Raging fire in Kotoko: Can Nana Fitz douse the flame?

A  former Chairman of Kumasi Cornerstone Football Club, Nana Fitz, has  initiated an out of court settlement of the pending case involving champion club, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, and its former Chief Executive, Dr. K.K. Sarpong.

The measure, according to Nana Fitz, is not only  to restore cordial relationship between the club and its former Chief executive, but also to create the serene atmosphere that would sustain accelerated development of football in the country.

“ It is for the interest of the two parties and Ghana soccer that  I am initiating the out of court settlement, but not for any personal gain”, Nana Fitz told the Graphic Sports in an interview in Accra yesterday.

Expressing concern about the court case, he said allowing it to drag on could be risky because it might eventually destroy the development of football in the country.

“ Kotoko is a team that have many supporters  in Ghana and abroad, so for such a case to drag on in court can destroy the club and individuals who have the club at heart”, he  bemoaned.

Nana Fitz said it was for the same reason that he supported the out of court settlement some time ago involving King Faisal and the Ghana Football Association.

“ I have now done much underground works to settle the case out of court. Already, I have spoken to Dr. K.K Sarpong and his lawyer and also talked to the Kotoko officials. I can say that the underground works are about 70 per cent complete because initially tempers were very high.

“None of the parties was prepared to listen to me when i started about two weeks ago. However, they have now asked me to write officially to  them on the issue at stake, and that is what  I am doing”, he explained.

 Nana Fitz said he had already instructed his lawyer to  officially write to the parties and assured that the letters would be delivered by close of work today.

“ My lawyer will deliver the letters to them and copy the court about my initiative. But my humble appeal is that they should respond before June 11, 2015, so that I will be in court to make my intensions clear and  explain why I am interceding to restore peace to the two parties”, he noted.

He said he would do everything possible for the two parties to  agree on their terms after the case had been withdrawn, but said, “in case we fail to agree on any terms, we will let the court know  about it”.

Nana Fitz also appealed to supporters of the club to avoid using the media to wage war of insults, saying such things would undermine his initiatives.