Ghana’s champion football club Kumasi Asante Kotoko gave their numerous supporters a very expensive 73rd birthday present when the fans had to sit on thorns for pretty 88 minutes before Kotoko gained a fighting narrow 1-0 win over Mirreikh of Sudan in the Confederations Cup match at the Baba Yara Stadium on Sunday August 31.

Asante Kotoko was officially inaugurated on August 31, 1935 and the teeming Kotoko fans were anticipating a massive victory to celebrate the 73rd birthday in style but the nervy Kotoko attacking machinery threw away countless begging chances until two minutes to time when top striker Eric Bekoe who had inexplicably led the goal wasting spree, found the long awaited match winner amidst thunderous cheers. What a welcome relief it was.

This was a real clinical finish to a strenuous dribbling effort by substitute Kwadwo Poku who laid a perfect pass and Bekoe ‘s left footed grounder completely mesmerized the Sudanese goalkeeper. It was a nail biting match in all respects. Even though Kotoko piled on more pressure than their opponents and had far more clearer goal scoring chances, the spasmodic attacks by the Sudanese were extremely effective and in one sticky situation defender Ofosu Appiah had to emerge from outer space to clear the ball on the line after the Kotoko goalie had been truly beaten.

The match will go into the record books of Kotoko as one of the closest shaves in their Africa Cup campaign. It reminds one of the 1983 cracker at the same venue against CARA of Congo Brazzaville when Kotoko needed to overturn a first leg away deficit of a 3-2 loss. Only one goal without reply would have been okay to see Kotoko through to the next stage of the series but they had everybody sitting on thorns for 85 agonising minutes before skipper Papa Arko led his troops to score twice in two dramatic minutes to carry the day.

It really showed what a determined side can do and it was no wonder that Kotoko went ahead to dismiss AS.Bilima of Zaire, Jaraafs of Senegal and El Ahly of Egypt to win the ultimate prize for the second time in history having first won it in 1970.

Talking about Kotoko’s 1970 triumph in Africa brings to focus their first ever encounter against Mirreikh the following year as defending champions. The Sudanese beat Kotoko 2-1 in Khartoum in the first leg qualifying series and Kotoko won by the same margin in the second leg thus resulting in the penalty shoot-out that Kotoko won 6-4.

Kotoko progressed to the 1971 final by eliminating Ismaili of Egypt and Accra Great Olympics but lost a controversial final against Canon of Cameroun

The CAF, then known as African Football Congress (AFC) had ruled that the final matches were to be played on points system and so when Kotoko won the first leg 3-0 in Kumasi and were beaten 2-0 in the return, a third match had to be played in Yaounde , 48 hours later The match ended in confusion when. Kotoko walked off the pitch in the 82nd minute when the Ethiopian referee Ayele Tessema disallowed what Kotoko believed was a good goal scored by Albert Essuman following a corner kick. Canon were then leading 1-0 and they were subsequently declared winners.

The Africa Cup records show that the second time Kotoko faced Mirreikh was in the 1973 championships and the Sudanese were eliminated 4-1 in the two leg series.

Kotoko went ahead to the finals after dismissing Kabwe Warriors of Zambia and Kenya Breweries but lost the cup to Vita Club of Zaire.on a 5-4 aggregate. Kotoko had won the first leg 4-2 in Kumasi but lost the return 3-0. It is the hope of Kotoko fans that the hard won victory over Mirreikh will be a sign of good things to come.

Enough on Kotoko and Mirreikh in Africa .Since it is Kotoko’s 73rd birthday a short history of the fabulous club of Africa will not be out of place.

The foundation for what can be safely described as Ghana’s best football club in terms of achievement both home and abroad was laid by 13 young Ashanti boys led by a young driver Kwasi. Kwasi Kuma ably supported by L.Y.Asamoah an electrician. Kwasi Kumas, from Nyankyerase near Kwadaso a Kumasi suburb was a driver in the colonial days to a Col Ross an English soldier in the Gold Coast Army.

Kwasi had watched an exciting football match in Accra between Accra Standfast and Hearts of Oak and was really thrilled. Hearts won the said match 2-1 and Sir Gordon Guggisberg Governor of the Gold Coast presented a set of jerseys to Hearts for their good performance

When Col Ross returned home for good and Kuma went back home to Kumasi he decided to form a football club and bought a set of jerseys for the purpose. With co-operation from his good friend L.Y.Asamoah he formed the Ashanti United FC in 1926.

Five years later it was renamed Kumasi Titanics. The club was really handicapped because most of their players in government organizations like the Prisons and Railways had gone on transfer from Kumasi.

The story goes that Titanics did not find enough luck in their new name and in 1934 they adopted a more powerful name- Mighty Atoms. Still the club did not see much progress and in 1935, Mr J.S.K. Frimpong, popularly called Teacher Frimpong then a teacher of the Kumasi Government School who had all the time shown interest in the club organized some boys from his school and proposed a changed of name from Titanics to Asante Kotoko after obtaining special permission from the Asantehene Nana Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh 11. Permission had to be obtained from the Asantehene because the name Kotoko is the official symbol of the Ashanti nation. The symbol is an animal called in English as the Porcupine. It is reputed to have an inbuilt arsenal of arrows for use when attacked by an enemy.

The club was officially inaugurated on August 31 1935 before a great assembly of chiefs and people from all walks of life

Teacher Frimpong’s prophetic words on that memorable occasion were that "Our motto would be excelsior-higher and higher at all times whether misunderstood or appreciated; as long as we understand ourselves and our actions spring from pure motives we should go full steam ahead neither restraining the course of the great spirit within us nor allowing ourselves to be dismayed by deeds or words of anybody and so leave behind us the footprints on the sands of time".

Originally membership of Asante Kotoko was limited to Ashantis and Nzimas only but it is now open to everybody and it arguably has the largest following in the country.

Kotoko supporters will be too happy to tell you that they were the first FA Cup holders, first champion of champions; the first to play in boots; the first to supply as many as seven players for the national team; the first to employ a full time foreign coach; first to play 22 matches in a row in a league competition without defeat;21 times league champions and last but not least first Ghanaian club to win the Africa Cup

For years the dominant influence of Asante Kotoko has seemingly directed the pace and indeed the development of football in the country.

And one can say without any bias that Asante Kotoko have a rich history with colourful and memorable achievements that the past generation had created with pride, a history that the present generation recalls with appreciation and a history that those yet unborn will find in it a source of inspiration and excitement

The Asantehene is the spiritual leader and life chief patron of the club.