Today, Tuesday, 8th March, 2022 marks exactly seven (7) months since Accra Hearts of Oak became champions of the 2021 Ghana FA Cup (known as the MTN FA Cup for sponsorship reasons) after beating Ashanti Gold SC on in the final in August 2021.
Accra Hearts of Oak became champions for the 11th time in the competition following their triumph on penalties by 8-7 in the final which was played on Sunday, 9th August 2021 at the Accra sports stadium. The ‘Phobians’ had already been crowned champions of the 2020/2021 Ghana Premier League in July, and winning the FA Cup title made it double for coach Samuel Boadu’s side.
According to the GFA’s Premier League Regulations 2019, the winner of the league and the FA Cup automatically becomes the Super Cup champion. The Article 9 of the GFA Premier League Regulations 2019 states:
- The Super Cup match shall be played before the commencement of the League.
- The Champion of the Premier League and the Champion of the FA Cup competitions, if
not one and the same club, shall play a one off match and the winner shall be declared the
Super Champion. - In the event of the League Champion being the same as the FA Cup Champion, that club
shall be declared the automatic Super Champion. The GFA Executive Council may,
however, organise a ceremonial match between the club and either the runners-up in the
League or FA Cup, for the purpose of awarding the Trophy.
Meanwhile, seven months since the Accra Hearts of Oak automatically became champions of the Super Cup which confirmed them as treble winners for the 2021 football season, the club has not received any trophy nor prize money, neither has there been any information as whether a coronation match would be played before the presentation would be done, and when.
Asked whether the GFA has done the needful probably behind the scenes without the knowing of the media, Kwame Opare Addo, communications Director of Accra Hearts of Oak confirmed that nothing has been done by the GFA.
“Nothing has been given to us”, Opare Addo told ghanasportspage.com on Tuesday. No, we haven’t received anything from the FA, he said.
Asked whether Hearts of Oak as a club have inquired from the GFA about what is due them, Opare stated that being the automatic winners, they don’t need to be pressing for anything that is due them. He however added, that the club has served the FA with every information they need, but has since not received any feedback from the football governing body of the nation.
“We are the automatic winners so why do we have to make enquiry again? It’s just like to say you are the league winners; everybody knows you are the league winners, so whatever that is entitled with you have to get it. So once we haven’t received anything from the FA, we are still waiting”, he maintained.
He added, “Every communication that we have to send to FA, that we have to make sure that we remind them or whatever that is it we have done that, but we haven’t received any feedback from the FA”, Opare confirmed.
