What shall C.K. Gyamfi narrate to our ancestors about our current football?
All indeed, a colossus is gone. The story of Nana Kumi Gyamfi, better known by the young and old as C.K. Gyamfi who was buried last Saturday at his native Okorase in Akuapim with all the regalia and tradition as the Guantoahene, gives all lovers of football some level of satisfaction.
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It must be seen as a happy celebration of life for a man seen better for his prowess as a footballer, a teacher, administrator and advisor in our national passion.
May we say goodbye to the man I saw live first as far back as 1954 when he led Asante Kotoko and created the wildest historic uproar at Abetifi in the Eastern Region in one of the most memorable Easter festivities.
The then Kwahu District was agog, and the hottest spot was Abetifi on that Easter Sunday, where the two most glamorous clubs, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko were scheduled to climax the whole entertainment with football, and at once it attracted all citizens of Kwahu to the fenced Abetifi Pre
We the students were at the venue around 1:30 pm, and of course when we arrived, the place was almost full. There were two main stands, and we took our places, we saw the privileged stand with nice chairs, and the “Zongo area”, where over 80 per cent of the fans were standing. We saw to our surprise Hearts supporters on the left and Kotoko followers on the right, just as we still see them at the two main stadia in Accra and Kumasi as well as other places.
Around 2.30 p.m, we found the Hearts fans jubilating and singing their traditional songs, and as the team entered the venue, the jubilation was deafening, as some shouted the names of the players, led by Chris Briandt. They started stretching their legs with exercises. Then ten minutes later there was a wilder uproar as the venue saw an explosion of joy with the arrival of Asante Kotoko in their green and white apparel, the same colours of hoses, and the battle line was drawn. They were led by C.K.Gyamfi.
Then suddenly, there were mixed feelings when people began shouting the absence of the popular stars of the Kumasi team and the loudest were James Adjei, Ntontom, Asebi Boakye, Baba Yara, Mohammed Salisu and the rest. Then the radicals among the spectators who saw a foul play began complaining bitterly over how they had been fooled by Kotoko.
They turned on C.K.: "Do you think we are idiots who don't know Kotoko, How could you lead a team like this to Abetifi and expect to collect our hard-earned money? No, refund our money.
Then they turned on the organisers, and all was red-hot. I saw strong men breaking the chairs and tearing the fences apart. I had never seen such a violent mob action like that and we the poor school children quickly went out to join our lorry and left the scene. We arrived at Kwahu Tafo only to be told later that Kotoko could not fulfill their promise, and the most popular player C.K. Gyamfi decided to gather a team to represent Kotoko.
C.K. had betrayed Kotoko, and it had caused the organisers a lot of embarrassment and a great loss of revenue. What came next was the breaking away of one set of players to form the team known as Great Ashantis. This team became formidable to rub shoulders with well-established teams such as Hearts of OaK, Accra Standfast, Sekondi Eleven Wise, Mysterious Ebusua Dwarfs, Venomous Vipers and Kumasi Cornerstones. Just then there was another break-away and in Accra Standfast was split, and Accra Great Olympics were formed.
Meanwhile, Accra Sports Stadium needed rehabilitation, and all big matches were shifted to Owusu Memorial Park at the present Onion Market down to the ICGC Chapel at Abossey Okai. This was where Hearts and Olympics played their epic match in 1955 organised under the auspices of the then Gold Coast Football Association headed by the late Richard Akwei. In the Wise posts was Edward Acquah who began his career as a great goalkeeper and became one of the greatest strikers the nation had ever produced.
A year after the Abetifi debacle, the annual Jalco Cup competition between this Coast of Gold and Nigeria took place in Accra, and C.K. Gyamfi led the attack with EC Briandt as captain. Other members of the squad were goalkeeper Kassum, Tim Darbah, Tabil Quansah, Ananti Ankrah, Ben Sissu, Baba Yara and others that were selected by then Sports Editor of the Daily Graphic, Kofi Badu. That was the team that made history by defeating Nigeria 7 - 0, with C.K. scoring a brace.
Two years later C.K. left Great Ashantis and travelled to Accra to join Hearts, and you can imagine how Hearts fans heralded him as he donned the rainbow jersey to face Kotoko and other teams. I must say Hearts owed their first win of the modern nation league in 1958 to the good work of C.K. He was the best dribbler I ever saw, and his passes were just marvelous.
After independence, the first African player who was invited to play in Europe was C.K. who went to play for Fortuna Dusseldorf in Germany. He came back from Germany as a fully-qualified coach and was handed the national team, the Black Stars after coaches Ainsley and Sojberg and led the nation to win laurels in Africa in 1963, 65 and 82. He seemed to have the magic wand to do all that, and after his retirement nobody could challenge him.
C.K. has gone to his ancestors, and we must be wondering what he would narrate to them about our present state of things on the football front. It is just a pity that at the last end of the legendary footballer, there has arisen all sorts of confusion which have not permitted us to commence the much awaited football season. May God help us. Merry Christmas!