Asante Kotoko S.C.
File:Asante Kotoko.png | |
Full name | Kumasi Asante Kotoko Sporting Club |
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Nickname(s) | Porcupines |
Ground | Kumasi Sports Stadium Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana |
Capacity | 43,000 |
Owner | King Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II |
Chairman | Mr.Opoku Nti *formal player* |
Manager | Mas-ud Didi Dramani[1] |
League | Ghana Premier League |
2012–13 | 1st (Champions) |
Website | Club website |
Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, also known as Asante Kotoko, is a professional football club from Kumasi, Ashanti. Based at Kumasi Sports Stadium they are competing in the Ghana Premier League. They have been champions of Ghana a record 22 times, and have won the CAF Champions League twice.
The International Federation of Football History and Statistics ranked Asante Kotoko the African club of the 20th century.[2]
History
The foundation of Kumasi Asante Kotoko Sporting Club was laid by 13 young Ashanti boys led by a young driver, Mr. Kwasi Kumah, ably supported by L.Y.Asamoah an electrician. Mr. Kwasi Kumah, a native of Nyankyerenease near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, was a chauffeur to an English colonial military officer, a Colonel Ross. Kwasi Kumah nurtured the idea of forming a football team when he watched an exciting football match.
When Colonel Ross returned home for good, Kumah bought a set of jerseys to start his football team. With co-operation from his good friend, L.Y.Asamoah, he formed the Ashanti United Football Club in 1926. Five years later the team was renamed Kumasi Titanics. The team was really handicapped because most of the players worked in government organizations like the Prisons and Railways and had been transferred from Kumasi. Titanics did not find enough luck in their new name and in 1934 they adopted a more powerful name, Mighty Atoms. Still the club did not see much progress and in 1935, Mr J.S.K. Frimpong, popularly called Teacher Frimpong, then a teacher of the Kumasi Government School who had all the time shown interest in the club, organized some boys from his school and proposed a change of name from Titanics to Kumasi Asante Kotoko Football Club. Permission had to be obtained from the Asantehene (King of Ashanti) because the name "Kotoko", meaning "Porcupine" is the official symbol of the Ashanti nation. The Asantehene, Nana Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh II, became the first life patron of the club. Kumasi Asante Kotoko Football Club was subsequently formally founded in 1935.
Asante Kotoko's emblem features the "Porcupine", displaying an inbuilt arsenal of sharp spikes for use when attacked by an enemy.[1]
In July 2011, Asante Kotoko and English Premier League club Sunderland signed a partnership agreement, which will see the Sunderland offering practical support and advice in youth coaching, player development, fitness and medical matters as well as football business strategy to Kotoko.[3]
Sponsors
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Players
Current squad
As of 3 January, 2014[4] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad & youth squad
As of 3 January, 2014 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Personnel
Current officials and technical staff
Position | Staff |
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Owner | Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II |
Chairman | Opoku Nti |
Director of Communications | Jarvis Peprah |
Director of Finance & Administration | Helina Kwabbla |
Director of Operations | Sarfo Gyamfi |
Director of Legal Affairs | Kwame Boafo |
Team manager | Opoku Afriyie |
Head coach | Mas-ud Didi Dramani |
Assistant coach | Emmanuel Wellington |
Goalkeepers' coach | Joseph Carr |
Fitness coach | Omono Asamoah |
Specialist Medical Doctor | Dr. Kwaku Boateng |
Physiotherapist | Franklin Acheampong |
Physical Trainer | Awudu Nuhu |
Masseur | Richard Hammond |
Last updated: January 2014
Source: Kumasi Asante Kotoko Sporting Club official website
Honours
National Titles
- 1959, 1963/64, 1964/65, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988/89, 1990/91, 1991/92, 1992/93, 2003, 2005, 2007/08, 2011/12, 2012/13.
- FA Cup: 7
- 1958, 1959, 1960, 1978, 1984, 1997/98, 2001.
- 2012, 2013.
- SWAG Cup: 12
- 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008.
- Telecom Gala: 3
- 1999/00, 2001, 2005.
- Top Four Cup: 2
- 2003, 2007.
- 2004, 2005, 2008.
International Titles
- Champion – 1970, 1983,
- Runners-up – 1967, 1971, 1973, 1982, 1993
- Runners-up – 2002
- Runners-up – 2004
Performance in CAF competitions
- CAF Champions League: 7 appearances
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- African Cup of Champions Clubs: 16 appearances
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- CAF Confederation Cup: 2 appearances
- CAF Cup: 2 appearances
- 1995 – quarter-finals
- 1997 – Second Round
- CAF Cup Winners' Cup: 7 appearances
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References
- ^ "Didi steps into Konadu's shoes at Kotoko". Ghana Football Association. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
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(help) - ^ "Africa's club of the Century". IFFHS official website. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- ^ "Kotoko seal Sunderland partnership agreement". BBC News. BBC Sports. 19 July 2011. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Revealed: Asante Kotoko releases squad numbers for season 2013/2014". rokfmonline.com. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
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