The President’s Cup is a football event that is organized yearly by the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA) in conjunction with the National Sports Authority, Performed at the finish of every league season, it pays tribute to the sitting President of Ghana and corresponds with Republic Day festivities on July 1st.
Initially called the Republic Day Celebrations Cup, the game has grown to become among Ghana’s most emblematic football tournaments. Originally dating back to 1969, the custom started with matches named after seated presidents—such as the Busia Cup (1969) and Acheampong Cup (1973).
The tournament was relaunched in 2003 under its present name following a break from 1985 to 2002. In the first rebranded version, Accra Hearts of Oak defeated Great Olympics 2–0. The Cup includes two invited teams, usually top Ghanaian ones, though sometimes international ones are added. Ghana’s Asante Kotoko S. C. lost 2–1 to ASEC Mimosas from Côte d’Ivoire in 2024. Rising their power the following year, 2025, Asante Kotoko beat sworn rivals Accra Hearts of Oak 2–1 to claim their ninth title, making them the most successful team in the history of the league.
Asante Kotoko: Ghana’s Football Powerhouse
Usually called Fabulous, Kumasi Asante Kotoko serves as a towering emblem of African and Ghanaian football. The clubs’ origins may be traced back to 1924 when Ashanti from Nyankyerenease near Kumasi returned from Accra where he had worked as a chauffeur to a British officer and started his first football team, Ashanti United, eventually known as Kumasi Titanics. Primarily established in 1935, Kumasi Asante Kotoko SC came from this line.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Nana Sir Osei Agyemang Prempeh II at the outset, supported the club, he was Life/Chief Patron from 1931 to 1970. Kotoko not only ruled Ghana’s football scene but also achieved regional acclaim.
On the world scene, their first European tour in the late 1960s brought attention to the brilliance of Ghanaian and African football.
Known for their efficient management, talented players, and devoted fanbase, Kotoko has greatly helped to raise the popularity of the game all over Africa. Former Ghanaian Director of Sports Mr. Ohene Djan wonderfully defined the club’s legacy as: The club over whose popularity the sun will never set.
Kotoko has profited over the decades from the assistance of powerful benefactors including Nana Baffour Akoto, Mr. Krobo Edusei and his wife Mary Edusei, Mr. B. M. Kufour, and more recently, Osei Kwame Despite, Kwabena Kesse (Kessben), and Kennedy Agyapong (Kenpong). Although not always in official positions, these people have been instrumental in keeping the success of the clubs going.
The Presidents Cup and Asante Kotoko FC capture in performance and tradition the profoundly interwoven nature of football, national pride, and legacy in Ghana.
