Keep AGOSU flame burning

STORIES about Accra Great Olympics—once a formidable football club in the Greater Accra Region and second only to their city rivals, Accra Hearts of Oak—no longer command interest from fans. Narratives about the club are now presented as mockeries or sarcasms, rather than any serious agenda like aiming to win the Ghana Premier League (GPL), the FA Cup or even qualify to any of the CAF Clubs championship.

With accolades, Olympics will occupy the top spot without struggle. Interesting jargons are coined easily and aligned with the club and it is embraced by all.

“Olympics can fall 10 times but will rise up the same number of times. Olympics supporters represent hope and longsuffering. Despite the many disappointments, supporters of the club have the hope that one day, the team would rise up. This is what has kept the club going.”

Rev Dr Odonkor was on point on the Olympics situation which managers of the team appear to have no clue as to how to rescue it. But in his view, there’s still hope for the club. Matches are played in virtually empty stadiums.

But according to Rev Dr Odonkor, giving up on Olympics must not be an option. Questions however, on the lips of many is how long fans can continue to endure the hardship as things deteriorate with time.

Just a day after the sermon encouraging followers to remain hopeful, the worst happened as two big wigs of the club, Mr. Kudjoe Fianoo, an experienced football administrator, and Richard Alagidede resigned from their roles as Chief Executive and General Manager, respectively. The action of the two has not surprised majority of their followers—knowing their calibre, what they stand for and a perceived structural defect of the club.

Such is the unfortunate situation of Ghana’s Wonder Club. Weeks in and out, the club’s fans sit on tenterhooks for 90 minutes watching the team struggle to avoid relegation from the second tier of Ghana football—Division One League. On a league table of clubs, in all of these, the fans of the club bear the taunts of opposing supporters. One dares not wear an Olympics replica jersey and you become an instant hero for displaying courage.

The Olympics situation has even become a subject of study as was witnessed at the Osu Eben-Ezer Presbyterian Church last Sunday, where the district minister in charge, Rev Dr. Odonkor, expertly captured the Olympics story in a sermon titled ‘The AGOSU PHILOSOPHY.’

In the sermon to mark his induction as District Minister, Rev Dr Odonkor, a staunch Olympics fan, described the club as a ‘reservoir of hope’ and the supporters as longsuffering—a narrative with accolades, Olympics will occupy the top spot without struggle.

The problem of the Wonder Club has been with finance, making it extremely difficult to sign high-profile players whose influence can affect the club’s fortunes. Saddest of all, the club has lost its appeal to both fans and players as matches are played in virtually empty stadiums. Therefore, there must be no turning back. This is certainly the time for all and sundry to join forces to rescue the club that is known as the ‘Landlords.’

In this difficult time, board and management must take a second look at its structure and mend the parts that are broken. As the men in the boardroom, they know and understand the problems facing the club. Currently, the failure of the club is at their doorstep and if Olympics sunk further, they would go down in history as those that extinguished the flame on the ‘Dade’ touch. If it means getting new people with fresh ideas, then so be it.

By Andrew Nortey

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