Edward Acquah
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edward Kobina Acquah | ||
| Date of birth | 23 July 1935 | ||
| Date of death | 5 October 2011 (aged 76) | ||
| Place of death |
Takoradi , Ghana | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1956-1962 | Eleven Wise | ||
| 1962-1965 | Real Republicans | ||
| International career | |||
| 1956-1964 | Ghana | 41 | (45[1]) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Edward Kobina Acquah (23 July 1935 – 5 October 2011)[2] was a Ghanaian footballer who played as a forward. He competed for the Ghana national team at the 1964 Summer Olympics.[3] He also scored four goals for Ghana in the 1963 African Cup of Nations.[4]
Club career
Edward started his playing career for Sekondi Eleven Wise F.C., following his father's footsteps. His father's name was Kojo Acquah and he was regarded as one finest strikers of his time. However, Edward did not start his career as a striker, instead, due to his tall stature, was deployed as a goalkeeper in his early years. He was summoned to play as a striker when their first choice keeper, betrayed Eleven Wise and went to play for another club. During this game, Edward scored 2 goals as Eleven Wise were victorious. He was also sometimes deployed as a right-winger on occasions, but he was never better than the great Baba Yara, therefore he stayed as a centre-forward.[5]
In the 1959/1960 season,
According to Ohene Djan, Ghana's former FA chairman and first Director of Sport, Acquah scored over 400 goals in his club career and also 166 goals in 77 games, internationally. The club statistics contain friendly games and the international statistics contain regional games and unofficial games, totalling to 566 goals in his career. This tally could increase further, through research in newspaper reports of the time. He may be in contention of being part of
International career
Acquah was called up to the Gold Coast team on 16 December 1956 scoring a hat-trick on his debut against Sierra Leone, in a tight 4–3 victory in the Akewe Cup. Three months later, Ghana celebrated their independence from British colonial rule, thereby making this game Acquah's only appearance for the Gold Coast team.[1]
The team carried on playing, but now as
Career statistics
International
| No. | Date | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 December 1956 | Sierra Leone | 4-3 | Akwei Cup |
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | 25 October 1959 | Nigeria | 4-1 | Ol. Qualifier |
| 5 | ||||
| 6 | 6 December 1959 | Egypt | 2-0 | Ol. Qualifier |
| 7 | ||||
| 8 | 7 February 1960 | Sierra Leone | 6-2 | Kwame Nkrumah |
| 9 | ||||
| 10 | 3 July 1960 | Egypt | 2-2 | Friendly |
| 11 | 28 August 1960 | Nigeria | 4-1 | WC Qualifier |
| 12 | 10 September 1960 | Nigeria | 2-2 | WC Qualifier |
| 13 | ||||
| 14 | 2 October 1960 | Mali | 4-1 | Kwame Nkrumah |
| 15 | ||||
| 16 | 7 October 1960 | Nigeria | 3-0 | Kwame Nkrumah |
| 17 | ||||
| 18 | 5 March 1961 | Mali | 3-0 | Friendly |
| 19 | 30 April 1961 | Nigeria | 2-2 | African Cup Qualifiers |
| 20 | 17 December 1961 | Nigeria | 5-1 | Azikiwe Cup |
| 21 | ||||
| 22 | ||||
| 23 | 29 September 1962 | Kenya | 6-2 | Uhuru Cup |
| 24 | ||||
| 25 | 10 October 1962 | Uganda | 4-1 | Uhuru Cup |
| 26 | 12 October 1962 | Kenya | 4-0 | Friendly |
| 27 | ||||
| 28 | ||||
| 29 | 15 October 1962 | Malawi | 12-0 | Friendly |
| 30 | ||||
| 31 | ||||
| 32 | ||||
| 33 | 18 October 1962 | Tanzania | 6-2 | Friendly |
| 34 | 24 February 1963 | Nigeria | 5-0 | Kwame Nkrumah Cup |
| 35 | 3 March 1963 | Mali | 4-0 | Kwame Nkrumah Cup |
| 36 | ||||
| 37 | ||||
| 38 | 26 November 1963 | Ethiopia | 2-0 | African Nations Cup |
| 39 | ||||
| 40 | 1 December 1963 | Sudan | 3-0 | African Nations Cup |
| 41 | ||||
| 42 | 18 January 1964 | Liberia | 5-4 | Olympic Qualifiers |
| 43 | ||||
| 44 | 21 June 1964 | Tunisia | 1-2 | Olympic Qualifiers |
| 45 | 12 October 1964 | Argentina | 1-1 | Olympics |
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | 1956 | 1 | 3 |
| 1957 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1958 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1959 | 5 | 4 | |
| 1960 | 7 | 9 | |
| 1961 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1962 | 6 | 11 | |
| 1963 | 5 | 10 | |
| 1964 | 8 | 4 | |
| Total | 41 | 45 | |
Honours
Club
- Ghana Premier League: 1961, 1963
- Ghana FA Cup: 1963, 1964, 1965
International
- AFCON: 1963
- Nkrumah Cup: 1959, 1960, 1963[9]
- 1962 Ugandan Independence Tournament: 1962[10]
See also
- Football at the 1964 Summer Olympics
References
- ^ a b c d "Edward Acquah - Goals in International Matches". www.rsssf.org.
- ^ "Ex-Striker Acquah Passes Away At 76". allafrica.com. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
- ^ "Edward Acquah". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
- ^ "African Nations Cup 1963". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
- ^ a b c Anaman, Fiifi (10 February 2023). "Ghana. Mr Sputnik. Goals".
- ^ "Ghana 1959/60". www.rsssf.org.
- ^ "Ghana 1960/61". www.rsssf.org.
- ^ "Sekondi Eleven Wise crowned champions of national football league". GhanaWeb. 22 January 2021.
- ^ "Dr Kwame Nkrumah Gold Cup - West African Soccer Federation championship". www.rsssf.org.
- ^ "Uganda Independence Tournament 1962". www.rsssf.org.
External links
- Edward Acquah at FIFA (archived)
- Edward Acquah at National-Football-Teams.com
- Edward Acquah at Olympics.com
- Edward Acquah at Olympedia
- Edward Acquah at National-Football-Teams.com
