So much attention has been focused on the poor performance of traditional league winners Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak that the meteoric rise of unsung Wa All Stars has been ignored by the media. The star starved team from the Upper West capital of Wa, have won four matches on the trot in the past weeks and occupy a respectable third position on the table leaving the veteran league campaigners to struggle for survival.

Indeed, until the tenth week fixtures honoured last Sunday, Hearts and Asante Kotoko who between them have won the league 41 times in its 50 years history, were languishing at the bottom rungs of the table with 11 points apiece from a possible 27 points build up. Hearts however managed to extricate themselves from the no hopers with a clear cut 2-0 win over city rivals Great Olympics whilst Kotoko stuck to their unproductive play and dropped valuable home points to Sekondi Hasaacas in a 1-1 affair and are still fifth from the bottom of the table.

You cannot fault the media for maintaining the focus on Kotoko and Hearts because they are undoubtedly the crowd favourites who on a good day can gross more than one million Ghana cedis. Any news about these crowd pullers therefore sells. But for me, the team of the moment is Wa All Stars. What fascinates me about Wa All Stars is that the club is owned by the president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Kwesi Nyantakyi, the first in Ghana’s premier league history and the added ingredient is that the GFA president is on record as saying that the duo monopoly of the league by Kotoko and Hearts must give way to bring some freshness into the Premiership.

Now that his team is doing so well and looks capable of annexing the title, the ever suspicious Ghanaian football fan could soon be reading meanings into his comments on the Kotoko – Hearts duopoly. I have always wondered whether it could happen in my country that a head of state would own a top division club like we have in Italy where Prime Minister Berlusconi owns the giant A.C.Milan Football Club. I am not a messenger of doom but I can see Kwesi Nyantakyi being suspected by the ever suspicious Ghanaian football fanatics of getting favours from match officials when Wa All Stars seem to be on the edge of becoming champions next year. It is a strange world.

I have followed the progress of Wa Stars in the league this year and it is phenomenal. By the sixth week, they had collected only five points from a possible 18 but as if by magic they have won the last four matches and now have 17 points just two behind league leaders Kessben and one adrift of second placed Berekum Arsenals. Let’s have a look at the progress chart of Wa All Stars in the league so far. They started with a 1-1 home draw with Sekondi Eleven Wise, lost 2-0 at home to Ashgold and lost again 1-0 to Arsenal at Berekum. Their first win was at home1-0 against Liberty Professionals but they lost 2-1 to RTU the following week. It was after the goalless home draw against Heart of Lions that they put their scoring machine into top gear and amassed a massive 12 points to deserve the headlines which is strangely eluding them.

In the Xmas eve pairings on Wednesday, All Stars have a chance of further improving their league standings when they face new entrants Aduana Stars at Dormaa Ahenkro.Aduana Stars, sixth in the table have given an early indication that they intend to remain in the premiership for a long time and a fierce battle is therefore anticipated.

Defending champions Accra Hearts of Oak will host unstable Sekondi Eleven Wise and crest fallen Kumasi Asante Kotoko will make a bold attempt to redeem their sinking image with a way win over another new entrant, New Edubiase at Obuasi.The other fixtures with their peculiar attractions are Real Tamale United v Liberty Professionals in Tamale ;Heart of Lions v Berekum Arsenal at Kpando; King Faisal babies v Ashgold in Kumasi; Sekondi Hasaacas v Accra Great Olympics in Sekondi;  Bechem Chelsea v Kessben at Bechem.

These are all interesting pairings and it is hoped to produce results that would be the topic for discussions during the Yuletide.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports

FROM MY ARCHIVES

DEC 19 1993: Kumasi Asante Kotoko fails to turn up for their first week league match against Real Tamale United at the Kumasi Sports Stadium.FIFA Referee Henry Okai from Tema called off the match at 3.45 pm when Kotoko did not show up. Match commissioner J.O.Odai told newsmen that Kotoko team manager Nana Ameyaw had informed him that many of the club’s players had not yet registered and therefore could not raise a team.Angry Kotoko supporters vowed to attack management for failing to raise a team.  Meanwhile RTU appealed to the GFA to award them the points.