Annor Walker

Daniel Annor Walker is a Ghanaian football coach who currently coaches the Accra Great Olympics and the Ghana A' national football team (Local Black Stars).[1][2] He previously coached Ghanaian teams; Nania FC, Kpando Hearts of Lions and Berekum Chelsea.

Coaching career

Walker is a CAF License A holder and has coached several clubs in Ghana including Nania FC,[1][3] Tudu Mighty Jets,[4] Kpando Hearts of Lions and Berekum Chelsea.

Nania FC

Walker served as the assistant coach and head coach of Nania FC from 2005 to 2011, guiding them to the MTN Ghanaian FA Cup win in 2011.[5] Nania scored giants Kumasi Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports stadium to win the club's first major top flight trophy.[5][6]

Berekum Chelsea

In 2011, Walker was approached by Berekum Chelsea to join their technical team.[7] Upon his appointment, he played a key role in Berekum Chelsea’s campaign in the 2012 CAF Champions League when the team qualified to play in the group stages of the competition in their maiden campaign.[6]

Accra Great Olympics

In February 2020, he was appointed as the coach for the Teshie-based team Accra Great Olympics.[5][3][8] Ahead of the 2020–21 Ghana Premier League season, in his capacity as the head coach, he set a top five finish target for the club, stating also that if they end up in a good position of ultimately challenging for the trophy they would surely put in a good fight.[2] In January 2021, he took a sick leave which resulted in the appointment of Yaw Preko and Godwin Attram to serve as head coach and assistant respectively.[9][10][11] He resumed his role as head coach in February 2021 and the two were relieved of their duties.[12][13] Despite leading the league table on two occasions in the first round, in the second round of the league the team lost matches to teams on the bottom half of the table to eventually end the season in sixth position and miss out on the top four spot. In general the team's performance was better than they had performed in the previous season before it was cancelled.[14]

Black Stars B

In November 2020, Walker disclosed that he was poised and ready to handle any national team job should he be given the opportunity to serve in one.[15] On 27 April 2021, he was appointed as head coach of the Black Stars B, in the process replacing Ibrahim Tanko who had been coaching the team for more than a year.[16][6] After his appointment, he came out publicly to justify his appointment as the head coach of the Local Black Stars, stating that he deserved the job and was ready to do his best to prove his doubters wrong.[17]

Honours

Nania FC

• Ghanaian FA Cup: 2011[6]
• Ghana Super Cup: 2011[18]

Individual

• Ghana Premier League Manager of the month: February 2022[19]

References

1. "Coach Annor Walker returns to Great Olympics after recovering from his illness". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
2. "Annor Walker sets top 5 agenda for Olympics". Ghanaian Times. 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
3. "Ghana Premier League: Annor Walker to quit Great Olympics due to illness". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
4. Association, Ghana Football. "Disciplinary Committee dismisses charges against Mighty Jets, Annor Walker & Galazy FC". Ghanafa. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
5. "Oly signs new coach". Ghanaian Times. 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
6. Association, Ghana Football. "Annor Walker gets Black Stars B appointment". Ghanafa. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
7. "Nania coach claims B.Chelsea contact". GhanaSoccernet. 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
8. Teye, Prince Narkortu (19 February 2020). "Great Olympics name Walker new coach after former Heart of Oak boss' snub". Goal. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
9. Okine, Sammy Heywood (2021-02-11). "Coach Annor Walker resumes work at Great Olympics". News Ghana. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
10. Tahiru, Fentuo (10 February 2021). "Yaw Preko to leave Great Olympics as Annor Walker resumes head coach duties". Citi Sports Online. Archived from the original on 2021-02-10. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
11. "Great Olympics Manager explains why club replaced Coach Annor Walker". GhanaWeb. 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
12. "Great Olympics: Coach Annor Walker back at post after recovering from illness - MyJoyOnline.com". MyJoyOnline. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
13. "Coach Annor Walker returns to Great Olympics". GhanaWeb. 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
14. "Ghana Premier League: Great Olympics finishing 6th place disappointing - Annor Walker - MyJoyOnline.com". MyJoyOnline. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
15. Appiah, Samuel Ekow Amoasi (26 November 2020). "Great Olympics Annor Walker Poised For National Team Coaching Job". Modern Ghana. Archived from the original on 2020-11-26. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
16. Mensah, Rita (27 April 2021). "Ibrahim Tanko axed; Annor Walker takes over as Black Stars B coach". Citi Sports Online. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
17. Appiah, Samuel Ekow Amoasi (27 April 2021). "I deserve my Black Stars B appointment - Great Olympics coach Annor Walker". Modern Ghana. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
18. Larweh, Kwame (3 May 2021). "Coach Annor Walker wants to win titles, leave legacy at Black Stars B". Graphic Online. Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
19. "Annor Walker adjudged as NASCO Coach of the Month - February". Ghana Football Association. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.

External links

• Annor Walker at Global Sports Archive
• Oloboi Commodore: Annor Walker tasked to rescue Oly