Asante Kotoko: Kill a Thousand and a Thousand More will come

Asante Kotoko is one of the football clubs that are very popular for its highly passionate fans. It is a club that has so many adoring fans that are for eternity known to be ready to do anything for the club. In fact, that is the main idea behind the club's motto, which states in a local dialect that; kill a thousand and a thousand more will come. Based in Kumasi in the kingdom of Ashanti, Asante Kotoko is a Ghanaian football club that was formed by thirteen young and ambitious men who were thrilled by the game. This interest in football that led to the formation of Asante Kotoko came to be after Kwasi Kuma, one of the young thirteen men, watched a football match between Hearts of Oak and Accra Standfast. It was after this match that he shared the idea with his other twelve friends and led to the formation of arguably one of the most successful clubs in Ghana and Africa.

After the formation of the club in 1924 originally as Kumasi Rainbow, it took close to a decade for the club to fully hit high gears when it changed its name Asante Kotoko. This important event in the history of the club happened in 1935 after special permission was received from the then king of the Ashanti kingdom, his right honourable Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh II. It was then that Asante Kotoko was formally inaugurated in the presence of the chiefs of the kingdom and officially accepted as the club of the kingdom and its people.

The Club's National and Kingdom Interests

As a club that is based in a kingdom within a national government, Asante Kotoko has two interests both in the kingdom and in the nation. To keep both sets of interests at par, the club has over time decided to incorporate both the colours of the national and the kingdom flags into its jersey. In footballing terms, it is something close to what F.C Barcelona is to the province of Catalan and to the nation of Spain. The remarkable and highly threatening porcupine in the club's logo signifies the kingdom's traditional roots and the passion that the club's fans bring to the club's matches.

Known for playing its matches in Kumasi, which is the capital of Ashanti instead of playing in Accra the capital city of Ghana, Asante Kotoko is the biggest club in the country and the sixth biggest club in Africa with a reported over 10 million supporters across the world. It is this kind of support and other financial support that the club receives from the kingdom of Ashanti that has guaranteed continuous success. Since its inauguration, the club has become Ghanaian champions a record 24 times, have been FA cup champions 8 times and have conquered the CAF champions league twice while being runners up four times.

In terms of producing some of the best African footballers, Asante Kotoko academy is known for producing some of the greatest African names in the game. A perfect reference must be Anthony Yeboah who is remembered vividly for his wonder goal during his time with Leeds United. Another great export from Asante Kotoko is Samuel Kuffuor the former Bayern Munich defender.