Nana Agyemang Badu II passion for football - Secret behind Aduana’s success

Association
I got to know Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu when I was a correspondent of the Daily Graphic in Sunyani way back in the 1990s, but never knew he so much loved football until he took over Aduana Stars.

On my transfer to Kumasi, I recall travelling to Dormaa-Ahenkro to interview him on the transfer feud that emerged between sworn rivals, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko over then Aduana Stars kingpin, Kofi Abanga who was eventually sold to the Accra giants.

During the interview , the Omanhene took me back to how his association with football started, and he drove me on the path he wanted to take the game to via Aduana Stars.

Since he took Aduana Stars from obscurity to the forefront of elite soccer in the country, the Dormaahene has known no return.

Just a year after gaining entry to the Premier League, Aduana made history by winning the league. That was the most successful period of Aduana Stars and they went ahead to participate in the 2011 CAF Champions League but got eliminated at the preliminary stage.

The team has also made an appearance at the 2011 WAFU Club Championship but failed to win the trophy.

Continuity breeds success and this has manifested in the progress of Aduana Stars. It is one club whose players hardly leave to join other clubs in the country because they are well catered for. Never would you hear of non-payment of salaries or bonuses at Aduana.

Combining the demands of his traditional and court duties with football can be demanding so he has handed over the running of the club to a management , although he remained the major financier.

Difficulties running football clubs
Running a football club in Ghana these days is not a child's play; it is an expensive venture.

With sponsorships difficult to come by coupled with low attendance at matches and very low sales from club memorabilia, Ghanaian clubs have been financially overstretched.

Monies spent on salaries of players , technical staff and management staff are difficult to recoup.

Elsewhere, television rights alone provide a major chunk of revenues accruing to clubs. According to the BBC, a whopping £5.14 billion in television rights was accrued to the English Premier League in 2015, a jump of 71 per cent over the 2014 revenues.

In the 2015, the Nigeria football league secured a five-year television deal worth $43 million with Supersport.

But the reverse is the situation in Ghana. In 2016, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) could only sign a 10-year deal with Chinese broudcaster, StarTimes, valued at $17,950,000. This, obviously is nothing to write home about.

Notwithstanding the low incomes accruing to Ghanaian clubs, the Dormaahene has leveraged the huge image of the stool he occupies to drive the Aduana club successfully without thinking of the monetary returns.

Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu was installed on June 7, 1999 at the age of 33, succeeding his late uncle, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu I who died in January 1998.

Aduana Stars derive their name from the Aduana Clan, one of the Akan clans or families, which believed their ancestors descended from the skies via a golden chain. The clan has the dog as its symbol

The Nana Agyeman Badu Park, which accommodates about 5,000, is the home grounds of the Brong Ahafo giants and they are always a dreadful sight at home.

Source: graphic sports