Marked for Andrew Adjei
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad20 Nov 2028
A falling-out at WAFA
Harrison Boakye and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words at WAFA training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andre Amoah 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 dugout20 Nov 2028
Jeffrey Kudus 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.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Owen Bickley 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Harrison Boakye has seen what the next man earns
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 WAFA that is a harder question to answer.
Market20 Nov 2028
WAFA have let the market know Abeiku Wakaso can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Boardroom20 Nov 2028
The WAFA production line keeps running
14 graduates out of an academy now rated 9 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.
Looking ahead20 Nov 2028
Next up at home: Inter Allies, who go into it in position 16. The kind of fixture a season is quietly built on or quietly loses its shape in.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
A defender's goal wins it for WAFA — 7.87
1 for Jeffrey Kudus, marked 7.87, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Tempers go at WAFA
Harrison Boakye 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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Andrew Adjei is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Andre Amoah 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.
Match4 Nov 2028
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Match4 Nov 2028
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 4 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Abeiku Wakaso
“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.
Market6 Nov 2028
“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.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Aug 2028
Isaac Mensah 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 targets7 Aug 2028
The paperwork begins on Felix Kyei
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. WAFA have done the hard part with Medeama, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Tempers go at WAFA
Jeffrey Kudus 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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Andrew Adjei is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A row about effort at WAFA
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andre Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Andrew Adjei and WAFA agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market29 May 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.
Squad29 May 2028
At 19 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.
The dugout29 May 2028
This is not rotation. Abeiku Wakaso has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at WAFA is pretending otherwise.
Squad29 May 2028
A row about effort at WAFA
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andre Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad29 May 2028
Tempers go at WAFA
Joseph Schlupp 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.
Squad29 May 2028
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 33 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Match29 May 2028
Continental football is in reach for WAFA
56 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
The dugout29 May 2028
Andre Boateng 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 dugout29 May 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kamaldeen Schlupp trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout22 May 2028
Kwadwo Schlupp: 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.
Market22 May 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.
Squad22 May 2028
Words exchanged at WAFA
Harrison Boakye 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.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at WAFA training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andre Amoah 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 dugout22 May 2028
When it matters, Andre Amoah 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.
Market22 May 2028
WAFA have made Amadu Abdulai available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words exchanged at WAFA
Jeffrey Kudus 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at WAFA training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andre Amoah 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andrew Adjei commits to WAFA for another 3 years.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
When it matters, Andre Amoah 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 dugout27 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francis Acquah, and the manager let it.
Market27 Mar 2028
WAFA have made Edmund Paintsil available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market27 Mar 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Abeiku Wakaso’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Andrew Essien 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.
Looking ahead27 Mar 2028
Next up on the road: Berekum Chelsea, position 15. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 Feb 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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andre Amoah commits to WAFA for another 4 years.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Andrew Adjei is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Match19 Feb 2028
1‑3 to Liberty Professionals, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Andre Amoah 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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
A falling-out at WAFA
Joseph Schlupp and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match19 Feb 2028
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 5 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Felix Baba after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
Andre Amoah 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
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Francis Atiemo
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Looking ahead
WAFA take on the side everybody is chasing
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The dugout
Francis Atiemo dropped after a run of poor form
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words exchanged at WAFA
Jeffrey Kudus 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
At 19 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.
Match11 Dec 2027
Nobody wins at WAFA
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad13 Dec 2027
A row about effort at WAFA
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andre Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Edmund Baba and WAFA agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match11 Dec 2027
A 1‑0 win over Berekum Chelsea, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Marked 7.47 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, WAFA had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout13 Dec 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.” Felix Baba, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
Andre Amoah 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 Andre Amoah is on it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.50, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market27 Sep 2027
Abeiku Wakaso 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
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.
Match25 Sep 2027
It finished 3‑1, and it was Andre Owusu’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to WAFA.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A row about effort at WAFA
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andre Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A falling-out at WAFA
Joseph Schlupp and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces27 Sep 2027
WAFA supporters have found a favourite in Kwadwo Schlupp
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Kwadwo Schlupp 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andrew Adjei and WAFA agree another 3 years.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Abeiku Wakaso
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Player ratings
Kwadwo Schlupp changes it off the bench
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market13 Sep 2027
WAFA say no — this time
The offer from Inter Allies for Abeiku 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.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
At 19 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
A falling-out at WAFA
Jeffrey Kudus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at WAFA training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andre Amoah 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.
Match11 Sep 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Andre Owusu. 1‑0 against Ashanti Gold, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Market13 Sep 2027
“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.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.61 on the card, and the WAFA support went home talking about one name.
The dugout13 Sep 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.” Felix Baba, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.