Marked for Ernest Baba
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces4 Jan 2027
The mood at WAFA has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market4 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Ernest Baba breaks a bone — 16 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 16 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market4 Jan 2027
The phone has started ringing about Afriyie Sulemana again, and this time the name on the line is Asante Kotoko. WAFA are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A muscle injury sidelines Samuel Baba for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. WAFA will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Match2 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for WAFA
4 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.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Tempers go at WAFA
Samuel 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Afriyie Sulemana 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Dec 2026
WAFA throw away a 3-goal lead
3 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Medeama the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that WAFA will enjoy reviewing.
Match28 Dec 2026
WAFA sink to position 14
13 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.27, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Ernest Baba breaks a bone — 23 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 23 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Samuel Baba, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.63
A mark of 7.63 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Samuel 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at WAFA training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kamaldeen Partey 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
WAFA share the spoils with Medeama
A 3‑3 draw with Medeama leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Kamaldeen Waris
“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
Crisis
Squad21 Dec 2026
Ernest Baba breaks a bone — 30 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 30 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market21 Dec 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Kamaldeen Partey 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Dec 2026
Jonathan Adjei damages knee ligaments — 18 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 18 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market14 Dec 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Ernest Baba breaks a bone — 37 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 37 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at WAFA training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Afriyie 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.
Match12 Dec 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 Dec 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Jonathan Adjei damages knee ligaments — 25 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 25 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market7 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
Cruel end for Hasaacas as WAFA pounce
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. WAFA scored in the 94th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.66 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Ernest Baba breaks a bone — 44 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 44 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Afriyie Sulemana 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Afriyie Sulemana. 2‑1 against Hasaacas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces7 Dec 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Afriyie Sulemana 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Harrison Schlupp, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
Jonathan Adjei damages knee ligaments — 32 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 32 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match30 Nov 2026
WAFA are in real trouble now
Position 16, 9 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Ernest Baba 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
No end in sight to WAFA's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at WAFA has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at WAFA training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Afriyie 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Afriyie Nuhu
“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
Crisis
Squad23 Nov 2026
Jonathan Adjei damages knee ligaments — 39 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 39 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Ernest Baba breaks a bone — 60 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 60 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market23 Nov 2026
Patrick Annan 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Tempers go at WAFA
Samuel 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Afriyie Sulemana 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
Jonathan Adjei damages knee ligaments — 46 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 46 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market16 Nov 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Ernest Baba breaks a bone — 67 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 67 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Samuel 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at WAFA training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Afriyie 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.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.68 on the card, and the WAFA support went home talking about one name.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Jonathan Adjei
54 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. WAFA lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Ernest Baba breaks a bone — 74 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 74 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Marked 6.51 on 18 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Jonathan Adjei
61 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. WAFA lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match2 Nov 2026
WAFA are in real trouble now
Position 15, 7 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Ernest Baba breaks a bone — 81 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 81 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mohammed Bukari and WAFA agree another 4 years.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at WAFA training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Afriyie 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.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
At 21 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Andre Acquah. 1‑0 against Bechem United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.76 on the card, and the WAFA support went home talking about one name.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Oct 2026
Jonathan Adjei damages knee ligaments — 69 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 69 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market26 Oct 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Ernest Baba breaks a bone — 88 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 88 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match24 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for WAFA
6 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Afriyie Sulemana 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.
Match24 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Jonathan Adjei
77 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. WAFA lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market19 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Ernest Baba breaks a bone — 95 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 95 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match17 Oct 2026
No end in sight to WAFA's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at WAFA has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Afriyie Sulemana is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad19 Oct 2026
30 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A defender's goal wins it for WAFA — 7.79
1 for Harrison Schlupp, marked 7.79, 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Andre Mensah is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match12 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for WAFA against Medeama
1‑3 to Medeama, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Kamaldeen Partey 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.
Squad14 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Sep 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Graduation day at WAFA
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at WAFA training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kamaldeen Partey 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.
Market7 Sep 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ernest Baba 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.
Market7 Sep 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Kamaldeen Ayew 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.
Market7 Sep 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Afriyie Ofori 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.
Match5 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ernest Asamoah, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The medical room confirms 25 days on the sidelines for Abraham Essien, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
In brief
-
Squad
Tempers go at WAFA
-
Boardroom
No investment in the facilities at WAFA
-
Player ratings
Emmanuel Partey runs at them all day