Hasaacas reaps dividends of of playing in CAF Champs Lge with Badu, Agyekum transfers
Participating in the maiden Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women Champions League is already paying dividends for Ghana's Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies as two of their players have been priced away by Norweigan Toppserien side, Avaldsnes.
The tournament's top striker Evelyn Badu, as well as General Captain and defender Perpetual Agyekum, have been offered two-year contracts from 2022 to 2024, by Norway's top side.
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The club has announced their decision to grab the two players from the CAF Champions League silver medalists having been impressed by their performance at the inaugural competition staged in Cairo, Egypt last November.
The negotiations between the clubs have concluded successfully and currently, the two players are also going through their documentation process to enable them to join the clubs for the 2021-2022 season that kicks off next May.
With no cash reward from participating in the inter-club continental competition, it is expected that the transfer of some of their players to play professionally in Europe and other countries, would help Hasaacas Ladies financially.
Though the club would not indicate the figures involved, they have indicated that the transaction for the two players have been 'professional and we are satisfied with the terms and have given Badu and Agyekum our blessings to pursue their pro careers with Avaldsnes.'
Avaldsnes on signings
Confirming the signings, the new manager for Avaldsnes, John Arne Riise described Badu as a player with an exciting skill whose inclusion to the team will make a lot of difference.
"Evelyn is an offensively exciting player with good basic skills," Riise, who replaced Thomas Dahle as coach earlier in December. told the club's website.
"She has a good eye, is a facilitator, a good finisher and will hopefully give us a lot of joy on the field.
He, however, said she would need time to settle in given that she would be having a change in culture but assured her of all the support she would require to adjust.
"It is important to give her time for everything new she wants to experience here in Norway, not just a new country and new culture, but not least another football culture.
"Despite that [needing time to settle down], we are betting that Evelyn will be a good addition to our team in 2022," he added.
He also described Agyekum as a quality player whose presence at Avaldsnes would also bring stability in their defensive set-up.
"I believe she also brings quality and stability to our defensive set up and her presence will help Badu to adjust and not feel lonely as that is also very important to get both of them prepared psychologically," he said.
Evelyn Badu
Offensive midfielder Badu who joined Hasaaacas Ladies in the 2018 season, has been a key player for the team and was part of the squad that won four titles for the team in the 2021 season including the Women's Premier League, the Women's FA Cup, the Super Cup and the First Lady's Cup.
She was also instrumental in the team's gold-winning feat at the West African Football Union (WAFU) and which qualified them for the inaugural CAF Champions League staged in Cairo, Egypt.
At the tournament in Cairo, she scored five goals to emerge top =scorer and the most valuable player.
Badu, 19 years, has already played for Ghana's Under-17 and Under-20 side and scored the solitary goal that sent Ghana past Zambia in their Under-20 Women's World Cup qualifier on December 18.
She is the club's second signing since Riise took charge early this month, following the arrival of American winger Sydney Blomquist last week.
Perpetual Agyekum
Apart from her experience, Agyekum, a utility player is best known for her knack for incisive set-pieces which often prove crucial for the record-winning Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies.
She has been with the team for six seasons.