Hohoe United FC has formally announced its withdrawal from the remainder of the 2025/2026 Ghana Premier League season. The decision, described by club management as “painful but necessary,” takes effect immediately.
The club’s exit follows months of escalating disputes with the Ghana Football Association (GFA), beginning with a league match on January 25, 2026, when Hohoe United faced Vision FC at the Hohoe Sports Stadium. Three days later, the GFA Prosecution issued a charge sheet against the club. Hohoe United responded promptly, submitting a not-guilty plea and a statement of defense within the stipulated timeframe.
Tensions intensified following a March 8 away victory against Mediama SC in Tarkwa, which the club claims was marked by questionable officiating from center referee Maxwell Hanson. The very next day, without a hearing, without producing the original referee’s report, and without reasoned analysis, the GFA Disciplinary Committee imposed a three-home-game ban and a GHS 30,000 fine on the club. The ban was scheduled to take effect on March 29, when Dreams Football Club was due to visit Hohoe for Match Week 27.
Procedural Disputes and Appeals
On March 10, Hohoe United filed an appeal with the GFA Appeals Committee via the GFA’s official email address, citing Article 35 of the Premier League Regulations and Article 58(4) of the GFA Statutes provisions that explicitly state that appeals from Disciplinary Committee decisions lie directly before the Appeals Committee and that once properly filed, execution of non-monetary sanctions is automatically stayed.
Despite this, on March 23, the GFA published weekend fixtures listing Hohoe Sports Stadium as the venue for the Dreams FC match. The following day, a club official met with the GFA General Secretary and the Head of Competitions. According to Hohoe United, the General Secretary claimed the appeal “should have been sent to the Disciplinary Committee”, a position the club asserts has no basis in any rule. The General Secretary reportedly advised resubmission to the Disciplinary Committee, which the club did on March 24.
On March 25, the GFA communicated a change of venue for the Dreams FC match to the Nii Adjei Kraku Stadium in Tema. The club maintains that with a pending appeal automatically staying the home-game ban, this decision constituted a deliberate override of the GFA’s own statutes.
Further grievances emerged from the March 22 away fixture against Swedru All Blacks. Hohoe United supporters, upon arrival at the match venue, were restricted to a single entrance and charged GHS 50 per ticket, while other spectators were permitted to purchase tickets at the declared match-day price of GHS 20.
On the rescheduled match day in Tema against Dreams FC, the club alleges that the refereeing crew, led by center referee Mohammed Misbau, delivered a “highly questionable performance that directly impacted the results.”
The Club’s Position
In its formal statement, Hohoe United FC argues that the timing of the March 9 decision, coming months after the January 25 incident suggests sanctions were deliberately delayed to deprive the club of home advantage at a critical stage of the season.
“It is our view that the current GFA system appears to be structured in a way that allows control and bias, rather than ensuring impartiality and transparency in the adjudicating of disputes and the overall running of football,” the statement reads. “It is a highly compromised system.”
Consequences and Future Commitment
The club acknowledges the serious consequences of its withdrawal but states it is prepared to accept them. “We are exiting the current manipulated system of football with a principled stand against injustice and the pledge to continue to fight for fair play in Ghanaian football through every lawful channel available to us,” the management wrote. “It is not the end of the road but just the beginning.”
Hohoe United FC extended its gratitude to its supporters, corporate sponsors, players, and technical staff, as well as to “the few honest officials within the football family who have privately expressed solidarity.”