Togbe Afede: I’m ready to sell my shares in Hearts
Accra Hearts of Oak have held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Accra with Board Chairman, Togbe Afede XIV, painting an unimpressive picture about the club’s finances and stating also that he was ready to trade off his stake in the club as majority shareholder.
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The investment banker revealed that the club’s current assets stood at GH¢186,597 and indicated that the club had not earned money from the transfer of players since the Phobians sold striker Mahatma Otoo to Norwegian club, Sogndal, three seasons ago.
“The last time we made money from transfers was three years ago when we sold Mahatma Otoo,” the Hearts chairman said at yesterday’s event at the Accra International Conference Centre.
Worse, it was revealed that the club’s official newspaper, Hearts News, made a profit of only GH¢100 in the year under review.
A seemingly frustrated Togbe Afede used yesterday’s AGM to pour his heart out at difficulties he was facing seeking external partners due to the club’s poor performance in the premier league, as well as negative stories being carried in the media about it.
He told the club’s shareholders he was ready to sell his stake in Hearts because he and his fellow board members had never known peace since they took over the reins of the Phobian club.
"Those who deserve to own Hearts are welcome. We are ready to give our shares to them," said Togbe Afede, who called on all stakeholders of the club to close their ranks and work together because “the board needs a peaceful environment to work”.
After a disappointing season in which the Phobians finished a disappointing 13th position on the First Capital plus Premier League log, the Hearts chief admitted that the club’s recent problems had been technical. But he heaped praises on former club legend and Coach Mohammed Ahmed Polo, who replaced Coach David Duncan after he was fired midway into the 2014/15 season.
“Mohamed Polo is the best coach I have worked with. Just that he wasn't allowed to do his work.
"Why do you want to go and disrupt training because one Duncan has been sent home? Is Duncan bigger than Accra Hearts of Oak?
"We don’t want mercenary coaches or whatever,” said the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli Traditional area, who gave his full blessings to the club’s new Japanese coach, Kenichi Yatsuhashi, to succeed.
