Hearts of Oak board members have spoken out over Martin Koopman’s appointment.

The Dutch manager was named head coach of the Ghana Premier League team before the start of the current 2023/24 season.

However, following a rocky start, the club severed ways with the 67-year-old after only four months in command.

Koopman won two games and scored six goals in ten Ghana Premier League appearances.

Fans have criticised the club’s leadership, with some asking for their dismissal.

However, Dr Nyaho-Nyaho Tamakloe, Alhaji Akanbi, and Vincent Sowah-Odotei explained why Koopman was selected at a news conference on Monday.

“We went in for Martin Koopman because we were looking for a coach with maturity and a coach with experience. He came up on top of the list of coaches before he was hired” they said.

Hearts of Oak lost 1-0 against Aduana FC in the Ghana Premier League on matchday 12 after being eliminated from the MTN FA Cup.

The Phobians will want to get back on track when they meet Asante Kotoko in the matchday 13 games on Sunday, December 10.

Hearts of Oak board members have replied to the player selection allegations made by the club’s former head coach, Martin Koopman.

Koopman, 67, was named on a two-year contract before the commencement of the 2023/24 Ghana Premier League season.

However, due to a poor run of performances, the Dutch coach who succeeded Slavko Matic amicably parted company with the club.

Koopman won two games and scored six goals in ten Ghana Premier League appearances.

Speaking to Ghanasportspage for the first time since his dismissal, Koopman said that the Board of Directors stopped him from playing seven important players owing to their lack of passion and attention.

In response to the charges, Dr Nyaho-Nyaho-Tamakloe, Alhaji Akanbi, and Vincent Sowah-Odotei held a news conference on Monday, December 4 and denied Koopman’s assertions, claiming he was entirely responsible for player selection and had utilised 28 players by week seven.

“We believe strongly that cooperation is what can give you good results,” the Board said.

“The Board finds Koopman’s statement very distasteful. The Board has never said to any coach or Koopman that he shouldn’t use the players he mentioned. Martin Koopman was solely in charge of player selection in the team. He was given full responsibility.

“We want to put on record that by the time we played our seventh league match, Koopman had used 28 players except two who were on the injury list” they stated.

Hearts of Oak suffered a 1-0 defeat to Aduana FC in the Ghana Premier League’s matchday 12 fixtures, dropping them to ninth place on the league table with 16 points.

The Phobians will want to get back on track when they meet Asante Kotoko in the matchday 13 games on Sunday, December 10.

betPawa, the Ghana Premier League’s headline sponsor, has announced a shift in focus in its sponsorship deal for the Ghanaian top flight.

The betting business revealed this move in a statement today, after an agreement with the Ghana Football Association (GFA).

According to the announcement, betPawa will concentrate on giving teams direct cash incentives in the form of locker room bonuses.

The Locker Room Bonus has increased by 167%, taking it from 150 Ghana Cedis ($12.49) to 450 Ghana Cedis ($33.31) at the time of writing.

This development, according to betPawa, would meet the first portion of the sponsorship agreement it signed with the GFA before to the commencement of the 2022-2023 Ghana Premier League season, which was the first of a three-year relationship between the two organisations. (To read the whole story, click on the highlighted paragraph.)

It went on to say, “we want to assure the sporting community that BetPawa and GFA will continue to work together to develop and improve football standards in the country.”