Marked for Patrick Appiah
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Nobody could get near Abdul Baba
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match11 Mar 2028
Still nobody has beaten WAFA
The unbeaten run reaches 9. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“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.
Market13 Mar 2028
Afriyie Inusah 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Tempers go at WAFA
Ethen Sampson 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 ratings13 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.20, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match11 Mar 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Christian Partey. 1‑0 against Heart of Lions, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.17, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match4 Mar 2028
8 unbeaten for WAFA
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation WAFA did not have in the autumn.
Market6 Mar 2028
Itay Kanarik 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Patrick Appiah commits to WAFA for another 3 years.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Marked 8.24 — 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. WAFA have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
WAFA release $4.7M for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Loan watch6 Mar 2028
“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 WAFA, and 2 appearances in 30 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad31 Jan 2028
A one-man rearguard from Felix Bukari
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Daniel Essien: 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.
Market31 Jan 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market31 Jan 2028
Andrew Baba 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
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.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Abdul Boakye 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match25 Dec 2027
9 matches without a win for WAFA
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around WAFA are no longer polite ones.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Tempers go at WAFA
Ethen Sampson 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.
Match25 Dec 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
A performance of 8.68 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andre Boateng, and the manager let it.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; WAFA are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Marked 5.51, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Oct 2027
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.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Abdul Baba 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.
Market4 Oct 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match2 Oct 2027
Whatever happens, WAFA do not lose
8 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ethen Sampson and WAFA agree another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Tempers go at WAFA
Ethen Sampson 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 ratings4 Oct 2027
A performance of 8.73 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“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 ratings4 Oct 2027
Marked 8.34 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market13 Sep 2027
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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
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.
Match11 Sep 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Andre Boateng. 3‑1 against Medeama, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Marked 9.13 — 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ethen Sampson, and the manager let it.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Marked 8.38 — 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.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch13 Sep 2027
“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 WAFA, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” David Boakye and WAFA agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market26 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market26 Jul 2027
Only the photograph left for Francis Atiemo
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Francis Atiemo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around WAFA the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Tempers go at WAFA
Ethen Sampson 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.
Market26 Jul 2027
The name of Kwame Partey has come up in conversations WAFA were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Patrick Appiah, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Jul 2027
David Acquah 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 David Acquah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
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Squad
Kwame Annan is not doing himself any favours
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Boardroom
WAFA board back the manager
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market19 Jul 2027
“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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andre Boateng, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 May 2027
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.
Squad10 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdul Boakye, and the manager let it.
Loan watch10 May 2027
The goals keep arriving from Francis Afful’s exile
5 goals in 27 games at New Edubiase United — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at WAFA updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match27 Mar 2027
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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Tempers go at WAFA
Ethen Sampson 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 ratings29 Mar 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match27 Mar 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Abdul Boakye’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to WAFA.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.54, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.29 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A season average of 7.36 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Andre Boateng
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 Mar 2027
Tempers go at WAFA
Falakhe Tshanini 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 ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Oko Onyedika
“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.
Match20 Mar 2027
Hasaacas made WAFA work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.41, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Loan watch22 Mar 2027
“I did not go to Liberty Professionals to sit and watch. I want to come back to WAFA and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad22 Mar 2027
David Acquah is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.26 with 2 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Defensive actions: 13, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match23 Jan 2027
No mercy from WAFA
Great Olympics 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market25 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad25 Jan 2027
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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.77, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of David Acquah
“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 ratings25 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.03 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” WAFA may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad11 Jan 2027
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.
Match9 Jan 2027
It finished 2‑0, and it was Christian Partey’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to WAFA.
Squad11 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Abdul Boakye
“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 ratings11 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.35 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.13, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A season average of 7.23 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market11 Jan 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Dec 2026
The wait goes on for WAFA
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market21 Dec 2026
“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.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tempers go at WAFA
Ethen Sampson 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.
Match19 Dec 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad21 Dec 2026
No hiding place for Yaw Osei
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yaw Osei, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Shots: 11, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Market21 Dec 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Patrick Appiah 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
Tempers go at WAFA
Ethen Sampson 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.
Match21 Nov 2026
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.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Felix Bukari, and the manager let it.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Felix Bukari lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Match21 Nov 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
Felix Bukari is the hero from the spot
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Felix Bukari: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match7 Oct 2026
Cup progress for WAFA
A 0‑0 win over Medeama, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market12 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Tempers go at WAFA
Ethen Sampson 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 ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch12 Oct 2026
“I did not go to New Edubiase United to sit and watch. I want to come back to WAFA and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Oko Onyedika
“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.
Match10 Oct 2026
0‑1 to Great Olympics, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
It was his to settle and he did not settle it. A long walk back to the halfway line, and a considerably longer week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.99, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Marked 8.88 — 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Marked 8.69 — 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.05, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad5 Oct 2026
No hiding place for Yaw Osei
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yaw Osei, and the manager let it.
Match3 Oct 2026
It finished 3‑3, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad5 Oct 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Felix Bukari knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Sep 2026
Tempers go at WAFA
Ethen Sampson 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Three points for WAFA, 2‑1 the final word against Aduana Stars in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 8.86 — 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.34 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.07 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Every debut is a small story about the future: Harrison Owusu, 18 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.