Soccer News of Tuesday, 8 July 2003
Source: GNA
Accra, July 8 - GNA - The management of Oscar F/C, the newly promoted first division club from Kpando in the Volta Region has vowed to emulate Hearts of Lions by qualifying for the premier division in their first year.
Mr Peter Nyasem, vice chairman of the club said they acquired House of Lions F/C, which had qualified for the first division because of their anxiety to join the premiership and establish themselves as a potent force in the top echelon of Ghana football.
He said though the turn over from division two to the first has been hasty and difficult, they have strived hard to assemble a team, which would be invincible and warned division one clubs, particularly those in Zone Three B to prepare adequately to avoid humiliation. "We have a very youthful team which is working under one of the best coaches in the country and administratively, we are learning fast from our friends at Heart of Lions in order to achieve our goal."
"The Volta Region had been dormant in football and it is now time for a great awakening that would instil the love of the game in the youth and make them choose football as a way of life, believing that they could earn a decent living from it."
In his contribution, Kennedy Botchway, head coach of the team said the opportunity was a big challenge for him to prove his mettle in Ghana after a distinguished career in Liberia at Invincible Eleven.
"I groomed George Weah, Kelvin Sebwe, Joe Nagbe and the cream of the Lone Stars which qualified for their first Nations Cup in 1996 and played in the 17th edition of the tournament in Mali in 2002."
He said since he returned to Ghana he has remained on ice and only had a stint at Kw aebibirem five weeks to the end of the league when they were doomed for relegation and no magic could save them. He said he had conducted an intensive justifier and selected players based on physique, youth, strength, discipline and commitment and assured Voltarians that they would get their second premier club by the close of the current season.
Kpando House of Lions, the feeder team of Hearts of Lions, which topped the Volta Regional second division league to qualify for the Division One League (DOL) has metamorphosed into Oscar F/C following the take over by the management of the latter, a second division club in the Eastern Region.
The team begins its campaign in the Division One League at the Kpando Sports Stadium on Saturday, July 26 against Suhum Maxbees.