A former Asante Kotoko Director, Alhaji Abu Lamini, has urged the club’s vast support base to close ranks behind the new board and management, insisting their ambitious rebuilding project can restore the Porcupine Warriors as the dominant force in Ghana and a major power in African football.
After holding discussions with members of the new leadership, Alhaji Lamini said he was convinced by both their vision and determination to revive a club whose proud history had not been matched by its performances and influence in recent years.
His message to the Kotoko faithful is unequivocal: the rebuilding project will require more than boardroom decisions or investment in players and technical expertise. Supporters must also play their part by returning to the stands in numbers and creating the formidable backing that has historically made Kotoko one of Africa’s most intimidating football institutions.
“I know the board members, I have interacted with them and I can tell they have a great plan and are determined to ensure Kotoko recaptures the great heights the club once occupied,” Alhaji Lamini, also a long-serving management member of the club, told Graphic Online.
“In my interactions with them, I became convinced they are very open and ready to work closely with the supporters, former players, former board members and other stakeholders to ensure Kotoko not only dominate Ghana football but also become a force to reckon with in African football once again,” he said.
Early signs
Alhaji Lamini, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tema-based Lamin Investment Ghana Limited, believes the early moves by the new administration offer tangible evidence of its ambition. He pointed particularly to the club’s player recruitment and the appointment of experienced South African coach Erik Tinkler and former Dutch and Ajax goalkeeper Stanley Menzo as the club's Director of Football, as signs that the leadership was poised to build a side capable of challenging immediately for major honours.
For the former board and management member, however, those investments must be matched by renewed commitment from the rank and file if Kotoko are to regain their stature and bring honour to the club’s Life Patron, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and Asanteman.
Central to that revival, he argued, was reconnecting the team with its traditionally enormous support base. He challenged Kotoko supporters to demonstrate their loyalty not merely through rhetoric but by filling the Baba Yara Stadium and travelling to other venues to back the team — beginning with Sunday’s Premier League opener against newly promoted Debibi United at the Berekum Golden City Park.
“As supporters of the club, the least we can do is to turn up in our numbers at Kotoko matches and support our great club to win because our players get motivated and energised when they see the Kotoko faithful in their numbers at the stadium,” he said.
“It is a sad reflection on this great club to see only a handful of supporters at Kotoko matches.”
Match attendance
For a club built as much on the passion and numerical strength of the Kotoko faithful as their record of success, Alhaji Lamini believes restoring that connection between the terraces and the team could prove crucial to the new administration’s rebuilding effort.
He expressed confidence that Kotoko could turn their fortunes around this season if supporters rediscovered the match-going culture that once made their presence such a powerful weapon, while also backing initiatives being implemented by the board.
With the new campaign offering another opportunity to reset expectations, Alhaji Lamini believes the immediate target should be clear — return the Ghana Premier League trophy to Kumasi and use domestic success as the platform for rebuilding Kotoko’s standing on the continent.
He also congratulated the Porcupine Warriors on their 91st anniversary, expressing the hope that the milestone would mark the beginning of a new era rather than merely another celebration of past greatness.
