Head Coach of Ghana Premier League giants, Accra Hearts of Oak Edward Nii Odoom has complained about how the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has negatively affected him and his team.
According to him, the pandemic set in at a time when Hearts of Oak were in top form in the Premier League.
Speaking on a panel discussion on the theme; the effect of COVID-19 on football: The perspectives of Ghanaian coaches, on Happy FM, Coach Odoom said” The pandemic has really worried us [Hearts of Oak]. We were picking up in the premier league, we returned to the winning ways and all of a sudden there was the outbreak of the pandemic in the country so we have to stop the league,” he told Ohene Brenya-Bampoe.
He, however, revealed how the COVID-19 has affected him personally. “Personally, the pandemic has worried me than any other person because joining Heart of Oak as the head coach, I had my own agenda and was about to do greater things with the team.”
On the same program last month, Managing Director of Hearts of Oak, Frederick Moore also disclosed that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a severe toll on the financial standing of the club.
According to him, the club has lost a substantial amount of its revenue projection for the year.
‘Effects of COVID-19 on Football Clubs in Ghana.’ The sports administrator said, “we’ve lost about two-thirds of the revenue projection we made for this football season and it’s quite a scare.”
Fredrick Moore noted that a lot of sponsorship the club was also hoping to gain has not materialized because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pointed to the fact that most individuals or businesses are not willing to invest in a venture that provides them with no returns.