Ghana’s Football Community Bids Farewell to Nana Pooley

Tears and Tributes: Ghana’s Football Community Bids Farewell to Nana Pooley

As Ghana’s football community came together to pay their ultimate respects to Francis Yaw Frimpong, also known as Pooley, the air at Heroes Park in Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, was thick with sadness. Following a violent incident during the Ghana Premier League match between Kotoko and Nsoatreman FC at the Nana Koronamansah II Park in Twumasikrom, close to Nsoatre, the loyal Asante Kotoko fan tragically lost his life last month.

Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), led a high-ranking delegation to the funeral, which demonstrated a strong sense of solidarity. Other well-known football executives, like as Kwame Kyei, the owner of Nations FC, and Kingsley Owusu Achau, the president of Bechem United, expressed their condolences for Pooley’s premature passing and joined the Kotoko family in their grief.

A Royal Tribute

As a major act of kindness, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the only stakeholder and principal mourner of Asante Kotoko, assigned the Kontomponi Aferehene, Nana Pinkrah Akwasi Awuah, to supervise the events. In order to ensure that Pooley’s legacy endures, His Majesty also promised to adopt and raise his three children. In a somber gesture that demonstrated the gravity of Pooley’s untimely death and the necessity of strict measures against football violence, DCOP Emmanuel Teye Cudjoe, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, led a delegation from the Ghana Police Service.

A Call for Change

Pooley was referred to as “a pillar of Asante Kotoko, whose loyalty to the club knew no bounds” by speakers at the funeral. In order to honor his legacy, they called on the football community to foster a culture of unity and enthusiasm instead of violence. His passing rocked Ghanaian football, and the Ghana Premier League responded by imposing a four-week punishment and tightening security at all venues. Since then, strict security checks, emergency response systems, and improved crowd management have been put in place to stop disasters like this one..

A Unified Front Against Hooliganism

In an uncommon display of unity, opposing football supporters gathered together and sang “Justice for Pooley” in support of a safer playing field. In a moving homage to Pooley’s enduring passion for the Porcupine Warriors, a life-size cutout of him standing solemnly at the funeral grounds wearing his trademark red beret and Kotoko jersey. The cherished fan’s legacy will live on in Ghanaian football history forever after they were buried in the Ahafo Kukuom Royal Mausoleum.

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