Accra Hearts of Oak S.C.

Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Hearts of Oak or just Hearts is a professional sports club based in Accra (Greater Accra), Ghana. The club competes in the Ghana Premier League, the Premier division on the Ghanaian football pyramid. The Ohene Djan Sports Stadium (former Accra Sports Stadium) is their home grounds where they play their home games. Hearts has won the Premier League twenty times, the FA cup a record ten times, the President's Cup twice, and the CAF African Champions League and the CAF Confederations Cup each once. Hearts of Oak was also ranked 8th football club in the world in the year 2000 when the club dominated most of the continent sporting activities.

Hearts of Oak
Full nameAccra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club
Nickname(s)Phobia
Founded11 November 1911 (1911-11-11)
GroundAccra Sports Stadium
Capacity40,000
ChairmanTogbe (King) Afede XIV
CoachEdward Nii Odoom
LeagueGhana Premier League
WebsiteClub website

History

The club was founded on 11 November 1911.[1] Hearts of Oak won their first major match in 1922 when Sir Gordon Guggisberg, governor of the Gold Coast, founded the Accra Football League. Hearts won 6 out of 12 seasons in this league. In 1956, Hearts joined the Ghanaian football league and have flourished since.[2]

In the year 2000, Hearts of Oak won the Ghana FA cup, the Ghana Premier League and for the first time in their history the CAF Champions League.[3] This was the most successful year in the Clubs' history.

Main article: Accra Sports Stadium disaster

On May 9, 2001, 127 people died in Africa's worst footballing disaster. During a match between rivals, Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko. Trouble started when supporters of Asante Kotoko began ripping out seats in an act of hooliganism in protest at a goal allowed by the referee. The match was officiated by referee J.Wilson Sey,[4] from Cape Coast. Police reacted by firing tear gas into the crowd, it has been suggested that this was an over-reaction. Reports suggest that the gates to the ground were locked and the stadium was not up to FIFA standards. The rush to escape the tear gas was a contributory factor to the death toll. A commission inquiry, indicted six police officers in its initial report, but they were not convicted as it was deemed that the deaths could have been caused by the stampede instead of the tear gas.[5][6]

Grounds

Accra Hearts of Oak play home matches at the Accra Sports Stadium. The Accra Sports Stadium formerly known as Ohene Djan Sports Stadium is currently under construction and holds an estimated 40,000 seats. Although purchased in the 1980s, the Pobiman Training Ground was only put to use in the summer of 2018. Construction for an expansion of the 19 acre site in the Pobiman neighborhood, is currently in the planning stages way. The club plans to build a state-of-the-art facility.

Rivalries

Accra Hearts of Oak's longest established rivalry is with Asante Kotoko S.C. and their city rivals Accra Great Olympics FC.

Honours

Official Trophies (recognized by CAF and FIFA)

Domestic
  • Ghana Premier League
    • Champions (20): 1956, 1958, 1961–62, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1989–90, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2009
  • Ghanaian FA Cup
    • Winners (10): 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1989, 1990 (After winning a protest that declared them winners), 1993–94, 1995–96, 1999, 2000

International

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAF_Clubs_of_the_20th_Century

http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/caf-ranking.html www.rsssf.com/n

Players

Current first team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  GHA Richard Attah
2 GK  GHA Richmond Ayi
3 GK  GHA Ben Mensah
4 DF  GHA Fatawu Mohammed
5 DF  GHA Willian Darkyi
6 DF  GHA Mohammed Alhassan
7 DF  GHA Christopher Boney
8 DF  GHA Robert Addo
9 DF  CGO Raddy Ovuoka
10 DF  GHA Benjamin Agyare
12 DF  GHA Larry Sumaila
13 DF  GHA Anthony Quayson
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF  GHA Benjamin Afutu
15 MF  NIG Abdourahmane Mamane
16 MF  GHA Emmanuel Nettey
17 MF  GHA Fredrick Ansah B.
18 MF  GHA S. Kodie
19 MF  GHA Nuru Sulley
20 MF  GHA Manaf umar
21 AM  GHA Michelle Sarpong
22 FW  GHA Joseph Esso
23 FW   Kofi Kordzi
24 FW  GHA Daniel Afriyie
25 FW  NGA Danjuma Ademola Kuti

Notable players

For all former players with a Wikipedia article see Category:Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. players

Managers (Since 1991)

References
  1. "Hearts of Oak Sporting Club". Soccerway. Perform. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  2. "Hearts of Oak – Der Herzschlag Ghanas". De.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  3. "2004 CAF Clubs Competition Match Reports in Phobia History Forum". Yuku. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  4. "'May 9 Disaster' referee says GPL officials are not bold". Yen.com.gh - Ghana news. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  5. "Ghana tragedy: Police to blame". BBC. 29 July 2001. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  6. "Fifteen Years After Africa's Deadliest Stadium Disaster, Not Much Has Changed". Sports. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  7. "Hearts Mutually Terminate Contract With David Duncan". Accra Hearts of Oak. 8 November 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  8. Sheikh Tophic Sienu (17 January 2016). "Mohammed Polo can only return to Hearts as a technical director". Ghana Soccernet. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Official: Hearts of Oak sack coach Kim Grant". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  12. "Edward Nii Odoom takes over as new Hearts of Oak head coach". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
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