11th November 2017
PRESS RELEASE
WE ARE 106 YEARS
Today, Saturday, November 11, 2017 marks a great milestone in the history of World and Ghana football and that of Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club Limited as we celebrate our 106th anniversary and, on such a significant occasion as we shout Hallelujah, we are also mindful to pay glowing tributes to those honourable visionary founders who sowed the seed of this Great Club at Ussher Town, Accra on the 11th day of the 11th month in the year 1911.
It is not out of place to say that this bold effort by our forefathers has been one of the greatest things that has ever happened in the history of Ghana football and, we salute the very passionate Christopher Brandford Nettey who led a group of young men to lay the foundations of what would later grow to become a great institution (Religion) as Accra Hearts of Oak has become.
Once again, we salute them for the bravery and troubles they endured in establishing this Great Club which has grown to become the oldest existing football club in this country.
It is also appropriate that we salute all those who in successive years carried aloft this torch and served the Club in diverse ways as Patrons, Directors, Supporters, Management, Executives, Players, Technical and Administrative personnel to its glories up to this very day.
Everyone listening to us today is doing so because he/she admires this organization and what it represents. We have a great story to tell. Our legacy of instilling leadership, character, service, and a host of other values has kept Accra Hearts of Oak vital and relevant for the past 106 years.
We are seeing tremendous energy in our 106th Anniversary Celebration. We are seeing inspiring commitment from all who belong to this family and we thank Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) for their wonderful and timely support as well. We have come a long way towards that vision of the founding fathers in the last 106 years. But there is still a lot of work to build on to transform our dear club into the 21st century club we all visualize to make the union more perfect. We need to widen the circle of opportunities, to extend and expand the definition of the new Accra Hearts of Oak. That is how we define building a more perfect union at Accra Hearts of Oak.
There is a progressive vision that people ought to be able to prepare themselves for and ensure that going forward Accra Hearts of Oak would earn all the needed support from top to down and from all walks of life to build a much more solid foundation as we try our best to move the club through the next phase of its development.
It’s a fact that we cannot be champions forever and these setbacks should galvanize us to take bold, innovative and economically viable decisions to position us as the best club in the industry once again.
Getting there will take a lot of hard work, time, effort, dedication and sacrifice but it is not something that cannot be achieved and all hands must come on deck as we seek to get to the Promised Land.
We would want to appeal to all supporters irrespective of where they are to give the Board the necessary support as we work hard to ensure that our biggest dream of transforming Pobiman into a modern Sports facility for the club becomes a success.
The Board led by His Royal Highness, Togbe Afede XIV has made several efforts of starting the project and we are very hopeful that this aim is not far from us.
Looking ahead to next season and with the firm support of the Board, the current management of the Club has taken the bold step to reshape the squad for a successful campaign. What the club also requires is great support for the team from fans in this build-up process and if we combine all of our efforts then, the victory that we all crave for would be achieved despite the challenges that we may face on and off the field of play.
On this occasion as we celebrate another milestone in the history of this Great Club, we cannot also forget our former Patrons, Administrators, Technical men and Players who have contributed meaningfully to this club.
We want our supporters to know that many were those who did not know how close they were to success when they gave up. Therefore, we encourage every one of us not to give up because of set-backs because for all you know, we are close to success than failure.
Through the dynamic and progressive leadership style by our Board, we would soon witness the emergence of a newAccra Hearts of Oak, but we believe that to create a strong and a modern empire it will take personal sacrifices from each one of us. It is therefore fitting that we ask each Phobian to make a sacrifice for our dear club. Hearts of Oak needs our help.
We thank all who have been helping the club in diverse ways including Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL), our only sponsor. We appeal to supporters to patronize their products so that they can continue helping the club.