Solomon Nsoh

Attacking Midfielder (R) - WAFA
4 Sep 2030
Wednesday
Process

Marked for Solomon Nsoh

213 Edition

The WAFA Post

26 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Terms done: Francis Ayew is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and New Edubiase United waiting with a shirt. Nobody at WAFA is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Market

Nana Asamoah has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around WAFA they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Christian Baba is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Solomon Nsoh has improved at 25, which nobody expected

Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.

Squad

Words at WAFA training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Baba Inusah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Kolawole Oladipo

WAFA asked and Hearts of Oak said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

A muscle injury and 15 days out for Abeiku Wakaso

The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. WAFA will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.

Transfer targets

WAFA try to borrow Kolawole Oladipo

Hearts of Oak have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

The dugout

Kamaldeen Baba has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at WAFA will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

In brief

Back issues
209 Edition

The WAFA Post

29 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Walid Fuseini out for 29 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason WAFA will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Baba Acquah agrees terms with Berekum Chelsea

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around WAFA people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

Joseph Gyan is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at WAFA is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Kwadwo Afful in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Baba Inusah falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Transfer targets

Hearts of Oak tell WAFA: Joke Efevwerha is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Transfer targets

WAFA try to borrow Oluwaseun Oladimeji

Ashanti Gold have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

The dugout

When it matters, Kamaldeen Baba plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Market

The Solomon Nsoh question follows WAFA around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Solomon Nsoh’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

207 Edition

The WAFA Post

15 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Walid Fuseini out for 43 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason WAFA will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Baba Acquah is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at WAFA is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Market

WAFA say no — this time

The offer from Bechem United for Gladson Wakaso was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Squad

Solomon Nsoh signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Solomon Nsoh and WAFA agree another 4 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at WAFA

Kwadwo Afful and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at WAFA

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Baba Inusah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

Eyes on Nana Asamoah again

The phone has started ringing about Nana Asamoah again, and this time the name on the line is Bechem United. WAFA are listening politely and promising nothing.

Market

The Jayson Nettey conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: BA All Stars will make the call about Jayson Nettey this week. WAFA have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

The dugout

No hiding place for Emmanuel Bukari

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emmanuel Bukari, and the manager let it.

In brief

205 Edition

The WAFA Post

1 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Walid Fuseini breaks a bone — 57 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 57 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Jayson Nettey has said yes to Heart of Lions

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. WAFA have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Squad

Kamaldeen Baba honoured for the season

The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. WAFA had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.

Market

Nana Asamoah is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at WAFA is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Kwadwo Afful in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

WAFA rebuffed over Kwesi Sorotu Badori

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hearts of Oak have kept their man, and WAFA go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

The dugout

Kamaldeen Baba gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kamaldeen Baba is on it.

Market

The Solomon Nsoh question follows WAFA around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Solomon Nsoh’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Squad

A season on the outside for Daniel Gyan

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at WAFA has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager plants his flag on Kamaldeen Baba
  • Match Nothing left to play for but pride at WAFA
201 Edition

The WAFA Post

3 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

86 days out for Walid Fuseini after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. WAFA will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad

A row about effort at WAFA

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Baba Inusah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

Bechem United watching Joseph Gyan

The interest is real enough to have reached print. WAFA have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Squad

Baba Boakye stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Baba Boakye and WAFA agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A falling-out at WAFA

Jayson Nettey and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

WAFA ask about Joke Efevwerha

A loan enquiry to Hearts of Oak: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

The dugout

Kamaldeen Baba gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kamaldeen Baba is on it.

Market

Still no ink between WAFA and Abdul-Aziz Adam

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at WAFA, another week without a signature from Abdul-Aziz Adam.

The dugout

Abdul-Aziz Adam knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdul-Aziz Adam trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

197 Edition

The WAFA Post

6 May 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Walid Fuseini breaks a bone — 116 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 116 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Yaw Atiemo signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yaw Atiemo commits to WAFA for another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at WAFA

Kamaldeen Baba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at WAFA training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Baba Inusah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Kamaldeen Baba has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at WAFA will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

Market

Still no ink between WAFA and Ernest Addo

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at WAFA, another week without a signature from Ernest Addo.

The dugout

Ernest Addo knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ernest Addo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Market

The Solomon Nsoh question follows WAFA around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Solomon Nsoh’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

The dugout

Abdul-Aziz Adam has been promised minutes

A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Abdul-Aziz Adam has written the date down.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager plants his flag on Joseph Amoah
  • Match Mid-table, and WAFA know it
  • Boardroom WAFA board back the manager
196 Edition

The WAFA Post

29 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Walid Fuseini out for 124 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason WAFA will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

The dugout

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Market

Jayson Nettey is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at WAFA is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words exchanged at WAFA

Kamaldeen Baba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

The dugout

Ramzy Yussif gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ramzy Yussif is on it.

Market

The Kamaldeen Baba question follows WAFA around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Kamaldeen Baba’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

  • The dugout Albert Essien knocks on the manager’s door
  • Boardroom WAFA keep producing them
  • The dugout The manager plants his flag on Solomon Nsoh
193 Edition

The WAFA Post

8 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Kamaldeen Baba signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kamaldeen Baba and WAFA agree another 4 years.

Squad

Kwadwo Afful in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Francis Annan named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Francis Annan is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

The dugout

When it matters, Kamaldeen Baba plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

The dugout

Jayson Nettey gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The dugout

Abdul-Aziz Adam asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

The Solomon Nsoh question follows WAFA around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Solomon Nsoh’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Market

WAFA and Afriyie Ayew are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Squad

Afriyie Ayew: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one WAFA will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

In brief

  • The dugout Kamaldeen Baba keeps his manager's vote
  • Match A season winding down at WAFA
  • Boardroom WAFA board back the manager
191 Edition

The WAFA Post

25 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

The season ends: position 8 for WAFA

The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 43 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.

Squad

Kamaldeen Baba is carrying WAFA

16 goals and a season average of 7.46. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Boardroom

Jayson Nettey has agreed to leave WAFA for nothing

He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.

Match

Whatever happens, WAFA do not lose

7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

A row about effort at WAFA

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Baba Inusah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Tempers go at WAFA

Ramzy Yussif was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Daniel Asamoah beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Player ratings

One of those days for Solomon Nsoh

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.22, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

One of those days for Kamaldeen Baba

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.12, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief

189 Edition

The WAFA Post

11 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at WAFA

Kamaldeen Baba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at WAFA training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Baba Inusah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

WAFA find a way past Heart of Lions

Heart of Lions made WAFA work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

The terraces

WAFA supporters have found a favourite in Baba Acquah

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Baba Acquah has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Player ratings

Ramzy Yussif was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.18. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Player ratings

Solomon Nsoh was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.13. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Squad

Daniel Asamoah signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Daniel Asamoah commits to WAFA for another 3 years.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Felix Asante kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.

The dugout

Kamaldeen Baba has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at WAFA will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

In brief

188 Edition

The WAFA Post

4 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

The dugout

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Squad

Kamaldeen Baba is carrying WAFA

15 goals and a season average of 7.46. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Solomon Nsoh

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Only the photograph left for Jayson Nettey

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jayson Nettey will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around WAFA the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

A row about effort at WAFA

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Baba Inusah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Words exchanged at WAFA

Francis Annan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

Francis Annan named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Francis Annan is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

The dugout

A promise honoured at WAFA

Something was said to Abdul-Aziz Adam and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Felix Asante chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.

In brief

187 Edition

The WAFA Post

25 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

No mercy from WAFA

New Edubiase United will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. WAFA were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.

Squad

Baba Inusah is carrying WAFA

22 goals and a season average of 7.46. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Player ratings

Both of them Kamaldeen Baba's — 8.28

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.28, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Player ratings

Daniel Asamoah, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.89

A mark of 7.89 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Player ratings

Baba Inusah, 34, rolls back the years — 8.52

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.52 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.

The dugout

Bernard Essien says WAFA went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Match

WAFA make it 3 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now WAFA have 3 straight wins of it.

Player ratings

Solomon Nsoh was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

Words exchanged at WAFA

Kwadwo Afful and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

In brief

182 Edition

The WAFA Post

21 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Jayson Nettey agrees terms with Bechem United

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around WAFA people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Squad

A falling-out at WAFA

Kamaldeen Baba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Solomon Nsoh beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

A row about effort at WAFA

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Baba Inusah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Kamaldeen Baba is carrying WAFA

9 goals and a season average of 7.37. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Player ratings

One of those days for Kamaldeen Baba

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.33, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

WAFA and Great Olympics take a point apiece

It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

The dugout

Walid Fuseini has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at WAFA will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

The dugout

Felix Asante: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

In brief

181 Edition

The WAFA Post

14 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

The dugout

Albert Essien says WAFA went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

A falling-out at WAFA

Kwadwo Afful and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

WAFA rebuffed over Oluwaseun Oladimeji

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ashanti Gold have kept their man, and WAFA go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Match

A bad afternoon for WAFA against Wa All Stars

1‑2 to Wa All Stars, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Kamaldeen Baba is carrying WAFA

8 goals and a season average of 7.34. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Kamaldeen Baba

Marked 8.20 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

Samuel Nuhu reaches 100 appearances

100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ernest Addo

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

Solomon Nsoh beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

In brief

175 Edition

The WAFA Post

3 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Both of them Baba Inusah's — 8.96

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.96, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

Baba Inusah signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Baba Inusah and WAFA agree another 2 years.

Squad

Kamaldeen Baba in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Baba Inusah is carrying WAFA

13 goals and a season average of 7.25. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Match

WAFA refuse to lose to Hasaacas

A point taken on 88 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.

Player ratings

Solomon Nsoh beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

WAFA share the spoils with Hasaacas

A 3‑3 draw with Hasaacas leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Boardroom

The WAFA board find $2.1M for the manager

Money, not words, and it is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending $2.1M well is entirely his problem now.

Squad

A place in the month's best eleven for Samuel Nuhu

Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Samuel Nuhu has come out of that comparison in the side, and WAFA have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.

In brief

174 Edition

The WAFA Post

26 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Kamaldeen Baba was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 36. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

Baba Inusah falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

A falling-out at WAFA

Francis Annan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Albert Essien

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Felix Asante: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

Squad

Kamaldeen Baba is carrying WAFA

4 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Match

WAFA and Heart of Lions cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Heart of Lions came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

The dugout

When it matters, Albert Essien plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Looking ahead

Kamaldeen Baba faces his old club

Hasaacas next, and one man in the WAFA dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.

In brief

172 Edition

The WAFA Post

12 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Age has not caught Baba Inusah yet — 8.63

At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.63 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

The dugout

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Player ratings

Solomon Nsoh runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Kwadwo Afful in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Baba Inusah sends WAFA past New Edubiase United

It finished 2‑0, and it was Baba Inusah’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to WAFA.

Player ratings

Kamaldeen Baba in the eights

A performance of 8.31 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Baba Inusah is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.20 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

The dugout

Felix Asante: “That is the standard”

“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.

Squad

Words at WAFA training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lawrence Osei is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

171 Edition

The WAFA Post

5 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Baba Inusah leads the rout of Inter Allies

3‑0, and Baba Inusah took the headlines on an afternoon when everything WAFA tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Squad

A day Baba Inusah will not forget

3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.

Player ratings

Baba Inusah, 33, rolls back the years — 9.70

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.70 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Player ratings

Kamaldeen Baba beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Words at WAFA training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Baba Inusah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Words exchanged at WAFA

Ramzy Yussif and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Solomon Nsoh at his very best

Marked 8.10. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at WAFA.

Squad

Samuel Nuhu reaches 25 shut-outs

25 games in 91 appearances where nobody scored at all. A keeper's career is counted in nothing happening, and none of this happened by accident.

The dugout

Felix Asante: “That is the standard”

“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 3‑0, already talking about the next one.

In brief

170 Edition

The WAFA Post

29 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Kamaldeen Baba was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 36. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

A day Solomon Nsoh will not forget

3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.

The dugout

Daniel Gyan: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” WAFA have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

After 8 games, WAFA finally taste it again

The first defeat in 8 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Bechem United; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.

Squad

A falling-out at WAFA

Kamaldeen Baba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Solomon Nsoh’s goal not enough for WAFA

Solomon Nsoh scored, and precious little else went right: 3‑4 to Bechem United, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Match

Solomon Nsoh among the goals in a wild afternoon

7 goals in one match, Solomon Nsoh on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of WAFA and Bechem United.

Squad

Baba Inusah falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Solomon Nsoh

Marked 8.33 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

In brief

164 Edition

The WAFA Post

17 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Baba Inusah leads the rout of BA All Stars

5‑0, and Baba Inusah took the headlines on an afternoon when everything WAFA tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Player ratings

Baba Inusah scores twice — 9.06

Two goals and a mark of 9.06 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

The dugout

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Match

At last: WAFA win one

6 matches without a win, and then this, against BA All Stars. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.

Squad

Baba Inusah falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

A falling-out at WAFA

Ramzy Yussif and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Baba Inusah at the heart of a fast WAFA start

2 goals inside twenty minutes with Baba Inusah in the middle of it, and BA All Stars unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Kamaldeen Baba at his very best

Marked 8.40. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at WAFA.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Ramzy Yussif at his very best

Marked 8.21. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at WAFA.

In brief

156 Edition

The WAFA Post

23 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

The dugout

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Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Godswill Utum

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. WAFA have done the hard part with Asante Kotoko, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Squad

The step up is real for Francis Annan

At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Squad

Solomon Nsoh signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Solomon Nsoh and WAFA agree another 3 years.

Squad

Tempers go at WAFA

Kamaldeen Baba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at WAFA

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Baba Inusah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

Lawrence Osei attracts admirers

The name of Lawrence Osei has come up in conversations WAFA were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Daniel Asamoah

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Francis Annan knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at WAFA, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

  • The dugout A door opens for Jayson Nettey
  • Boardroom WAFA keep producing them
  • Match Nothing left to play for but pride at WAFA
151 Edition

The WAFA Post

18 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Lawrence Osei hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what WAFA can pretend not to have heard.

Transfer targets

Godswill Utum is a medical away from WAFA

The deal with Asante Kotoko is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.

Squad

Tempers go at WAFA

Kwadwo Afful was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The dugout

No hiding place for Yaw Asamoah

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yaw Asamoah, and the manager let it.

Market

Inter Allies are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. WAFA will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

Gladson Wakaso: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one WAFA will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

The dugout

The manager makes Jayson Nettey a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at WAFA. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

The dugout

Thomas Schlupp asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

Edmund Annan’s agent stirs the pot again

“Ambitious players need ambitious projects. Draw your own conclusions.” Edmund Annan’s representative said it with a smile, and made sure everyone wrote it down.

In brief

135 Edition

The WAFA Post

26 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

37 days out for Walid Fuseini after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. WAFA will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad

3 goals for Baba Inusah

The match ball belongs to Baba Inusah, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Baba Inusah yet — 9.76

At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.76 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Market

David Owusu has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around WAFA they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

The dugout

Joseph Gyan keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” WAFA may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Match

Nobody wants to play WAFA right now

3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.

Squad

Baba Inusah is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.24 with 16 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Squad

Tempers go at WAFA

Kamaldeen Baba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

WAFA find a way past New Edubiase United

New Edubiase United made WAFA work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.

In brief

133 Edition

The WAFA Post

12 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

WAFA end the wait against Bechem United

It had gone 10 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.

Market

David Owusu hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what WAFA can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

Baba Inusah, 33, rolls back the years — 8.07

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.07 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.

The dugout

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Squad

A falling-out at WAFA

Kamaldeen Baba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Baba Inusah sends WAFA past Bechem United

It finished 2‑1, and it was Baba Inusah’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to WAFA.

Player ratings

One of those days for Ramzy Yussif

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.22, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Kamaldeen Baba in the eights

A performance of 8.02 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

The dugout

A satisfied Felix Asante

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Felix Asante could afford to be generous.

In brief

127 Edition

The WAFA Post

1 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Walid Fuseini breaks a bone — 51 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 51 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Player ratings

Solomon Nsoh runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

Francis Annan keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” WAFA may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

The season belongs to Kamaldeen Baba

An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and WAFA have had the benefit of it.

Market

Gladson Boakye asks to leave WAFA

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Match

5 matches without a win for WAFA

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around WAFA are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Kwadwo Afful in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Kamaldeen Baba is carrying WAFA

12 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Player ratings

One of those days for Kamaldeen Baba

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief

122 Edition

The WAFA Post

27 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Kamaldeen Baba beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 42. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Player ratings

Baba Inusah scores twice — 9.12

Two goals and a mark of 9.12 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Squad

20 days out for Gladson Boakye after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. WAFA will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Match

Still nobody has beaten WAFA

The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

A row about effort at WAFA

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kwadwo Afful was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

WAFA see off Heart of Lions

Three points for WAFA, 2‑1 the final word against Heart of Lions in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

Ramzy Yussif in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The terraces

WAFA supporters have found a favourite in Solomon Nsoh

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Solomon Nsoh has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

The dugout

Nana Appiah gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

121 Edition

The WAFA Post

20 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

27 days out for Gladson Boakye after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. WAFA will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Player ratings

Kamaldeen Baba scores twice — 8.33

Two goals and a mark of 8.33 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

The dugout

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Market

David Owusu has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around WAFA they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

7 unbeaten for WAFA

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation WAFA did not have in the autumn.

Player ratings

Both jobs done by Walid Fuseini — 7.94

A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 15 actions, 7.94, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.

Squad

A falling-out at WAFA

Kamaldeen Baba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

WAFA lose Baba Appiah

43 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Match

WAFA find a way past Berekum Chelsea

Berekum Chelsea made WAFA work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

In brief

120 Edition

The WAFA Post

13 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

A 2-goal lead gone for WAFA

It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. New Edubiase United kept coming because nothing stopped them, and WAFA will be asked about the last half hour all week.

Squad

Gladson Boakye breaks a bone — 34 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 34 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Yaw Sulemana has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around WAFA they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Kamaldeen Baba in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Whatever happens, WAFA do not lose

6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Words at WAFA training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwadwo Afful is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Samuel Nuhu gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Kamaldeen Baba was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.28. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Player ratings

Solomon Nsoh was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

In brief

119 Edition

The WAFA Post

6 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Kamaldeen Baba was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 51. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

A fracture rules Gladson Boakye out for 41 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason WAFA will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

The dugout

Baba Mensah: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” WAFA have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at WAFA

Kamaldeen Baba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Kwadwo Afful falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

Walid Fuseini in the eights

A performance of 8.29 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

The dugout

A promise honoured at WAFA

Something was said to Solomon Nsoh and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

Squad

Samuel Nuhu named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Samuel Nuhu is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

Match

WAFA and Inter Allies take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

In brief

118 Edition

The WAFA Post

30 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

No mercy from WAFA

Bechem United will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. WAFA were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.

Squad

A fracture rules Gladson Boakye out for 48 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason WAFA will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

A brace, and Kamaldeen Baba takes the afternoon — 8.34

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kamaldeen Baba provided it, and the 8.34 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

A falling-out at WAFA

Kwadwo Afful and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The terraces

One of their own: Solomon Nsoh

He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Player ratings

Solomon Nsoh in the eights

A performance of 8.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

The dugout

Felix Asante: “That is the standard”

“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 4‑0, already talking about the next one.

The dugout

A promise honoured at WAFA

Something was said to Abdul-Aziz Adam and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

Squad

Albert Paintsil, 18, gets his chance

Off the academy pitches and onto a senior team sheet at 18. The debut is the easy part; the second appearance is the one every young player has to earn.

In brief