Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak questioned for African inter club football lost spots
Ghana were one of the countries to offered four slots in African inter club football, two each for the Caf Champions League and Confederation Cup. But since 2009, Ghana have seen their slots reduced to two, one each in the Champions League and Confederation Cup due to underperformance from clubs.
Questions have been raised about the country’s lost places and the two most powerful clubs Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak have been heavily criticized.
Ghana Premier League and Great Olympics boss Yaw Preko says Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko should be blamed for the country’s inability to reclaim the four slots in the CAF Interclub competition.
The former Ghana international is of the view that only the two Ghanaian giants can reclaim Ghana’s lost slot due to their pedigree on the continent.
Ghana currently has two slots in the CAF Inter-club competitions due to the inability of Ghanaian clubs to perform well in the competition.
Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko have dominated the two competitions that is the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup in the past but have failed to make any meaningful impact in the last decade.
Asante Kotoko won the African Champions League in 1970 and 1983 after victories against TP Mazembe and Al Ahly respectively.
Hearts lifted the Caf Champions League in 2000, the Super Cup in 2001 and the Confederation Cup in 2004 after beating Ghana Premier League rivals Asante Kotoko 8-7 on penalties.
According to Yaw Preko, the two Ghana Premier League giants should be blamed for Ghana’s losing it two slots in the competition.
“We have lost our slots in Africa due to Hearts of Oak and Kotoko’s poor performances in the competition”, he said in an interview on Asempa FM.
“They have won the most titles in the country. When they go to Africa and they do well it reflects on all of us’.
Hearts of Oak is Ghana’s sole representative in Africa this season after Asante Kotoko were eliminated in the CAF Champions League by RC Kadiogo.
Both clubs have failed to enter into the Caf Champions League group stage since 2006 but Ghanaian clubs have made significant progress in the Caf Confederation Cup. In the year, The Ghana Premier League duo failed to qualify out of their respective groups.
Later six years- which is a long period for a Ghanaian club to achieve group stage football due to the country’s pedigree in the game, Berekum Chelsea made a huge impact in the Caf Champions League after entering into the money zone of the competition only placing third behind TP Mazembe and Al Ahly in group B.
Medeama SC continued Ghana’s pace for reclaiming the lost spots four years later after the Miners entered the 2016 Caf Confederation Cup placing third in Group A.
They beat TP Mazembe 3-2 and Young Africans 3-1 both at home before they were being forced to a 0-0 draw by Algerian outfit MO Bejaia.
Aduana Stars made a strong statement for Ghana in 2018 after entering Confederation Cup Group A along with Raja Casablanca, AS Vita Club and ASEC Mimosas but the former Ghana Premier League champions failed to qualify out of the group.
A year later, Asante Kotoko beat Eding Sport, Kariobangi Sharks and Coton Sports to enter group stage of the 2019 Caf Confederation Cup but yet a Ghanaian club failed to qualify to the knockout phase.
The last three years has been a poor run from Ghanaian sides in African inter club football with Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak being eliminated by the likes of Etoile du Sahel, San Pedro, RC Kadiogo and Wydad Casablanca in prelims of African competitions.
