The Premier League resumed with a bang last Wednesday after newly launched local bank, First Capital Plus, decided to take over the sponsorship of the competition.
It must have come as a big relief for the clubs in the competition, which faced serious sponsorship challenges as it went the entire first round without funds from the former sponsors.
We must, therefore, say that First Capital Plus deserves all the plaudits for jumping to the Premier League’s rescue with its $10 million sponsorship to span five years and which, we dare reiterate, must have injected some sprightness into the clubs.
But while we thank Capital Plus for coming to Macedonia, we cannot forget to also acknowledge Globacom for holding the fort for the past five years.
We hope Glo has not entirely given up on Ghana football and that whatever the challenges that it must have encountered during its tenure would abate going forward for it to return to offer sponsorship in other areas of Ghana football.
For now we can formally welcome First Capital Plus as the new kid company on the block and attribute last Wednesday’s matches in which Wa All Stars stole the show to its timely arrival or intervention.
All Stars mauled Hearts of Oak 3-0 at the Accra Stadium, much to the disbelief of the fans as it was a repeat performance by Kwesi Nyantakyi’s boys who beat their more elite opponents by the same margin in their first round encounter in Wa.
Indeed, we must congratulate All Stars on their back-to-back feat, something that many a Phobian may find difficult to comprehend and which must be the reason for Coach Mohammed Polo to think some saboteurs must be at work.
We empathise or sympathise with Polo on the losing spree at Hearts since his take-over after the powers that be in the club egregiously terminated the appointment of the result-achieving Coach Duncan inexplicably.
Polo should have been the last person to have jumped into the job as we warned then. But he found nothing wrong with that since the attrition rate in the business of coaching was no news.
Now the pressure is on Polo, a former players’ player and icon in Hearts and Ghana football, to throw in the towel as coach of the club.
We think mere lamentations over suspected sabotage by some players, officials or supporters of Hearts will not be enough. Quitting the job, in our view, will be the most ideal thing for Polo to do rather than to beat his chest that he won’t.
Hearts’ future in the Capital Plus Premier League does not portend good tidings, looking into the crystal ball, we dare stress.
Therefore, something ought to give, lest Hearts face the danger of being consigned to relegation.
