateng Genfi, Baffour Kwame Kusi (Otumfuo’s Ankobeahene) and Evelyn Nsiah Asare.
By Kofi Owusu Aduonum