For several years now, Glorious Accra Hearts of Oak has been the subject of quite a lot of ridicule. On several occasions, we heard the words, “For 10 plus years now, you have not won any major title: All you’ve won are ceremonial trophies.”
Thankfully, those days are over!!!!
And those days are over, thanks to the fortitude, the tenacity the belief, the faith and the continuous sacrifice of the Executive Chairman of our glorious club, Togbe Afede XIV, who endured several verbal attacks during those difficult years. Together with the Board of Directors, Management, Technical Team, the Playing body, the Supporters wing and all well-meaning Phobians, the year 2021 has seen the return to glorious winning ways by Accra Hearts of Oak!!
To our Chairman, Togbe Afede XIV, to the Board of Directors, Coach Samuel Boadu and the Technical Team, Captain Fatawu and the playing body, the NCC, Hearts Ladies and all Phobians who made this Double possible, I say a big ‘Ayekooo’!!!!!
This is a season to enjoy! This is a season to celebrate!
This is a season to commend those who stuck with the task and believed that our Hearts of Oak could rise again: to those who believed that the Phobia Bird would fly high again: And to those who said, no matter what, we will stick with the project and see to it that, once again, we restore the glory of Accra Hearts of Oak!!!
It certainly is a wonderful time to be a Phobian!!!!
True, there’s still a long way for us to go to recapturing the heights that we saw, especially in those six years where we won the league back-to-back and also won the CAF Champions League for the first time in our history, the CAF Super Cup, and the CAF Confederations Cup a few years afterwards.
But truth be told, we have still come a long way through these years of pain. And that is why, today, I call upon every Phobian to enjoy the moment! To be happy that we have, once again, proven to all that the never-say-die spirit indeed never says die!
There are those who still want to point negative fingers towards Accra Hearts of Oak That’s understandable. Why? They did not see these particular successes coming!
From the way the league started, it looked like we were going to have another very very difficult year; and indeed, the year has not been easy!!! We’ve had a number of coaching changes and Samuel Boadu, who took over the reins of Technical leadership with 18 matches to end the league season, delivered on the promise that our Board of Directors saw in him!!!
It is understandable the hot debates going on about which player the club should recruit as we prepare for Africa!!!! But I urge all Phobians to trust in the judgement of Coach Boadu and the Board of Directors who have given him awesome support I believe that that same support that saw him leading us to win the double this year (for a record sixth time in our illustrious history) will see him building a formidable team that will go into Africa and fly high the flag of glorious Accra Hearts of Oak and the flag of Mother Ghana!!!
Interestingly enough I see debates about, for example, the winner’s package for the MTN FA Cup; I hear people saying Hearts didn’t play that well in the final of the MTN FA Cup…. But we still won and at the end of the day the most important thing is winning!!! So, to those who still want to raise clouds of doubt, anxiety and negativity around our club in this wonderfully celebratory moment, you are entitled to your choice.
But, PHOBIANS, let us choose to, in unison and with one voice, celebrate another wonderful achievement in our 110-year history.
If for nothing at all, this year, we shall be 110 years old. This is a notable anniversary!! It is so wonderful that our players, together with the the technical team and the Board of Directors have given us such a beautiful reason to celebrate this anniversary!!!
My beloved Phobians, there is a time for everything. We have gone through our pain…. It is time for us to be happy and enjoy!! I humbly call on all of us to put our every difference aside and celebrate and enjoy the moment!!!
Phobia Forever
Phobia Forever
Phobia is Forever
We NEVER SAY DIE
Phobia is Forever!!!
By: Neil Armstrong-Mortagbe
