Asantehene bars Kotoko from recruiting players

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, and also the Life Patron and Spiritual Owner of Asante Kotoko S/C, has prohibited the club from embarking on further player recruitments for the next one season.

“‘Kotoko shall recruit no new players into the first team for at least the next one season,” he noted.

The decision, according to the King, formed part of ongoing measures to restructure the way players were recruited into the club - to minimize wastage in expenditure.

Over the last three years, the Porcupine Warriors have recruited close to about 80 players - the majority of them failing woefully to meet the mark.

The two-time African champions have racked up more huge losses in a bid to assemble the best of materials on the field of play, and some of the adventures ending in disaster as occurred in the Emmanuel Clottey saga.

Federation of International Football Asociation (FIFA), the world football’s governing body, in its final verdict recently on the said case, which also involved Tunisian giants, Esperance, fined Kotoko US$240, 000 for breach of contract over the transfer of striker Clottey in 2015.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu, in a speech read on his behalf at the inauguration of the new nine-member Board of Directors of Kotoko, in Kumasi, said he wanted the club to chart a new course in the area of player recruitment.

“Kotoko has employed far more than excess of the required players, and this has come with its own financial burden,” he observed.

Per the new policy direction, the Asantehene wants the club to concentrate on building a youth football academy, which would serve as a feed for the senior team in the future.

Reacting to this development, the Kotoko Head Coach, Maxwell Konadu, in an interview with the GNA Sports, said it would be difficult for the technical team under the present circumstances.

He was, however, optimistic that some exceptions could be granted where necessary, saying the technical team intends to appeal to the Office of the Asantehene in this direction.