Ghana’s football fraternity prepares to bid farewell to former coach of Accra Hearts of Oak, Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, who will be buried today in Accra.
His mortal remains will be interred at the Awudome Cemetery in Accra, family sources say.
Attuquayefio, who was 70, died Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. He battled a prolonged throat cancer.
“For many years, there had been doubts about the capacity of local coaches to handle the national teams. Jones is one of the people who made mince meat of that myth,” President John Mahama has said of Jones.
“On behalf of the CAF Executive Committee and on my own behalf, I extend my deepest condolences to the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the bereaved family and the Ghanaian football family. My thoughts are with you at this difficult moment.
“African football has lost one of its astute servants. From his playing era to his coaching days, Cecil Jones Attuquayefio left lasting memories in the minds of all,” said President of the Confederation of African Football Issa Hayatou after his passing in May.
Who is Jones?
Born on 15th October, 1944, Attuquayefio was a gifted defender who helped Accra Great Olympics to win the Ghana league in 1970 and was also part of the Black Stars team that won the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 1965 and also played in the 1968 and 1970 grand finales.
As a coach, he is renowned for winning three league titles with Accra Hearts of Oak and also guided them to win the CAF Champions League in 2000 as well as the CAF Super Cup in that year before adding the maiden CAF Confederation Cup in 2004.
He coached the Black Stars in 2001 and became the first coach to qualify Benin to the AFCON in 2004.
He was an outstanding coach, player and administrator and will be remembered for his various accomplishments and the contributions he made to the game in Ghana.
While serving as the vice-president of the Ghana Football Association and deputy general secretary in the 1980s and 1990s, he helped to set up the current strong foundations of our federation.
He served Ghana’s national teams with distinction having coached the Black Starlets to the Fifa U-17 World Cup bronze medal in 1999 in New Zealand and was also the assistant coach the Black Meteors team that won Africa’s first Olympic football medal in Barcelona 1992 with bronze. He also made great strides with the senior national team the Black Stars.
By: Kasapafmonline.com/Ghana
