Hearts are 92 years old

Accra, Nov. 10, GNA - Ghana's premier football club, Accra Hearts of Oak, will be 92 years on Tuesday and the club is urging both players and handlers alike to remain determined to make a seventh consecutive league title possible even in the face of stiff opposition. Hearts are five points adrift rivals Asante Kotoko with only three matches remaining.

In an anniversary message copied to the GNA Sports on Monday, Nana Wereko Ampem the second, President and Council of Patrons of Hearts, was worried about the bad blood currently flowing between Hearts and Kotoko and called on the leadership of the two clubs to wake up to avert a repeat of the May 9 Accra Sports Stadium disaster.

He expressed regret of the polarisation and politicisation of Hearts saying: "our club is older than any known political party in this country and it would therefore not allow itself to be made an appendage of any political party, be it NDC or NPP or whatever".

Nana Ampem urged followers of the club to remain focussed and formidable in the years ahead and urged all to endeavour to unite the club and avoid complacency, rancour and disrespect to authority. He called for peace, respect and tolerance in the club, adding, "let us all resolve to take advantage of the present seemingly peaceful atmosphere to conduct a successful congress that will inject new life into the management of the club".

The club is billed to have its congress soon to among other things elect new directors and patrons to steer the affairs of the club since the current top brass want to be relieved off their positions. The message also catalogued the history of the club, its achievements which included the 2000 CAF Champions League crown and 2001 Super Cup, some names of its founding fathers and some individuals whose contributions are sustaining the club.

The club also boast of being the only side not have lost a single match in the current league but at the same time, is hoping to improve on its continental performance after suffering early exits over the last three years at preliminary stages at the Champions League.

Nana Wereko Ampem said soon, the club will move to its own acquired secretariat and announced that a Phobia shop from which the club's memorabilia and souvenir could be purchased is operational and urging fans to patronise it rather than buying such items from private individuals, which does not benefit the club.

He urged the Phobian family to keep the club's, motto -Never say die - alive in the coming years.