Opoku Nti: Former Asante Kotoko CEO reflects on his ‘sacrificial’ role at the club

Opoku NtiFormer Asante Kotoko CEO Opoku Nti has recently described his tenure at the helm of the club as a “sacrificial job,” highlighting the significant personal and financial challenges he faced during his leadership.Nti, who served as interim CEO after Dr. KK Sarpongs resignation, was tasked with managing the club until a new board and management were in place. During this period, he conducted one-on-one meetings with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to ensure continuity and stability at the club.In an interview with Joy Sports, Nti revealed the difficulties he encountered, including pre-financing the club’s activities out of his own pocket. “Sacrificial job [was what] I did for Kotoko, and I did a lot,” Nti said, reflecting on his unexpected and challenging role.He explained that, despite his expectations, the responsibility of pre-financing the club was not handled by the board as it should have been. “What I knew was that the board was supposed to pre-finance the club, but I was doing that myself though I thought it was the duty of the board,” he stated.Nti emphasized the importance of timely payments to players, which he believed was crucial for maintaining their morale and ensuring good performance. “It never happened under my tenure because I knew for sure that if management pays salaries and winning bonuses on time, it gives the players a good frame of mind to also do their job,” he explained.Despite the challenges, Ntis leadership period is remembered for its dedication to ensuring the clubs operations continued smoothly during a transitional phase.Asante Kotoko are now under an Interim Management Committee (IMC) as they look to rebuild and improve following the dissolution of the previous management and board at the end of last two seasons.