‘Hearts must honour Ato Ahwoi’

Mohammed Alhassan, a former National Organiser of the National Chapters Committee of Accra Hearts of Oak, has called on the club, particularly supporters, to honour Mr Ato Ahwoi, a former board chairman of the club, for his immense contributions to the growth of the club.

He argued that Ahwoi, during his tenure between 1995 and 2005 acquitted himself so creditably as the most successful leader of the club since its formation some 104 years ago.

The veteran football administrator was the board chairman of Hearts when they won the CAF Champions League in 2000, CAF Super Cup (2001), the inaugural CAF Confederation Cup in 2004, as well as seven Premier League titles, among other achievements, and crowning it all with an eighth placing on the CNN World Best Club ranking in 2001.

Alhassan said in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday that the Phobian establishment must not wait for the man to die before conferring a posthumous award on him.

“Isn’t it a crying shame that it was the Ghana Football Association (GFA) that first recognised the contribution of Ato Ahwoi to the development of the game in Ghana.

“During his tenure, he involved many stakeholders and was instrumental in bringing many others, including Isaac Tetteh, Francis MacCarthy, Frank Nelson Nwokolo and many others who brought on their ideas to help the club,” he added.

Alhassan disclosed that even after his exit from mainstream Hearts duties, he still remained a pillar who was often consulted in difficult times and mentioned his immense contribution towards the bid to prevent the Phobians from sliding into the football wilderness.