Frederick Ansah Botchway

Frederick Ansah Botchway (born 31 October 1996) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Zimbabwean club Dynamos City.

Frederick Ansah Botchway
Personal information
Full name Frederick Ansah Botchway
Date of birth (1996-10-31) 31 October 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Dynamos
Number 17
Youth career
0000–2015 Charity Stars
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2019 Liberty Professionals 43 (2)
2020–2022 Hearts of Oak 55 (2)
2022 Samartex 0 (0)
2022–2023 Adama City 10 (0)
2024– Dynamos 17
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 August 2023

Botchway began his senior club career playing for Liberty Professionals aged 19. In 2020, Botchway signed for Accra Hearts of Oak on a free transfer, where he won five trophies, including a Ghana Premier League title, two Ghana FA Cup, and a President's Cup. In 2022, he moved to Samartex but a month later joined Ethiopian club Adama City. Frederick Ansah Botchway join Dynamos FC

Club career

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Liberty Professionals

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Botchway started his senior career with Dansoman side Liberty Professionals. Ahead of the 2015–16 season, he was promoted to the senior team. He made his professional debut on 1 June 2016 when he was brought on in the 80th minute during a 1–0 loss to Medeama.[1] On 18 September 2016, he made his first start for the club and played the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 win over Bechem United.[2]

The following season, in 2017, he became an important member of the team, playing in 21 league matches and scoring one goal.[3] The goal was his first league goal, which he scored after coming on as a substitute in a 4–2 victory over Berekum Chelsea on 8 October 2017.[4][5] In the 2018 season, Botchway played 7 of the 15 league matches as the league was cancelled due to corruption scandal documentary Anas Number 12 exposé in relation to the Ghana Football Association.[3]

He played a major role in Liberty's 2019 GFA Special Competition campaign of which he played 13 of 14 matches played and scored a goal to help Liberty finish third, two points shy of a semi-finals.[3] His performance during that campaign made him a transfer target for top teams such as Asante Kotoko, Hearts of Oak and Legon Cities after his contract with Liberty expired.[6] At the end of his 4–year stay with the club he played 43 league matches and scored 2 goals.[3]

Hearts of Oak

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Botchway moved to Hearts of Oak on a free transfer in January 2020, two games after the start of the 2019–20 Ghana Premier League season.[7][8] On 12 January 2020, he started his first match in a 2–1 victory over Cape Coast Ebusua Dwarfs. He played 70 minutes of the match before being substituted for Dominic Eshun.[9] He played 10 matches before the league was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.[3]

In his second season with Hearts, Botchway played a major role in Hearts winning the domestic double.[10] On 2 January 2021, he scored his debut goal for Hearts of Oak, scoring the fourth goal, a spot kick in their 6–1 rout of Bechem United.[11] In early April, he sustained an injury in a match against Aduana Stars keeping him out until June 2021, when he made a substitute appearance in the 3–0 victory in Ghana FA Cup match against his former club Liberty Professionals.[12] In the following match, he was named on the bench in their 1–1 draw against fierce rivals Accra Great Olympics. On his full return from injury, he started and scored a goal in their 2–1 victory over Legon Cities on June 24. At the end of the season, he played 22 league matches and scored 2 goals as Hearts won the 2020–21 Ghana Premier League after a 12-year trophy drought.[13][3][14] During the 2021 Ghanaian FA Cup final, he played 111 minutes of full time plus extra time before he was substituted for Emmanuel Nettey as Hearts won the match via a penalty shootout.[15]

In the 2021–22 season, Botchway maintained his role as a key member of the team, playing 23 league matches. He also played the entire 90-minute game as Hearts defeated Bechem United 2–1 in the 2021–22 Ghanaian FA Cup final.[16]

At the end of his two year stint, he played over 60 matches in all competitions, scored two goals and won five trophies.[17]

Adama City

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Botchway was released by Hearts in August 2022 after being deemed surplus to requirements, but he was eventually called back. He trained with the club until he was sold to newly promoted side Samartex. He signed a two-year contract with the Samreboi-based club.[18][19] A month after, Botchway was transferred to Ethiopian club Adama City, signing a one-year contract after passing his medical examination.[17]

International career

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Botchway was called up to the Ghana A' national football team, the Local Black Stars ahead of their 2020 CHAN qualifiers and 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations, however he did not make the final squad.[6]

Personal life

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Botchway considers former Ghanaian international captain Stephen Appiah who also featured for Accra Hearts of Oak as his idol and inspiration.[20][21] He grew up in a poor family and due to struggles at the early stages of his football career including have to walk long distances for training and matches he considered quitting football.[22]

Honours

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Hearts of Oak

References

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  1. ^ "Match Report of Liberty Professionals FC vs Medeama SC - 2016-06-01 - Ghana Premier League". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Match Report of Liberty Professionals FC vs Bechem United FC - 2016-09-18 - Ghana Premier League". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Frederick Ansah Botchway - Soccer player profile & career statistics". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Match Report of Liberty Professionals FC vs Berekum Chelsea FC - 2017-10-08 - Ghana Premier League". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Match Report: Liberty Professionals 4-2 Berekum Chelsea- Resurgent Soccer lads move to safety after sweet Blues victory". Ghanasoccernet. 8 October 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b "5 Things to Know About Hearts of Oak Target Frederick Ansah Botchway". Kick GH. 7 January 2020. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  7. ^ "OFFICIAL: Hearts Of Oak Sign Midfielder Frederick Ansah Botchway". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  8. ^ "DONE DEAL: Hearts of Oak announce Frederick Ansah Botchway capture". GhanaSoccernet. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Match Report of Accra Hearts of Oak SC vs Cape Coast Ebusua Dwarfs - 2020-01-12 - Ghana Premier League -". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  10. ^ "MTN FA Cup final: Hearts of Oak beat AshantiGold on penalties to win the double". My Joy Online. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  11. ^ "2020/21 Ghana Premier League: Week 7 Match Report- Hearts of Oak 6-1 Bechem United". Ghanasoccernet. 2 January 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Frederick Ansah Botwe makes injury return ahead of Great Olympics clash". Ghana Web. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  13. ^ a b Appiah, Samuel Ekow Amoasi (17 July 2021). "Hearts of Oak crowned 2020/21 Ghana Premier League champions [Photos]". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  14. ^ Neequaye, Bernard (19 July 2021). "Frederick Ansah Botchway warns Hearts of Oak against complacency". Graphic Online. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  15. ^ "MTN FA Cup 2021 final - Match Report: AshantiGold (7) 0-0 (8) Hearts of Oak - Hearts annex FA Cup after marathon shoot out victory — Ghana Sports Online". 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Live Updates: Hearts of Oak 2-1 Bechem United ( MTN FA Cup final)". GhanaSoccernet. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Former Hearts of Oak midfielder Frederick Ansah Botchway signs for Adama City in Ethiopia". Ghanasoccernet. 4 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Samartex confirm signing Frederick Ansah Botchway from Hearts of Oak". Ghanasoccernet. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  19. ^ Lawrence, Kweku (23 August 2023). "Frederick Ansah Botchway joins Samartex from Hearts of Oak". My Joy Online. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Stephen Appiah inspired my move to Hearts of Oak - Frederick Ansah Botchway". Ghana Web. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Hearts Of Oak's Frederick Ansah Botchway Eyes European Move To Reward Mom". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Hearts of Oak star Frederick Ansah Botchway came close to quitting due to poverty". GhanaSoccernet. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  23. ^ "2020/21 MTN FA Cup Final: Match Report- AshantiGold 0 (7)-(8) 0 Hearts of Oak- Phobians complete season's double". GhanaSoccernet. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Ghana FA to confirm Hearts of Oak as Super Cup winners". GhanaSoccernet. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Hearts of Oak beat Asante Kotoko 2-1 to lift 2022 President's Cup". GhanaWeb. 4 March 2022. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
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