Bishop Herman College alumni filled the Legon stadium for a reunion tournament that ended with the 2003 year group lifting the Tsitsi trophy without losing a match.
The 2003 year group of the Bishop Herman Old Boys Union (BHOBU) has won the 10th edition of the BHOBU Games, finishing the alumni football tournament without a single defeat.
BHOBU is the alumni body of Bishop Herman College (BIHECO), the Catholic boys' secondary school at Kpando in the Volta Region. Its annual fun games bring year groups together to play football against each other, with the winners taking the title of "Tsitsi" champions.
This year's edition was staged at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium in Legon, Accra.
How the title was won
According to reporting by the Ghanaian Times, the 2003 group opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over BHOBU 2000, the year group that was ahead of them in school. They then beat BHOBU 2002 by 3-0 in the semi-final.
The final was a tighter affair. BHOBU 2003 edged BHOBU 2005 by a single goal to take the trophy, along with the traditional prize that comes with it, a he-goat.
Individual honours also went to the champions. Jeffery Kanyi Teiko was named both Best Player and Goal King of the tournament, while his teammate Tsetse Dominic took the Best Goalkeeper award.
The winning side left Bishop Herman College 23 years ago, but held their shape and discipline through the competition.
More than a football match
The games drew hundreds of old boys to Legon, along with members of the Past Old Girls Association (POGA), referred to within the school community as GEMS. Professionals, business executives, celebrities and politicians were in the crowd, including the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams.
Organisers praised the year groups for the spirit of the 10th edition, pointing to the brotherhood and energy on display. For many alumni, the tournament works as a reunion first and a competition second, a yearly chance to reconnect with schoolmates scattered across Ghana and abroad.
The leadership of BHOBU 2003 says it plans a victory party, and intends to invite the POGA 2003 members who came out to support them during the tournament.
What comes next
Organisers signalled that the games will continue to grow, with attention now turning to a bigger milestone for the school. Bishop Herman College is heading towards its 75th anniversary, and the BHOBU family is expected to gather again for that celebration.
For Bishop Herman alumni living in the United States and elsewhere, the anniversary is likely to be the next major fixture on the calendar, and the kind of event that usually pulls diaspora old boys back home.
