Kudjo Fianoo, Chairman of the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA), sheds light on the choice of Asante Kotoko and Asec Mimosas for the upcoming 2024 Presidential Cup.
Scheduled for Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, the event coincides with Ghana's 67th Independence Day celebration and will be attended by heads of state Nana Akufo-Addo and Alassane Ouattara.
Fianoo explained, “We want to change our way of doing things. Ghanaians have raised concerns about our frequent use of Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko in playing the President's Cup. We decided to use a different team this time. People also think Kotoko and Hearts of Oak are cash cows. In the previous edition, we played for free, meaning the enthusiasm is not there anymore.”
He continued, “We want to alter our style of running the President's Cup. Some may think we are overambitious. We have plans to sit down with any President and know the team they support, so we can organize the Cup competition based on the club of their choice."
“In the case of Nana Akufo-Addo, we realized he always invites a special guest (the President of another African country) during the Independence Day celebration. Last year was Guinea-Bissau’s President. After contacting the Presidency, we got to know Ivory Coast’s leader Alassane Ouattara will be the special guest for this year’s Independence Day. So we decided to pick the champions of each country for the President's Cup.”
“Asec Mimosas will represent Ivory Coast. Medeama was supposed to represent Ghana but won’t be available at the time because of their CAF Champions League participation, so Asante Kotoko will replace them. For now, we have settled on Kotoko and Asec Mimosas.”
Hearts of Oak currently holds the President's Cup after narrowly beating Asante Kotoko in the 2023 edition. Asante Kotoko holds the record with eight titles. The GHALCA President's Cup is an annual event honoring the sitting President of Ghana and is typically played in July to coincide with Ghana's Republic Day celebrations.
