Welcome – Meet the 4 promoted sides to the 2022/23 GPL season and what to expect

The National Division One League, DOL in Ghana, is a keenly contested affair as clubs scramble for promotion to the Elite Division after every season.

Last season, the competition in all three zones nationwide, produced some closely fought encounters before promotion was eventually determined.

At the end of it all, three clubs made it from the three zones with a fourth club also earning qualification to the Ghana Premier League, (GPL) through a play-off tournament held to find a replacement for AshantiGold SC who were demoted to the third tier league for match fixing.

Let’s meet the four teams who will be debuting in the GPL next season and see how they got there.

Nsoatreman FC – Zone One

The Nsoatre-based club were engaged in a neck-to-neck race with Tamale City FC in the DOL Zone One League and, they both could not be separated at the end of the 16-club contest.

The two sides finished the campaign with the same number of points and head-to-head record after 30 matches.

A one off game was therefore organized for them outside their zone to find out which team will eventually make it to the GPL next season.

The game was played at the Accra Sports Stadium and, Nsoatreman FC won 2-1 after extra time to book their place in the Ghanaian top-flight league for the first time.

They will play their home games at the Twumasi Sports Complex in Twumasikrom, Nsoatre in the Bono Region.

Nsoatreman FC will look to make the most of their home conditions to amass as many points as possible in their quest to retain their GPL status after next season.

Tamale City FC – Zone One

The Citizens were given another opportunity to get to the top-flight league after the demotion of AshantiGold SC to the Second Division for match fixing.

And, Tamale City FC did make the most of the second chance handed them by winning a three-club mini tournament that also involved Liberty Professionals and Ebusua Dwarfs.

The tournament was played at the Accra Sports Stadium with Tamale City winning the event with four points after winning one and drawing the other of the two matches they played.

The Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale will be their home venue and, the number of points they can gather up north, could determine their fate in the GPL next season.

FC Samartex – Zone Two

The Timber Giants won the Zone Two league by a distance from the rest of the competition and, they secured qualification with matches to end the campaign.

FC Samartex will stage their home games at the Samartex Park, Samreboi in Ghana’s Western Region where they have vowed to make the venue a fortress for visiting teams.

How they handle the pressure in their debut campaign, will determine how they will fare in the upcoming season.

Kotoku Royals – Zone Three

The Oda-based side beat off competition from former GPL campaigners Liberty Professionals and Tema Youth FC to win the Zone Three league on the final day of the campaign.

Kotoku Royals will be playing their home matches at the Oda Sports Stadium in the Eastern Region, becoming the second team in that enclave in the upcoming campaign alongside Dreams FC.

They will be hoping to maintain their status as a GPL side at the end of the season, and, they will have a lot on their hands in trying to fulfill that ambition.

The 2022/23 Ghana football season will begin in September with 17 clubs seeking to dethrone Asante Kotoko as GPL champions.

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