Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and Liberty Professionals spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Sulemana 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Emmanuel Wakaso 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Daniel Djiku on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
At 19 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
Mohammed Mensah 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 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.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at BA All Stars that is a harder question to answer.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at BA All Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emmanuel Sulemana was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Felix Kyereh is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Daniel Djiku could afford to be generous.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kwadwo Mohammed provided it, and the 8.47 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
7 goals in one match, Kwadwo Mohammed on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of BA All Stars and Aduana Stars.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Daniel Djiku after 3‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Chances created: 11. Nothing on the scoresheet and everything in the match: the pass before the pass, over and over, until the defence stopped guessing right.
Aduana Stars go through and BA All Stars go home, 1‑5 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Mohammed Mensah 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between BA All Stars and Aduana Stars, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
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.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Mohammed Mensah in the middle of it, and Ashanti Gold unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
In brief
BoardroomNobody left the BA All Stars dressing room in a hurry
Player ratingsThe afternoon belonged to Felix Kyereh
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what BA All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Mohammed Mensah 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 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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Daniel Djiku could afford to be generous.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what BA All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” BA All Stars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 7 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
The deal that would have taken Thomas Mohammed to New Edubiase United has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to BA All Stars with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
BA All Stars moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Daniel Djiku, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emmanuel Sulemana was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Bernard Nuhu has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Kwadwo Boakye has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Position 2, 60 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. BA All Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Mohammed Mensah 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 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.
Add another name to the list: New Edubiase United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Thomas Mohammed. The answer from BA All Stars has not changed — yet.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Abeiku Asante 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.
Edmund 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Issa Karakodio, and the manager let it.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Bernard Annan is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what BA All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
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.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. BA All Stars will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Thomas Mohammed 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Position 2, 60 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Mohammed Mensah 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.
Abeiku Asante 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.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
Mohammed Mensah 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emmanuel Sulemana was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at BA All Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thomas Mohammed signs something — a contract at BA All Stars or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abeiku Asante was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
Isaac Djiku is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. BA All Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. BA All Stars had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
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.
4 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
The offer from ENPPI for Thomas Mohammed 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.
This is not rotation. Emmanuel Sulemana has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at BA All Stars is pretending otherwise.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abeiku Asante 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and BA All Stars have no good answer.
Mohammed Mensah 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 phone has started ringing about Thomas Mohammed again, and this time the name on the line is ENPPI. BA All Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Felix Kyereh and BA All Stars agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Sulemana 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what BA All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Mohammed Mensah 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abeiku Asante 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at BA All Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout31 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Bernard Annan's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Emmanuel Sulemana may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Sulemana 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.
Abdul Yakubu 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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Osman Afful is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout3 May 2027
Bernard Annan is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at BA All Stars than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
In brief
The dugoutAbdul Yakubu asks for a word with the manager
Position 2 on 60 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emmanuel Sulemana was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.20 on the card, and the BA All Stars support went home talking about one name.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Daniel Djiku, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Cotonsport Garoua is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Allan Nyom 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Carlos Yougouda is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Cotonsport Garoua, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Carlos Yougouda is on it.
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 Adama Traoré has written the date down.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Sulemana 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at BA All Stars, and 5 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
Two goals and a mark of 8.41 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
5 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Cotonsport Garoua have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Cotonsport Garoua they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cotonsport Garoua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Wilfried Ndollo Bille 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.
He is 21 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.
3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.
6 goals in one match, Kwadwo Mohammed on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of BA All Stars and Heart of Lions.
BA All Stars asked and Bechem United said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.08 for the rest of it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abeiku Asante was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I did not go to Cotonsport Garoua to sit and watch. I want to come back to BA All Stars and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 8 matches say the rest.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two goals and a mark of 8.70 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The offer from Fortuna Mfou for Carlos Yougouda 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cotonsport Garoua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
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.
10 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 4‑0, Stephane Anguissa could afford to be generous.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 18 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
The offer from Panthere du Nde for Roger Emga 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdouraman Daman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Cotonsport Garoua will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
The plan went upstairs and came back down. Nothing about that will make a headline anywhere else, and everybody who works at the training ground will remember it for years.
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Thomas Mohammed arrives from BA All Stars with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
BA All Stars and Hearts of Oak have settled on $27.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
$32.0K was the most the club would pay and Bechem United were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Add another name to the list: Cotonsport Garoua have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Thomas Mohammed. The answer from BA All Stars has not changed — yet.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Asante Kotoko have kept their man, and BA All Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abeiku Asante 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.
Edmund 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Neftchi is saying, and nobody at Cotonsport Garoua is enjoying the guessing.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cotonsport Garoua can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Fauve Azur Elite for Rodrigue Ella 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.
Félix Oukiné 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 name of Carlos Yougouda has come up in conversations Cotonsport Garoua were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what BA All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Asante Kotoko for Mohammed Mensah 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.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $16.7K — a club that wants Samuel Ajayi enough to be asked twice.
The name of Jeffrey Boateng has come up in conversations BA All Stars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
BA All Stars have gone to Bechem United with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The offer went to Wa All Stars this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
BA All Stars offered $31.0K; Hearts of Oak said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
$420.0K was the most the club would pay and Colombe du Dja et Lobo were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Félix Oukiné 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Maxime Mbia is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Nicolas Ngamaleu has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Achille Hongla has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Cotonsport Garoua will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emmanuel Sulemana was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.