Former Chief Executive Officer of Hearts of Oak, Harry Zakour says paying of winning bonuses became a problem for management at a point the club were on a winning streak in the Ghana Premier League.
Harry Zakour supervised the Ghanaian giants during their golden days in the early 2000s where they dominated the domestic and international scene, winning multiple Ghana Premier League titles and the CAF Champions League title. He joined the club from regional rivals Accra Great Olympics.
According to Harry, the Phobians were on a winning streak which made it very difficult to settle their winning bonuses which had to be paid after each game.
Speaking in an exclusive interview on Happy Sports with Ohene-Bampoe Brenya on Happy 98.9FM, he said, “We always paid the players on time and salaries were paid on time. Salaries were ready every 21st of the month. It got to a point in time I wanted the team to lose because I couldn’t pay the winning bonus anymore in the league but those days people were watching football. Unfortunately All our monies went into tax but nobody listened to us”
Harry Zakour also disclosed that when they won the team won the CAF Champions League he suggested that the monies generated by the club during those times should be used to purchase the club secretariat which cost $120,000, now valued at $3 million and a bus for the team.
Zakour also disclosed in the interview that running Hearts of Oak cost him his business and finances and those monies have not been paid till date.
He was also against the floatation of shares by the club which he believes can be attributed to the club’s woes over a decade as they haven’t been able to win the Ghana Premier League title.