Former Asante Kotoko top defender Awal points fingers at the club’s source of “same” problems

Asante Kotoko has been a pale shadow of themselves in the ongoing 2023/2024 Ghana league season, and former centre back Awal Mohammed has described the club’s problem as “same”, implying sabotage within the club as he points fingers at leadership.

The Porcupine Warriors have won just 9 out of 25 league matches in the ongoing league season, and have picked just 1 out of a possible 18 points from the last 6 league matches played. The situation has been a precarious experience for the club’s fan base and and the entire Kotoko family, but Awal Mohammed believes that the problem is more of an off the pitch issues rather than technical.

According to the 35-year old centre back, the seeming retrogression of the club should be blamed on poor leadership due to saboteurs Speaking exclusively with ghanasportspage.com, Awal insisted that the problem of Asante Kotoko of known to everyone and the earlier the ‘truth’ is spoken the better for everybody.

“As for Asante Kotoko nothing is fighting against the club, it’s like certain things are happening to us at our own will. It’s the same problem always; the team is surrounded by certain people who don’t want the progress of Asante Kotoko, that is the problem and we need to say it so it ends”, Awal told ghanasportspage.com in an exclusive interview.

Awal Mohammed who has had two different stints at the club as player, last in the 2016/17 league season, has been a fan of Asante Kotoko since childhood even before gaining the opportunity to join the club as a player first in the 2011/2012 season. He asserted, that some people believe they own Asante Kotoko and have been sabotaging people who the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II appoints to run the club.

“We can’t be claiming to be this and that and that the team is for me; the team is not for you. It’s for Asantehene and he also can’t run Kotoko because the responsibilities on his shoulders are huge; everyone is looking up to you, you are the traditional ruler of a lot of people and you can’t add Kotoko to it, and that’s why he employs people to run it for him. But always the problem persists, the same problem always which we all came to meet since childhood, so I’m not the one coming to say it, everyone knows”, he added.

Specifically, Awal blames leadership of the club, but leaves out the players and the Interim Management Committee (IMC), comprising Emmanuel Newton Dasoberi, former player and coach James Kwasi Appiah as well as the head coach, Dr Prosper Narteh Ogum, who he believes are victims of sabotaging circumstances. He stated, that when a father – the head of a family has problems, it will automatically affect the children of the said family, and that is what the IMC and the players are facing currently.

“So what is happening is not the players, it’s not anybody, it’s the leaders, because when the head of the family has a problem, it affects the children too. The problem is from the leaders; so let’s say the truth so everyone is free”.

“Even the [three-member] IMC is working but there are people who want to sack them so they will takeover, meanwhile you have not been called to come and run the team, that’s the problem of Kotoko. Even if you are brought on board you will come and do worse”, he fumed.

listen to what Awal said during an interview with Sir Martin on GSP1 Media on Friday night