Opoku Afriyie (February 2, 1955 - March 29, 2020) was a

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 Tog ...

ian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

. He was popularly called Bayie. He played as a striker and won many caps with

Asante Kotoko Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, simply known as Asante Kotoko, is a professional football club founded on 31 August 1935 and based in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Nicknamed the ''Porcupine Warriors'', they compete in the Ghana Premier Lea ...

and the

Ghana national football team The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international Association football, football, doing it since 1957. The team consists of twenty players including the technical team. The team is nicknamed the Black Stars after the Bl ...

. He worked for

as Team-Manager.

Club career

Opoku Afriyie played for Asante Kotoko for several years before signing for Hearts of Oak prior to ending his footballing career. He was the top scorer in the Ghana domestic football league in 1979 and again in 1981. In 1982, he was nominated for the French magazine France Football African Footballer of the Year. He came eighth. Opoku Afriyie is among 20 other Ghanaians nominated by CAF out of a total of 200 African footballers for the title of the best African player of the last 50 years.

International career

He was a member of the squad that won the

1978 African Cup of Nations The 1978 African Cup of Nations was the eleventh edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Accra and Kumasi, Ghana. The format of the competition changed from 1976: the field of eight tea ...

making Ghana the first team to win it thrice. He scored the two goals in the final of that tournament. He also played in the

1980 African Cup of Nations The 1980 African Cup of Nations was the 12th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Nigeria. Just like in 1978, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. Nigeria won i ...

where Ghana failed to defend its title.

Coaching career

Opoku Afriyie was appointed team manager of Asante Kotoko in 2003. He has also served as the team manager and welfare officer of the Black Stars.

Honours

Club

Asante Kotoko *

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), ...

: 1980, 1981 * Ghanaian FA Cup: 1978

International

Ghana *

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internat ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

Individual

* Africa Cup of Nations top scorer:

Top scorer: 1979, 1981

References

1945 births 2020 deaths Ghanaian men's footballers Ghana men's international footballers Africa Cup of Nations-winning players 1978 African Cup of Nations players 1980 African Cup of Nations players 1982 African Cup of Nations players Asante Kotoko S.C. players Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. players Ghanaian football managers Men's association football forwards Ghana Premier League players Asante Kotoko S.C. non-playing staff Ghana Premier League top scorers {{Ghana-footy-bio-stub