There was only one football club in Accra, and the young men of Ussher Town wanted to beat it. That was the starting point for Accra Hearts of Oak. The club’s official birthday is 11 November 1911, the day its founders unveiled their first jerseys and declared themselves ready to challenge the Invincibles.
The Invincibles
In the early twentieth century, organised football in Accra was dominated by a club called the Invincibles. A group of young men from Ussher Town, one of the Ga quarters of central Accra, formed their own team in order to give it a rival. Accounts date the group’s origins to around 1910.
Christopher Nettey
The group was led by Christopher Brandford Nettey, later known as Asafoatse Nettey. Club histories credit him with formally founding Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club on 11 November 1911 and appointing Ackom Duncan as the first captain.
The name
The name comes from “Heart of Oak”, the march of Britain’s Royal Navy, familiar in the colonial Gold Coast. The founders liked its message of courage and strength. Hearts’ supporters have since added their own nicknames, including “Phobia”, and the club motto “Never Say Die”.
The first leagues
Accra’s first organised football league was formed in 1920. Two years later, a shield donated by the colonial governor was put up for the winners. Hearts quickly established itself as one of the leading clubs in the town.
Colours
The club’s colours, rainbow stripes of red, yellow and blue, became one of the most recognisable kits in Ghanaian football. Club history ties the adoption of its colours to 1917.
More than a century
Hearts went on to become one of the two great powers of Ghanaian football, along with Asante Kotoko. It has won more than twenty Ghana league titles and, in 2000, the CAF Champions League. Its rivalry with Kotoko is the biggest fixture in the country.
Togbe Afede
In recent years, the club has been owned and led by Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, who became its majority shareholder. His time in charge has included both successes and complaints from supporters about results.
The young men of Ussher Town wanted a club that could beat the Invincibles. More than a century later, the club they founded is older than the country it plays in, and the Invincibles are a footnote.
