2024/25 Ghana Premier League season preview: Expectations, contenders, and survival battles

Expectations

The 2024-25 season is ideally expected to be as feisty as ever, with 18 clubs vying for the ultimate crown. Each team will play a maximum of 34 games across home and away ties, with the team with the most points crowned winners at the end of the season.

FC Sarmatex clinched the title for the first time at the end of the 2023-24 season, against all odds.

A total of 305 games were played across all match venues in the 2023-24 season, with 625 goals scored. Home sides accounted for 418 of the goals, whereas away teams scored 207. Additionally, home teams won 178 times, while away sides won 51 times with 76 draws being played. 57 of the goals resulted from spot kicks, whereas 15 of the total 72 penalties were missed.

A low discipline record meant 1044 yellow cards were handed out to the various players, with 47 red cards as well.

Much is not expected to change In the upcoming season.

Title Contenders

Asante Kotoko after their worst finish (6th) in the Premier League for the past five years will be hoping that they can win their 27th league title in the upcoming season.

Hearts of Oak, led by Head coach Abubakar Ouattara, will be aiming to improve on their performances last season and contend for the GPL title alongside rivals Kotoko.

The 2022-23 Premier League champions Medeama are looking forward to bouncing back after a tricky campaign in the 2023-24 season, with their early exit in the CAF Champions League and a poor run of form in the league. Nebojsa Kapor and his players will be in the mix to lift the title at the end of the season.

First-time winners of the Ghana Premier League, Samartex 1996, are now the team to beat before teams will have a chance of winning the title. Manager Nurudeen Amadu and his players will have to overcome every obstacle to defend their title this season

Relegation battle

Great Olympics, Bofoakwa Tano and Real Tamale United were unfortunate not to survive the drop last term and fell into the Access Bank Division One League.

Three teams were promoted in their stead ( Vision Fc, Basake Holy Stars and Young Apostles Fc). However, two (Basake Holy Stars and Young Apostles) of the three teams are expected to lose their Premier League status at the end of the season.

The step up to the top flight will prove daunting for the teams, who look unlikely to cope with the intensity and demands of the league. Legon cities, who finished just a point to beat the drop last term, are also in the running to go down.

The Big Guns

The two most successive sides (Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak) will slug it out for the ultimate bragging right. After a massive overhaul by Kumasi Asante Kotoko, parting ways with a little more than 20 players, the Porcupine Warriors are expected to put the troubles of last season behind them, where they finished 6th.

The team amassed the most points (19) on the road last season, with an underwhelming home record (which included five losses, three draws and nine wins ) putting them out of contention for the league.

Kotoko have signed 13 players, and with a tweak in home form, the Porcupine Warriors should challenge for their 27th crown. Meanwhile, Hearts of Oak’s points tally of 45 was enough to keep them in the league after Olympics were relegated with 45 points.

With a relatively decent pre-season, winning one game, drawing five, and losing one, Hearts under Aboubakar Ouattara are expected to compete for domestic honours this season.

By Andrews Sefa Bamfo

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