Tears, tributes as football family mourn Nana Pooley

Emotions ran high at the Baba Yara Stadium’s Heroes Park in Kumasi yesterday as key figures in Ghanaian football, players and officials of Asante Kotoko, traditional leaders, and passionate supporters gathered to bid a final farewell to Francis Yaw Frimpong, known as Pooley.

The devoted Kotoko fan was tragically stabbed to death last month in violent scenes that erupted at the Ghana Premier League clash between Kotoko and Nsoatreman FC at the Nana Koronamansah II Park in Twumasikrom, near Nsoatre.

The funeral rites drew a powerful show of unity, with Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku leading a high-ranking delegation from the football governing body.

Bechem United’s president, Kingsley Owusu Achau, and Nations FC’s owner, Kwame Kyei, were among the prominent football executives in attendance, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Kotoko family in mourning Pooley’s untimely passing.

Kotoko’s Interim Management Committee, led by chairman Nana Apinkrah Akwasi Awuah, was present alongside GFA Executive Council member Kwasi Appiah, as well as members of the playing squad and technical team.

Royal mourning 

In a poignant gesture, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the club’s sole shareholder and the chief mourner, delegated Nana Pinkrah Akwasi Awuah, the Kontomponi Aferehene, to sit in state and receive the vast number of mourners.

In an extraordinary act of compassion, the Asantehene has pledged to adopt and care for Pooley’s three children, ensuring his legacy lives on through them.

Security forces were also well represented, with Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Emmanuel Teye Cudjoe, leading a delegation from the Ghana Police Service on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare.

Their presence underscored the gravity of Pooley’s death, which shook Ghanaian football to its core and prompted urgent calls for action against hooliganism.

Call for Change

In a deeply moving tribute, Pooley was described as “a pillar of Asante Kotoko, a brother whose love for the club ran deeper than blood”.

The message urged the Kotoko fraternity to honour his memory by ensuring football remains a game of passion, not violence—one where no family should ever have to suffer such loss again.

His tragic passing forced the Ghana Premier League into an unprecedented four-week suspension, compelling authorities to impose a zero-tolerance stance on hooliganism.

New security measures, including heightened crowd control, emergency response systems, and rigorous security checks at all league venues, have since been introduced to prevent such tragedies in the future.

United front against violence

In a rare and powerful display of solidarity, supporters of rival clubs stood together at the funeral, chanting "Justice for Pooley" and demanding an end to violence in Ghanaian football.

A life-size cutout of Pooley, dressed in his signature red beret, Kotoko replica jersey, and waving the club’s flag, stood solemnly at the funeral grounds—a haunting yet fitting tribute to a man whose love for the Porcupine Warriors was unwavering.

The late Nana Pooley was interred at Ahafo Kukuom Royal Mausoleum.