Ghanaian businessman Moses Armah has completed the full takeover of local Premier League club Kessben FC in a deal worth US$600,000.
The construction magnate sealed the deal with the Kumasi-based club on Friday and all players of the team will be transferred to the new owners.
The club will be renamed as Medeama Sporting Club to reflect the first team formed by Mr. Armah two years ago after they vigorously competed in the country’s second tier league last season.
The surprise takeover – the biggest in Ghana football history – was finalised late on Thursday night after two months of secret talks with chairman Kwabena Kesse.
“We have finally completed the full takeover of Kessben FC after several weeks of negotiations,” Armah told Ghanasoccernet.com on Friday.
“We have comprehensive plans of transforming the club into one of the giants of not only Ghana football but also African football.
“We have a strong base from Kessben FC already and we will merge it with the players from Medeama FC to make the team even stronger.
“We will put in place world-class structures to make sure that the club starts on a good note to achieve the targets we will set for the club’s future.”
Medeama Sporting Club will abandon the Anane Baoteng Stadium in Kumasi and will initially play their Premier League matches at the Essipong Stadium in Sekondi.
But they will transfer their home venue to Tarkwa when the planned modern stadium in the mining town is completed in the middle of the upcoming season.
Mr. Armah, who also deals in building materials, pledged to plough even more resources into the club while Mr Kesse said the deal would move the outfit onto the “next level”.
Over eight years Mr. Kesse transformed Kessben FC from a club in the fourth tier league into one of the respected teams in Ghana’s top flight.
But his ambitious plans for Kessben Village, an expensively built Anane Boateng Stadium and expensive signings, saddled the club with debts.
But Medeama Sporting Club has a fantastic opportunity of recovering costs because the mining companies in their town are keen on sponsoring football products.
Medeama FC last year enjoyed some financial support of sponsors of the Black Stars Goldfields Limited.
Their ascension into Ghana’s top-flight means the mining company would be ready to pour in more money to support the club’s operations as part of its social responsibility programme.