In the Ashanti Region of Ghana hails Asante Kotoko a professional football club founded on 31st August 1935 by 13 young men.
The Kumasi-based team have nicknames which include the Porcupine Warriors, the Reds, and Fabulous. Baba Yara Stadium has served as their home ground for the past years while the club trains at its own facility at Adako Jachie.
Asante Kotoko is a household name in Ghana who plays in the top tier of Ghana football (Ghana Premier League) and has won the league title on 24 occasions with their main rival Accra Hearts of Oak winning on 20 occasions.
The club has is not only known for winning titles in Ghana only but have also achieved historic feat in Africa by winning the CAF Champions League in 1970 and 1983.
Kotoko was the only Ghanaian club to represent the nation in any CAF interclub competition in the 2018/2019 season.
They began their journey with a walkover after the Cameroun Football Federation (FECAFOOT) failed to submit its representative before CAF deadline.
Meeting Kenya side Kariobangi Sharks in the next series Kotoko won in A 2-1 aggregate.Â
After Kariobangi sharks, Kotoko met Coton Sport and progress on a 5-3 aggregate into the Group stages of the competition.Â
C.K. AKONNOR BREAKS AN 11 YEAR JINX FOR ASANTE KOTOKO
Asante Kotoko has failed to reach the group stage of CAF Confederation Cup for the past 11years since former coach Bashiru Hayford got to that stage in 2008.
However, that feat by the former coach Bashiru Hayford has been difficult to replicate until the appointed on C.K. Akonnor.
Head coach of Asante Kotoko, C.K. Akonnor appointed last year October added his name to the history books of the club as the coach to help the Reds to progress to the group stage (Money Zone/Group Stage) of the CAF Confederation Cup.Â
Kotoko receive $150,000 from government
Kotoko received $150,000 from the Ministry of Youth and Sports for qualifying to the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup competition.
ASANTE KOTOKO PLACED IN GROUP C
They were placed Group C of the 2018/19 CAF Confederation Cup with Zambian duo Zesco United and Nkana FC and Sudanese Al Hilal.
Kotoko kick out of competition
The Reds 7 points from 6 games in Group C round robin was not enough to see them progress to the quarterfinal a 15-year absence.Â
The CAF Confederation Cup which is a merger of CAF Winners’ Cup and CAF Cup and is an annual club association football competition organised by the Confederation of African Football since 2004. It is the second-tier competition of African club football, ranking below the CAF Champions League.
CAF allows 12 participating countries to present two clubs, which are the National Cup winner and third in their respective national leagues. The 12 countries are determined yearly according to a ranking system devised by CAF.
The first part of the competition which is divided into rounds is a knockout stage played on home and away basis.
Winners of the last round of this part play against the losers of CAF Champions League last round to determine the group stage teams.
The group stage is composed of 8 teams divided into 2 groups of 4 and played against each other in a round-robin home and away system.
The top two from each group qualify for the semifinals before the final to win a trophy and prize money.
The winner of the tournament gets prize money of 1.25million dollars while the runner up takes home 625 million dollars, also the
semi-finalists and quarter-finalists 450 million and 350 million respectively.
Tunisia clubs Étoile du Sahel and Tunisia CS Sfaxien with 4 titles each are the most successful clubs in the history of the comptition.
The winner of the CAF Confederation Cup plays as a guest in the CAF Super Cup against the champion of the CAF Champions League in a one-off match.
Read also:Â CAFCC: Zesco dents Kotoko' quarter final hopes in Ndola