Big bonuses for Hearts, Kotoko

Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko are gearing up for a clash of their lives on Sunday in what could define their future in the 58-year-old Ghana’s Premier League.

Both clubs are already dangling massive carrots before their players as extra motivation to win, with former Hearts chairman Harry Zakkour insisting that a special bonus for the players was the only way to make the relegation-threatened Phobians perform on the day.

Zakkour, under whose tenure the Phobians won the prestigious African Champions League in 2000, told the Graphic Sports yesterday that his group (made up of former directors of the club) were mobilising a mouth-watering amount of money as incentives for the players to perform on such a crucial stage where both traditional giants find themselves in an unfamiliar situation and risk being relegated from the elite division for the first time in their history.

“Well, that is the only way we can cope with the situation because we are dealing with a Hearts team that cannot be said to be that vintage.

“We will officially announce the big package when we meet the players ahead of Sunday’s game,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Porcupine Warriors, perhaps taking a leaf from their arch-rivals, have merged their ranks with stalwarts such as Sylvester Asare-Owusu, a former chairman of the Kotoko who led the club to win the Premiership in 2003, joining the fray. It is also a remarkable bid by prominent administrators of the club to present a united front as the Oseikrom lads launch a late onslaught to salvage their campaign.

David Serebour Boateng, a former Accra representative of Kotoko, lauded the move by the club’s stalwarts, saying the initiative will go a long way to lift Kotoko from the throes of relegation.

“It’s the best motivation for the club, especially coming a few days before our game with Hearts, he told Accra-based radio station, Hot FM, yesterday.