Accra Hearts of Oak S.C.

History

The club was founded on 11 November 1911, in Accra. Hearts of Oak won their first major match in 1922 when Sir Gordon Guggisberg, then Governor of the Gold Coast, founded the Accra Football League. Hearts won 6 out of 12 seasons in this league. The club also won the 1953/54 edition of the Gold Coast Club Competition – the colonial precursor to the Ghana Premier League. In 1956, Hearts joined the Ghanaian Football League and have flourished ever since.

In the year 2000, the Hearts of Oak won the Ghanaian FA cup, the Ghana Premier League and for the first time in their history the CAF Champions League. This was the most successful year in the club's history. The team was led by club captain, Joseph Ansah.

Main article: Accra Sports Stadium disaster

On 9 May 2001, 127 people died in Africa's worst footballing disaster. During a match between rivals, Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko. Trouble started when supporters of Asante Kotoko began ripping out seats in an act of hooliganism in protest at a goal allowed by the referee. The match was officiated by referee J. Wilson Sey, from Cape Coast. Police reacted by firing tear gas into the crowd, it has been suggested that this was an over-reaction. Reports suggest that the gates to the ground were locked and the stadium was not up to FIFA standards. The rush to escape the tear gas was a contributory factor to the death toll. A commission of inquiry, indicted six police officers in its initial report, but they were not convicted as it was deemed that the deaths could have been caused by the stampede instead of the tear gas.

As of 2020, the transfer value of the Accra Hearts of Oak was £2.03 million, the highest of all sports clubs in Ghana.

Grounds

Accra Hearts of Oak play home matches at the Accra Sports Stadium. The Accra Sports Stadium holds an estimated 40,000 seats. Although purchased in the 1980s, the Pobiman Training Ground was only put to use in the summer of 2018. Construction for an expansion of the 19-acre site in the Pobiman neighborhood, is currently in the planning stages way. The club plans to build a state-of-the-art facility.

Rivalries

Accra Hearts of Oak's longest established rivalry is with Asante Kotoko S.C. and their city rivals Accra Great Olympics FC.

Current squad

First team squad

Reference as of 12 March 2021

Out on loan

Honours

Official trophies (recognised by CAF and FIFA)

Domestic

• Ghana Premier League
  • Champions (21): 1956, 1958, 1961–62, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1989–90, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2020–21
• Ghanaian FA Cup
  • Winners (12): 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1989, 1990 (After winning a protest that declared them winners), 1993–94, 1995–96, 1999, 2000, 2021, 2022 (record)
• Ghana Super Cup
  • Winners (3): 1997, 1998, 2021 (joint record)

International

• CAF Champions League
  • Winners (1): 2000
  • Runners-up (2): 1977, 1979
• CAF Confederation Cup
  • Winners (1): 2004
• CAF Super Cup:
  • Winners (1): 2001
  • Runners-up (1): 2005

Other [[Ghana Football Association|GFA]] National Titles

• Ghana SWAG Cup: 7 :: 1973, 1974 (shared), 1977 (shared), 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985

• Ghana Telecom Gala: 4

• GHALCA Special Cup: 3

• Ghana Top Four Cup: 3

• Ghana Top Eight Cup: 2

• President's Cup: 6 ::2003, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2022, 2023

• Independence Cup: 4

• PLB Special Knockout: 1

• June 4 Cup: 3

• 31 December Revolution Cup: 1

Gold Coast

• Inclusive of trophies won in the Accra Football League (Guggisberg Shield) and the Gold Coast Club Competition, both played during the colonial period
  • Champions (8): 1920, 1922, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1933, 1935, 1953–54
• Contributor: Bright Yeboah Taylor (Ghanaian Sports Historian)

Notable players

For all former players with a Wikipedia article see :Category:Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. players

Club captains

• Mahatma Ottoo (2011–2013)
• Thomas Abbey (−2017)
• Inusah Musah (2018)
• Fatawu Mohammed (2018–present)

Managers

List of managers since 1991

• Romania Petre Gavrilă (1991–95)
• Ghana Cecil Jones Attuquayefio (1998–01)
• Ghana Herbert Addo (2002–03)
• Germany Ernst Middendorp (2004)
• Ghana Cecil Jones Attuquayefio (2004)
• Ghana Archibald Lamptey (2004–05)
• Ghana Emmanuel Ofei Ansah (2005)
• Israel Eyal Lahman (2008)
• Serbia Kosta Papić (2008–09)
• Serbia Nebojša Vučićević (2011–12)
• Ghana Charles Akonnor (2012)
• Ghana David Duncan (2012–13)
• Ghana Mohammed Ahmed (Polo) (Interim) (2014)
• Ghana Herbert Addo (2014–2015)
• JapanKenichi Yatsuhashi (2015–2016)
• PortugalSérgio Traguil (2016 –2016)
• Scotland Frank Nuttall (2017–18)
• Ghana Henry Wellington Lamptey (2018)
• Ghana Seth Hoffmann (2018)
• ENGGHA Kim Grant (2018–2019)
• GHA Edward Nii Odoom (2020)
• Serbia Kosta Papić (2020–2021)
• GHA Samuel Nii Noi (Interim) (2021)
• GHA Samuel Boadu (2021–2022)
• Serbia Slavko Matic (2022–2023)
• Netherlands Martin Koopman (2023)
• Ivory Coast Aboubakar Ouattara (2023-date)

Seasons

• 2020–21 Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. season

References

References

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3. (2021-08-09). "Hearts to play either Kotoko or AshGold in Super Cup clash".
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5. (2021-08-10). "Check out all the trophies won by Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko".
6. (2023-03-05). "Konadu Yiadom's header settles 2023 President's Cup between Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko".
7. (2023-03-05). "Match Report: Hearts of Oak beat Akufo-Addo's Asante Kotoko to win President's Cup".
8. Ayamga, Emmanuel. (2019-11-19). "Hearts of Oak's treble winners of 2000: a team and manager that dominated African football".
9. (17 December 2014). "Today in history: Hearts win 2000 Champions League after chaotic final".
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11. "Top Ten (10) Most Valuable Clubs in Ghana Premier League Revealed".
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15. (2019-11-11). "Five major trophies Hearts of Oak have won since being founded 108 years ago".
16. "Former Hearts of Oak captain Ansah slams team". Goal.
17. "'May 9 Disaster' referee says GPL officials are not bold". Yen.com.gh – Ghana news..
18. (29 July 2001). "Ghana tragedy: Police to blame". BBC.
19. (27 April 2016). "Fifteen Years After Africa's Deadliest Stadium Disaster, Not Much Has Changed".
20. (11 May 2020). "Transfer Market value Hearts of Oak ahead of Asante Kotoko".
21. (2020-11-12). "Full list: Hearts of Oak squad for 2020/21 season".
22. (2021-02-27). "Hearts of Oak announce signing of Eleven Wonders star Salifu Ibrahim".
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24. (2019-02-15). "Swag Cup".
25. (5 August 2020). "A historical overview of Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG)".
26. (2015-12-02). "SWAG clears the air on the number of SWAG Cups Asante Kotoko have won".
27. (2021-07-11). "Full list of past Ghana Premier League title winners since 1920".
28. (2005-06-08). "Hearts of Oak coach dies".
29. (2020-11-30). "Hearts of Oak appoints Kosta Papic as head coach".
30. "Hearts Coach Plotting Berekum Chelsea Downfall".
31. (2020-01-15). "Five things to know about new Black Stars head coach C.K Akonnor".
32. (8 November 2013). "Hearts Mutually Terminate Contract With David Duncan". Accra Hearts of Oak.
33. Sheikh Tophic Sienu. (17 January 2016). "Mohammed Polo can only return to Hearts as a technical director". Ghana Soccernet.
34. "Hearts Of Oak Appoint Herbert Addo On A Two-year Deal".
35. "Hearts of Oak Appoints Japanese American Coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi".
36. (2016-06-17). "Hearts of Oak appoint Portuguese Sergio Daniel Traguil as head coach of junior teams".
37. (2023-09-19). "Hearts confirm Nuttal appointment".
38. "News".
39. (31 December 2019). "Official: Hearts of Oak sack coach Kim Grant".
40. (August 2025). "Edward Nii Odoom takes over as new Hearts of Oak head coach".
41. (30 November 2020). "Confirmed: Kosta Papic named new head coach of Accra Hearts of Oak".
42. (2020-12-01). "Official: Hearts of Oak appoint Kosta Papic as the new head coach".
43. Mensah, Rita. (16 February 2021). "Hearts of Oak appoint Samuel Nii Noi as interim coach".
44. "Samuel Boadu: Hearts of Oak appoint former Medeama boss as new coach - MyJoyOnline.com".
45. (19 October 2022). "OFFICIAL: Hearts of Oak appoint Serbian trainer Slavko Matic as new head coach - Ghanasoccernet.com".
46. (2023-08-18). "Hearts of Oak officially announce Dutch trainer Koopman as new coach".
47. (2024-02-11). "Director Hearts of Oak appoints new Managing Director and Coach".