Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Hearts of Oak or just Hearts, is a professional

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

based in Accra ( Greater Accra),

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. Founded in 1911, the club is the oldest surviving football club in Ghana and its traditional colours are red, yellow and blue. Hearts of Oak competes in the

Ghana Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league system in Ghana. Officially formed in 1956 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition (which began in 1933 and ended in 1953–54), t ...

, the premier division on the Ghanaian football pyramid. The Accra Sports Stadium is the club's home grounds, where it plays its home games. Hearts has won the Premier League twenty-one times, the

Ghanaian FA Cup The Ghanaian FA Cup, currently known as the MTN FA Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the top knockout tournament of the Ghanaian association football. The competition is played between the clubs of the Premier League, Division One League, Ghana ...

a record twelve times, the

Ghana Super Cup The Ghana Super Cup is a football competition involving a match played between the champion of the Ghana Premier League and the winner of the Ghanaian FA Cup in Ghana. The first Ghana Super Cup competition took place in the 1996–1997 season, af ...

, a joint record three times the

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

, five times, and the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederations Cup once each. Accra Hearts of Oak was also ranked eighth football club in the world in the year 2000 when the club dominated most of the continent's sporting activities. Accra Hearts of Oak remains the only football club in West Africa to have won a

Continental Treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...

; one of 6 Africa-based clubs and one of 21 football clubs worldwide to have achieved this feat. During the colonial period, Hearts of Oak won a combined total of eight football league trophies in the ''Accra Football League'' and the ''Gold Coast Club Competition'', both precursors to the Ghana Premier League. In the Accra Football League, Hearts of Oak won the Guggisberg Shield donated by Sir Gordon Guggisberg, then Governor of the Gold Coast in 1922; the competition for Accra-based clubs was played on 12 occasions between 1922 and 1954; Hearts of Oak won the Shield six times, including the final tournament played in 1954.

History

The club was founded on 11 November 1911 in Accra. Hearts of Oak won their first major match in 1922 when Sir Gordon Guggisberg, then Governor of the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, founded the ''Accra Football League''. Hearts won 6 out of 12 seasons in this league. The club also won the 1953/54 edition of the ''Gold Coast Club Competition'' - the colonial precursor to the Ghana Premier League. In 1956, Hearts joined the Ghanaian Football League and have flourished ever since. In the year 2000, the Hearts of Oak won the Ghanaian FA cup, the

and for the first time in their history the CAF Champions League. This was the most successful year in the club's history. The team was led by club

Joseph Ansah Joseph Ansah (born 5 November 1978) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Accra Hearts of Oak for most of his career. He also played for the Ghana national football team. He was part of the 2000s Hearts of O ...

. On 9 May 2001, 127 people died in Africa's worst footballing disaster. During a match between rivals, Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko. Trouble started when supporters of Asante Kotoko began ripping out seats in an act of

hooliganism Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

in protest at a goal allowed by the referee. The match was officiated by referee J. Wilson Sey, from Cape Coast. Police reacted by firing

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...

into the crowd, it has been suggested that this was an over-reaction. Reports suggest that the gates to the ground were locked and the stadium was not up to FIFA standards. The rush to escape the tear gas was a contributory factor to the death toll. A commission inquiry, indicted six police officers in its initial report, but they were not convicted as it was deemed that the deaths could have been caused by the stampede instead of the tear gas. As of 2020, the transfer value of the Accra Hearts of Oak was £2.03, the highest of all sports clubs in Ghana.

Grounds

Accra Hearts of Oak play home matches at the Accra Sports Stadium. The Accra Sports Stadium formerly known as Accra Sports Stadium is currently under construction and holds an estimated 40,000 seats. Although purchased in the 1980s, the Pobiman Training Ground was only put to use in the summer of 2018. Construction for an expansion of the 19-acre site in the Pobiman neighborhood, is currently in the planning stages way. The club plans to build a state-of-the-art facility.

Rivalries

Accra Hearts of Oak's longest established rivalry is with Asante Kotoko S.C. and their city rivals

Accra Great Olympics FC Accra Great Olympics is a Ghanaian professional football club based in Accra, Greater Accra. The club is currently competing in the Ghana Premier League. It has won the Ghana Premier League twice, in 1970, 1974 and the Ghana FA Cup thrice, in 197 ...

Current squad

First team squad

''Reference as of 12 March 2021''

Out on loan

Honours

Official trophies (recognised by CAF and FIFA)

Domestic

**Champions (21): 1956, 1958, 1961–62, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1989–90, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2020–21 *

**Winners (12): 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1989, 1990 (After winning a protest that declared them winners), 1993–94, 1995–96, 1999, 2000,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

(record) *

**Winners (3): 1997, 1998, 2021 (joint record)

International

* CAF Champions League **Winners (1):

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

**Runners-up (2):

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

* CAF Confederation Cup **Winners (1): 2004 * CAF Super Cup: **Winners (1): 2001 **Runners-up (1): 2005

Other GFA National Titles

* Ghana SWAG Cup: 7 :: 1973, 1974 (shared), 1977 (shared), 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985 * Ghana Telecom Gala: 4 * GHALCA Special Cup: 3 * Ghana Top Four Cup: 3 * Ghana Top Eight Cup: 2 *

: 5 ::2003, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2022 * Independence Cup: 4 * PLB Special Knockout: 1 * June 4 Cup: 3 * 31 December Revolution Cup: 1

Gold Coast

*''Inclusive of trophies won in the Accra Football League (Guggisberg Shield) and the Gold Coast Club Competition, both played during the colonial period'' **Champions (8): 1920, 1922, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1933, 1935, 1953–54

Notable players

''For all former players with a Wikipedia article see :Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. players''

Club captains

* Mahatma Ottoo (2011–2013) * Thomas Abbey (–2017) * Inusah Musah (2018) *

Fatawu Mohammed Abdul Fatawu Mohammed (born 6 June 1992) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a right-back and captains Ghanaian Premier league side Accra Hearts of Oak. Club career He started his career with Red Bull Academy now West African F ...

(2018–present)

Managers

''List of managers since 1991'' * Petre Gavrilă (1991–95) *

Cecil Jones Attuquayefio Cecil Jones Attuquayefio (18 October 1944 – 12 May 2015) was a Ghanaian football player and coach. International career Attuquayefio played many times for the Ghana national team and helped the team win the 1965 African Nations Cup. Coa ...

(1998–01) *

Herbert Addo Herbert Addo (24 June 1951 – 24 March 2017) was a Ghanaian Premier League football coach. He was born in Accra. He coached Hasaacas, Asante Kotoko, Ashanti Gold, Hearts of Oak, Aduana Stars and Inter Allies. He also coached Gabonese club ...

(2002–03) * Ernst Middendorp (2004) *

(2004) * Archibald Lamptey (2004–05) * Emmanuel Ofei Ansah (2005) * Eyal Lahman (2008) *

Kosta Papić Kosta Papić ( sr-Cyrl, Коста Папић; born 17 July 1960) is a Serbian football coach who has managed a number of great African clubs in South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania. Coaching career Previous clubs: Kaizer Chiefs, Maritzbur ...

(2008–09) *

Nebojša Vučićević Nebojša "Uške" Vučićević (; 29 June 1962 – 11 March 2022) was a Serbian football manager and player. Club career Vučićević started out at OFK Beograd, before transferring to Partizan in 1984. He spent the following five seasons with ...

(2011–12) *

Charles Akonnor Charles Kwabla Akonnor (born 12 March 1974 in Accra) is a former Ghanaian international footballer who is the former manager of the Ghana national team. He played as a versatile midfielder, mostly in Germany. He started his career in Ghana wit ...

(2012) * David Duncan (2012–13) * Mohammed Ahmed (Polo) (Interim) (2014) *

(2014–2015) *

Kenichi Yatsuhashi Kenichi Yatsuhashi ( Japanese: 八橋健一 Kyrgyz: Кеничи Ясухаши, born 6 February1969 in Japan) is a Japanese football manager who currently manages football club Angthong in the Thai League 3 Western region. Career Colleg ...

(2015–2016) * Sérgio Traguil (2016 –2016) * Frank Nuttall (2017–18) * Henry Wellington Lamptey (2018) * Seth Hoffmann (2018) * Kim Grant (2018–2019) * Edward Nii Odoom (2020) *

(2020–2021) * Samuel Nii Noi (Interim) (2021) * Samuel Boadu (2021–2022)

Seasons

2020–21 Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. season

References

External links

* {{CAF Super Cup winners Association football clubs established in 1911 Football clubs in Ghana Hearts of Oak 1911 establishments in Gold Coast (British colony) Sports clubs in Ghana H H H