President's Cup: Hearts Play Oly

THIS year’s Republic Day celebration will be spectacular in all respects following the unique sporting dimension which has been added to it.With the initiative of the President of the land, J.A. Kufuor, the two oldest rivals in the capital, Accra Hearts of Oak and Great Olympics, clash in a thrilling duel which is expected to draw the entire nation’s attention to the Accra Stadium on Tuesday.

Though both teams have agreed to do battle to commemorate the grand occasion, the big puzzle which remains is who will lift the maiden President’s Cup at stake donated by President Kufuor. While the President’s Cup match is going to be an annual affair, the highest motivation for both Hearts and Olympics in this maiden encounter will be to go into the record books as the first team to win the President’s Cup.

And for the fans, it will be a “who is who” clash especially where the two bitter rivals will be meeting for the first time this year.The outcome of this match will therefore provide clues as to what the followers of the two teams should expect in their first round league encounter.

On a more interesting note, Tuesday’s game will bring to the fore the Coach E.K. Afranie factor as the “Coach Hene” tackles his first major assignment since taking over the reins of the Wonder Club at the beginning of the season. And as coach Afranie prepares his squad to ambush their opponents in the full glare of an anticipated large presence of governement functionaries, one can trust coach Herbert Addo to also put up a fierce resistance to spare him and his side of any embarrassment.

When it comes to cup matches between the two teams, the Phobians normally laugh better. But whether they can be guaranteed a similar wild celebration will only be known at the final whistle on the D-day.