After winning the Ghana Premier League for the first time in their history, Medeama SC are now eager to take their ambitions to the continental stage of African football when the Mauve and Yellow take part in the 2023-24 CAF Champions League next season. Ghanaian clubs have failed to make an impact in CAF club competitions in recent times but this time the ambition of Medeama appears to be matched by support from the government.
Ghana’s current Speaker of the Parliament, Alban Bagnin, led the charge by contributing 100,000 Ghana cedis ($8,800) to the club to help fulfill their continental ambitions. The politician from the Upper West Region of Ghana stated that he will further advocate for the club to receive more support to ensure a productive campaign.
Whether the support translates to success is another question entirely. It has been over ten years since a Ghanaian club progressed from the preliminary stages of the Champions League to the group stage when Berekum Chelsea finished third in Group B of the 2012 edition. Top Ghanaian clubs Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko have been outclassed with Kotoko falling to a shock defeat on penalty kicks in the First Round against Burkinabé club Rail Club Kadiogo. The season before, Hearts were thrashed 6-2 on aggregate by eventual champions Wydad AC of Morocco.
For their part, Medeama are taking a “no fear” approach ahead of their debut appearance with head coach Evans Adotey:
“Why not? We can also go far in the competition. We can emulate what Al Ahly and the rest have done in the competition. We are not scared by any of these clubs. It is all about the game plan and commitment of your players. So we are not thinking about whether it is Al Ahly or which ever club. We just believe that we can do it.“
Medeama’s Champions League is set to begin in mid-August when the preliminary stages begin for the 2023-24 edition.
