Make Kotoko a continental force - Manhyia charges new club

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has charged the new board of Asante Kotoko to rebuild the club’s brand by improving its performance on the field of play.

The renowned king who doubles as the life patron of the Asanteman club also urged the board chaired by Mr Kwame Kyei to turn the club into a viable and self-sustaining economic entity able to ultimately reclaim its pre-eminent position among the elite clubs of Africa.

This was contained in a statement issued from Manhyia following the constitution of a new Board of Directors for the club under the instruction of the Asantehene.

Mr Kyei who headed the previous board will work with a new team that includes, Mr Joe Arthur, Board Chairman of the Ghana Commercial Bank, Mr Kwadwo Boateng Genfi, Board Chairman of the Ghana Exim Bank and Mr Kwasi Osei Ofori, Chairman Erdmark Group and Chief Executive Officer, Rocksure Mining Company.

The rest are Alhaji Lamine, businessman, Mr Kwamena Mensah, lawyer, Mr Joseph Yaw Adu, a retired Director of Sports at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Baffour Kwame Kusi, Otumfuo’s Ankobiahene and Ms Evelyn Nsiah-Asare, Acting Head of Sports at the Sunyani Technical University.

They will work for a term of three years.

Also paramount to Manhyia was the setting up of an academy for the club to have a new social impact on Asanteman as it provides opportunities for the development of the youth within the communities.

Ensuring this, the statement asked the board to ensure a stable and professional administration equipped with the technological and analytical skills appropriate for the administration of the club.

The statement signed by the Chief of Staff, Kofi Badu, explained that Mr Kyei’s retention followed the fact that, he had single-handedly financed the club’s operations over the past three years.

The appointment of the Board followed an interim report from a three-member panel, chaired by Prof. Lydia Nkansah, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), set up to investigate recent operations and happenings in the club.

But having gotten the nod for another term, Mr Kyei, according to the statement would be expected to ensure continuity with a combination of corporate dynamism and integrity, financial prudence and professional expertise.

The Asantehene expressed gratitude to the Prof. Nkansah committee for the work done, adding that, they could be called upon to advise on possible institutional representation as part of proposals on institutional reforms.

The Board, it said, would be the highest decision making body of the club, responsible for policy formation and active oversight over the management, development, financial control, technical direction and performance of the club.