From demotion to promotion - The story of Dreams FC
It was not by chance that when Dreams Football Club was formed in 2009, management adopted the phrase 'Still Believe' as their tag line to guide them in their activities, both on the pitch and in their day-to-day administration.
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It appears that unique tag line has worked so perfectly that even in the face of challenges, they never stopped believing in their dreams and aspiration to become the best or be counted among the well-organised football management institutions in Ghana and Africa at large.
The demotion
In December last year, officials of the club, although unhappy accepted a decision of the Appeals Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to demote them to the Division One League (DOL) and replace them with Tema Youth.
Dreams FC were punished by a newly-constituted Appeals Committee for fielding an unqualified player (Cudjoe Mensah, a.k.a Daniel Gozar) in a DOL game against Tema Youth in the 2014/2015 GN Bank DOL season which they won 2-0.
The case, which was initially ruled in favour of Dreams FC by the GFA Disciplinary Committee and Appeals Committee, saw Tema Youth pursuing the matter at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland after exhausting all the legal procedures of the GFA.
However, just a year after the incident, the Dawu-based club which is efficiently managed by Kurt E. S. Okraku and other hardworking leaders, have made a quick return to the top flight after they finished as champions of Zone Three of the 2016/2017 GN Bank DOL.
They garnered a total of 71 points from 30 games, keeping an impressive record of 22 wins, five draws and three defeats.
Grand coronation
Last Sunday, the former Premier League campaigners drew 3-3 with Tudu Mighty Jets in their last match of the season at the Dawu Stadium, which also served as their coronation.
The result, however, had little bearing with the main agenda for the day as club officials, technical handlers, the entire playing body, as well as supporters turned the coronation to a festival of music and dance.
It was an exciting atmosphere, with wild jubilations and chants of victory songs at the Theatre of Dreams, as they were crowned by officials of the DOL Board.
The day started with M-vision Entertainment providing live music for the crowd to jam till the blast of the whistle. Brass band music was also on hand to keep the momentum with the charged fans totally engulfed in the emotions that came with the tag of champions.
The colourful presentation was followed by a photo session on the turf as gates to the inner perimeter were opened to allow family and friends get closer to the playing body for memorable picture moments.
Ahead of the coronation, the club set up a five-member committee to see to the organisation of the event which brought together many dignitaries, including the Member of Parliament of Ayawaso North, Mr Yussif Jaja; the Chairman of the Eastern Regional Football Association, Mr Abdul Lawal; the Dawu Tufuhene, Okatakyie Ofosu Yeboah I; and the Vice Chairman of the DOL Board, Mr Akwasi Agyeman.
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Contribution of coaches
The story of Dreams FC’s promotion cannot be told without the immense contributions of three coaches who masterminded their qualification. They are coaches Abdul Karim Zito, Zakarias Manuel and especially Charles Kwabla (C.K) Akonnor, who was with the team prior to their demotion but later left for Ashantigold Sporting Club.
Under Coach C.K Akonnor, the team won seven games and drew once during their campaign in the second tier competition before his departure to Ashgold.
The baton was passed on to the Youth Development Officer Zito, who led the team to win 16 times, lose twice and draw twice. He, however, left for Germany with Assistant Coach, Winfred Dormon, for a technical training programme with three matches left to bring the season to a close.
Coach Manuel Zacharias, formerly with Bechem United, then came on board and under his watch, the team recorded an emphatic 3-0 win over Okwawu United at their home ground but lost 2-1 to Nania FC last Wednesday before drawing 3-3 with Mighty Jets in the final fixture last Sunday.
Commitment of players
Reports indicated that when the club accepted to feature in the lower division last season, majority of the players pledged their commitment to the club and resolved to stay to help the club secure a ticket for the premiership.
Players such as Emmanuel Elikeke, Charles Osei, Michael Sarpong, Leonard Owusu, Godfred Asante, Emmanuel Hayford, Mozak Adjetey, Benash Quansah, Kobena Essel and veteran Eric Gawu, who scored a hat-trick last Sunday, stayed on to fight for the common dream which came true last Sunday at Dawu.
The smiles on their faces as they were decorated with medals last Sunday was a true reflection of their hard work. According to their longest-serving player, Eric Gawu, Dream’s FC early morning training sessions at the beach yielded the necessary results and they are looking forward to going the extra mile to stay in the Premier League in the years to come.