15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Medeama lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Medeama people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Hakim Sulemana is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Rich Sackey has improved at 25, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Medeama asked and Orlando Pirates said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A loan enquiry to DAC Dunajska Streda: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The words a physio says slowly. 22 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
The deal with Kaizer Chiefs is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
At 27 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Medeama asked and SuperSport 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yussif Mubarik 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.
Medeama have made the call to Ashanti Gold. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Position 5, 55 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
The words a physio says slowly. 29 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Medeama have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Medeama have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have shaken hands with Aduana Stars; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Medeama is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Medeama had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Kaizer Chiefs, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
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.
Medeama asked and Djoliba said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Medeama lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
Medeama have made the call to Kaizer Chiefs. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Ashanti Gold will make the call about Joshua Agyemang this week. Medeama have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Medeama people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Katsina United have kept their man, and Medeama go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yussif Mubarik 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.
Kano Pillars have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Nobody at Medeama 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Medeama, and both men came out saying it was fine.
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Medeama lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Medeama have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Remo Stars keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fatawu 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Godknows Dzakpasu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Medeama is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Yussif Mubarik 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Stade Malien have kept their man, and Medeama go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Godknows Dzakpasu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Medeama have made the call to Katsina United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Medeama lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Medeama have lost him in all but the paperwork.
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 board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Medeama have made the call to Kano Pillars. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The words a physio says slowly. 41 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Medeama have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Medeama have done the hard part with Berekum Chelsea, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rivers United have kept their man, and Medeama go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fatawu Sulemana was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Adams Abdul Jabal 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.
Medeama have made the call to Hearts of Oak. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Medeama 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.
48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Medeama lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ashanti Gold waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Medeama is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Medeama have done the hard part with Nasarawa United, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Medeama asked and Djoliba said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Godknows Dzakpasu 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.
Medeama have made the call to Rivers United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Position 5, 55 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes Kelvin Obeng a promise
55 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Medeama lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have shaken hands with Berekum Chelsea; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
Add another name to the list: WAFA have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Fuzy Taylor. The answer from Medeama has not changed — yet.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bayelsa United have kept their man, and Medeama go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yussif Mubarik 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.
“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 Medeama, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Medeama is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The deal with Hearts of Oak is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
Medeama asked and Remo Stars said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
Hakim Sulemana 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 Godknows Dzakpasu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Medeama 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 Medeama 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.
27 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Medeama lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Fuzy Taylor trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Medeama they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Medeama would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Medeama. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yussif Mubarik 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 Medeama 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.
55 points from position 5. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Godknows Dzakpasu 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Adams Abdul Jabal will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Medeama the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yussif Mubarik 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 trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Medeama has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Paul Yeboah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fatawu Sulemana was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Sunusi Audu is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Medeama will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Derrick Fordjour has come out of that comparison in the side, and Medeama have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Market5 Apr 2027
Mark Ugboh returns from a loan that taught him nothing
1 appearances and 0 clean sheets. A goalkeeper learns his job by playing it, and a season that gave him neither the games nor the shut-outs is a year taken off the front of a career.
Successful dribbles: 37. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Sunusi Audu 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.
“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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Mohammed Inusah to a room that had heard them before.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Fuzy Taylor will call it something else in private.
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 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.
Sunusi Audu 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.
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.
Marked 8.44 — 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.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
Two goals and a mark of 8.38 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Adams Abdul Jabal will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Medeama the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
It finished 2‑0, and it was Derrick Fordjour’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Medeama.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fatawu 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.
Marked 6.91 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sunusi Audu did not need any: 8.64, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joke Efevwerha, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sunusi Audu 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 Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
The first defeat in 9 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Inter Allies; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Hakim Sulemana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yussif Mubarik 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 found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Medeama pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Mohammed Inusah to a room that had heard them before.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Marked 8.39. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Medeama.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Sunusi Audu 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Adams Abdul Jabal will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Medeama the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 23 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 27 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Medeama have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Medeama asked and Katsina 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yussif Mubarik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Medeama will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Medeama, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 30. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Medeama close the window on a squad of their own making
3 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Berekum Chelsea keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Medeama asked and Berekum Chelsea said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Medeama have done the hard part with Barau, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hasaacas have kept their man, and Medeama go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Godknows Dzakpasu 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.
BA All Stars have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Medeama people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Hakim Sulemana did not need any: 8.23, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Asante Kotoko have kept their man, and Medeama go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yussif Mubarik 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 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Hakim 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 57 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Medeama scored in the 97th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Hakim Sulemana 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 bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Medeama will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Medeama have had the benefit of it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Medeama will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yussif Mubarik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Mohammed Inusah was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Medeama dressing room was either.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Medeama will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Medeama have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Hakim Sulemana did not need any: 8.41, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fatawu 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sunusi Audu did not need any: 8.50, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 18 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.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Godknows Dzakpasu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Minute 89, against Hasaacas, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 9.19 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
An average of 7.05 in a first team he is several years too young for. Medeama have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yussif Mubarik 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.
At 23 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Berekum Chelsea will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Medeama were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kammonke Willie provided it, and the 9.69 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Hakim Sulemana, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.46
A mark of 8.46 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yussif Mubarik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Something was said to Joke Efevwerha and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Hakim Sulemana 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 Godknows Dzakpasu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Berekum Chelsea next, and one man in the Medeama dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sunusi Audu did not need any: 8.51, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yussif Mubarik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 23 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.
The first defeat in 5 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Inter Allies; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Kammonke Willie, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 8.69
A mark of 8.69 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Yussif Mubarik 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.
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.
Successful dribbles: 30. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Kammonke Willie did not need any: 8.59, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
He is 23 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.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Hakim Sulemana is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Medeama will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Sunusi Audu 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yussif Mubarik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A 1‑0 win over Liberty Professionals, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 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.
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.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
He is 18 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.
A 1‑0 win over Great Olympics, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fatawu Sulemana was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
WAFA go through and Medeama go home, 2‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.48 beside his name.
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.
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
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.
Successful dribbles: 35. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ebenezer Ackahbi is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yussif Mubarik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Hakim Sulemana 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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Souleymane Keita has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Medeama have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fatawu Sulemana was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Mohammed Inusah after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Aduana Stars in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Fatawu 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.
Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad21 Sep 2026
6 new faces, and Medeama are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Medeama will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Adams Abdul Jabal reports back to Medeama with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bayelsa United have kept their man, and Medeama go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Felix Kyei 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.
Sunusi Audu 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.
17 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
In brief
The dugoutJoke Efevwerha dropped after a run of poor form
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 11 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
1‑4 to Hearts of Oak, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Remo Stars is saying, and nobody at Medeama is enjoying the guessing.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Katsina United have kept their man, and Medeama go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Sunusi Audu 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Jacob Mensah
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
Hakim Sulemana 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.
Medeama asked and Rivers 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 loan enquiry to Katsina United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Medeama will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
A season-long audition: Nasarawa United still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Medeama's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Medeama have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
The offer went to Hearts of Oak 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.
Mark Ugboh 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 list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Adams Abdul Jabal may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ebenezer Ackahbi signs something — a contract at Medeama or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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 Medeama, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. BA All Stars have kept their man, and Medeama go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Hakim Sulemana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fatawu 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Medeama, another week without a signature from Joke Efevwerha.
Medeama have made the call to Nasarawa United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Ebenezer Ackahbi had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Hakim Sulemana 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Amos Boakye 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. Edmund Djiku 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. Kamaldeen Appiah 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.
Medeama asked and Kenya Police said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yussif Mubarik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Ebenezer Ackahbi has come up in conversations Medeama were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Medeama know which stage they are at.