Fred Dabanka

Central Defender - Great Olympics
11 Sep 2027
Saturday
Process
46 Edition

The Great Olympics Gazette

14 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Michael Acquaye 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 Great Olympics, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

The manager comes out for Elvis Manu

Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Elvis Manu has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.

Squad

Fred Dabanka is out on the grass again

He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. Great Olympics will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.

In brief

Back issues
38 Edition

The Great Olympics Gazette

19 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Mathew Abayase says Great Olympics went back on their word

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

Squad

The manager makes an example of Godfred Asiamah

“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.

Squad

Phiwokuhle Mjolo 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.

In brief

29 Edition

The Great Olympics Gazette

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Great Olympics come up short against Aduana Stars

Aduana Stars left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Elvis Manu 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.

Squad

The shirt belongs to Mamudo Moro now

At 32 he has made the position his own, and the man he took it from has to find something to say about it. Great Olympics have a decision that made itself.

In brief

28 Edition

The Great Olympics Gazette

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Seidu Ismaila

There were 9 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.

Match

Great Olympics find a way past BA All Stars

BA All Stars made Great Olympics work for it, but the scoreboard read 3-2 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Phiwokuhle Mjolo gets it from the manager

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

In brief

12 Edition

The Great Olympics Gazette

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

8 matches without a win for Great Olympics

The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Great Olympics are no longer polite ones.

Match

A bad afternoon for Great Olympics against Medeama

1-2 to Medeama, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Fred Dabanka gets it from the manager

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

In brief

6 Edition

The Great Olympics Gazette

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Fred Dabanka 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.

Market

Great Olympics sign Abdul Addo, one for the future

Abdul Addo is 16, and Great Olympics have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.

Market

A long bet from Great Olympics on Thomas Boateng

He is 16, and nobody at Great Olympics signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.

Market

A long bet from Great Olympics on Jeffrey Asante

He is 16, and nobody at Great Olympics signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.

Market

A long bet from Great Olympics on Christian Wakaso

He is 16, and nobody at Great Olympics signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.

Match

No goals between Great Olympics and New Edubiase United

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. New Edubiase United will be the happier side with the point.

In brief

1 Edition

The Great Olympics Gazette

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Katsina United come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Great Olympics did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Gladson Awako signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gladson Awako commits to Great Olympics for another 2 years.

Market

Talks stall between Great Olympics and Gladson Awako

“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.

In brief