Owner of King Faisal FC, Alhaji Abdul Karim Grusah
Controversial football administrator Alhaji Karim Grusah has suggested Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko fake their debt portfolios.
The King Faisal bankroller told Benedict Kwadwo Mensah on Accra-based Asempa FM that he doesn’t believe the debt figures the two clubs put out at the end of every season.
According to a Business and Financial Times publication Hearts of Oak have outstanding debt of GH¢3.6 million which an equivalent of USD$622,000.00 while Asante Kotoko was recently reported to be indebted to the tune of USD$1.5m to board chairman Dr Kwame Kyei.
During Hearts of Oak’s share floatation in 2010 the 2000 African champions managed to raise GH¢2.5 million which only covered 69.4% of the outstanding debt. But, a recent report by Sunyani-based Nimdee FM claim the debt has risen to GH¢3.3 million (USD$570,000).
A Pulse Ghana publication on August 2018 attributed a quote to Hearts of Oak’s board chairman Togbe Afede XIV in which he revealed the source of the debt.
“The reason why we have so much debt is that we spend every month hundred thousand Ghana cedis to pay salaries of players. Hearts of Oak pays this amount every month to cater for salaries of players,” he told the club’s shareholders at Wednesday’s Annual General Meeting.
Earlier in June 2020, Dr Kyei told reporters he had written off Kotoko’s USD$1.5m indebtedness to him.
A public overview of the profiles of the two glamorous clubs only paint a picture of clubs swimming in debts BUT Grusah has categorically repressed the reports and said he doesn’t believe the numbers being quoted around by the two clubs.
“Do you believe the debt figures that always come from Hearts and Kotoko? I don’t believe it,” he said during a lengthy interview with Benedict Kwadwo Mensah on Asempa FM.
“Back then when King Faisal were in the Premier League I could cater for my entire season budget expenditure with just our two home games against Hearts of Oak and Kotoko. These two games always gave me the money to take care of my expenses so I was very much in favour of the home takes all system,” he added.
“Looking at all the resources at the disposal of these two clubs it is very difficult for them to convince anyone that they make losses at the end of every season,” he concluded.
Hearts of Oak have secured a loan facility from GT Bank to construct an ultra-modern sporting edifice while Asante Kotoko’s new board is expected to gear towards the direction of infrastructural development.
