The Origin of Ghana's Accra Hearts of Oak

The Origin of Ghana's Hearts of Oak



Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Hearts of Oak or just Hearts, is a football club based in Accra, Ghana. The club was officially formed on 11th November, 1911 and was the second team to be founded in Accra after The Invincibles. It is the oldest existing club in Ghana today, and among the oldest clubs in the whole of the African continent.

Hearts, who are affectionately nicknamed Phobia, have been among Ghana's preeminent clubs since their founding and have been very successful since the formation of the Ghanaian football league in 1956, having collected the league title 21 times. The club's main rival is Asante Kotoko of Kumasi. The club also have a long-standing rivalry with the Accra-based club Great Olympics.

Early Years

When some young men from Ussher Town in Accra came together sometime in the middle of 1910, little did they know that they were sowing the seed which would one day blossom into the mighty oak tree, Accra Hearts of Oak, the oldest existing club in Ghana today. In fact, those glorious pioneers had been bound together by one single desired to form a club to challenge the only then existing team in Accra, The Invincibles.

The group was made up of mainly young men from the James Town area. But it was the young man from Saltpond, where the game of soccer had been played earlier on, who gave the newly formed club inspiration and guidance. He was Ackom Duncan who became its first captain. Duncan took up the training of the players and by 1911, Hearts were ready to take on the Invincibles. But it was on November 11, the same year that Hearts outdoored their first jerseys and thus formally was born the club which was to grow into easily one of the most popular clubs in Africa to date.

In 1917, Hearts decided to change its colours. The task was accomplished by Bruce-Tagoe who came out with the "rainbow colours"—red, yellow, and blue. When it was approved, a set of jerseys in the new colours was ordered from Manchester, UK. Outdooring of the new jerseys was marked with a match against the old rivals, The Invincibles. Hearts won by a lone goal.

The first major triumph by Hearts in competitive soccer came in 1922 when the then Governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Gordon Guggisberg, donated a shield for an Accra football league in Accra which had been firmly established in 1920. Hearts won the first competition and the Guggisberg Shield at stake becoming the first city Champions. Hearts went on to win it six times out of 12 competitions and are its proud custodians today having won the last contest in 1954.


Cc:Kwayisi

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