| Pixels: | 200px |
| Competition: | Ghana Premier League |
| Season: | 2020–21 |
| Dates: | 14 November 2020 — 18 July 2021 |
| Winners: | Accra Hearts of Oak |
| Relegated: | Ebusua Dwarfs Liberty Professionals Inter Allies |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Hearts of Oak |
| Continentalcup2: | Confederation Cup |
| Matches: | 306 |
| Total Goals: | 694 |
| League Topscorer: | (18 goals) Diawisie Taylor |
| Biggest Home Win: | Ashanti Gold 70 Inter Allies (18 July 2021) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Liberty 15 Ashanti Gold (24 June 2021) |
| Highest Scoring: | WAFA 54 Medeama (3 January 2021) |
| Longest Wins: | (5 games) Hearts of Oak |
| Longest Unbeaten: | (11 games) Hearts of Oak |
| Longest Winless: | (7 games) International Allies |
| Longest Losses: | (7 games) International Allies |
| Prevseason: | 2019–20 |
| Nextseason: | 2021–22 |
| Updated: | 18 June 2021 |
| Extra Information: | Live Matches on StarTimes |
| Country: |  (18 teams) |
The 2020–21 Ghana Premier League is the 65th season of top professional association football league in Ghana. The season started on 14 November 2020.[1] 18 teams were competing in the league with each club playing each other twice, home and away, with the three clubs at the bottom of the league relegated to the Division One League.[2] [3] [4] Hearts of Oak became champion for the first time since twelve years.
With 18 clubs participating in the league, this marked the second time since 1980 that more than 16 clubs competed in the top division of Ghanaian football.[5] The GFA announced that the league was suspended on 15 March 2020, in the middle of match-week 15, because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.[6] [7] On 31 May, the league was further suspended until at least 31 June. On 30 June, the FA had a meeting and cancelled the league due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A meeting was held on 27 August 2020 to determine the start and logistics of the 2020–21 season.[8]
The Ghana Football Association (GFA), on Friday, 5 November 2020 launched the 65th Ghana Premier League season and other products of the Association, ie, Division One League, Women's Premier League and the MTN FA Cup. The launch took place in the studio of Broadcast partner, StarTimes and broadcast live on StarTimes Adepa Channel 247 and Max TV.[9]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic on 22 October 2020, The Ghana Football Association (GFA) began testing of players, coaching staff, and officials of the 18 Premier League clubs.[10] [11]
The Ghana Football Association Chairman announced that the prize money for winning the league; "The winner of the 2020/21 Premier League will earn GHC 250,000 in prize money. The prize money is an increase from the GHc 180,000 received by the last winner of the Ghana Premier League Aduana Stars in the 2016/17 season."
The opening game between Hearts of Oak and Aduana Stars was postponed after a number of players tested positive for COVID-19. 16 teams went for COVID-19 testing.[13]
The game between Liberty Professionals and Bechem United was also postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]
The 2020-2021 Ghana Premier League season has seen an increase in the number of clubs from 16 to 18 clubs.[15] The Accra Sports Stadium would be home to five Premier League Clubs, they are Hearts of Oak, Asante Kotoko, Legon Cities, Great Olympics and Inter Allies.[16]
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.[17]
| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aduana Stars | Dormaa Ahenkro | Agyeman Badu Stadium | 7,000 | |
| Asante Kotoko | Accra | Accra Sports Stadium | 40,000 | |
| Ashanti Gold | Obuasi | Len Clay Stadium | 20,000 | |
| Bechem United | Bechem | Nana Gyeabour's Park | 5,000 | |
| Berekum Chelsea | Berekum | Golden City Sports Stadium | 5,000 | |
| Dreams | Dawu | Theatre of Dreams Sports Stadium | 5,000 | |
| Ebusua Dwarfs | Cape Coast | Cape Coast Sports Stadium | 15,000 | |
| Eleven Wonders | Techiman | Ohene Ameyaw Stadium | 2,000 | |
| Elmina Sharks | Elmina | Nduom Sports Stadium | 5,000 | |
| Great Olympics | Accra | Accra Sports Stadium | 40,000 | |
| Hearts of Oak | Accra | Accra Sports Stadium | 40,000 | |
| Inter Allies | Accra | Theatre of Dreams Sports Stadium | 40,000 | |
| Karela United | Aiyinase | CAM Stadium | 5000 | |
| King Faisal | Techiman | Ohene Ameyaw Park | 10,000 | |
| Legon Cities | Accra | Accra Sports Stadium | 40,000 | |
| Liberty Professionals | Dansoman | Carl Reindorf Park | 2000 | |
| Medeama | Tarkwa | TNA Park | 12,000 | |
| WAFA | Sogakope | Red Bull Arena | 1,000 |
The table lists club managers.[18] [19] [20]
| Team | Manager | Captain | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aduana Stars | Asare Bediako | ||
| Asante Kotoko | Mariano Barreto | Felix Annan | |
| Ashanti Gold | Romain Folz | Amos Addai | |
| Bechem United | Mingle Ocansey Kasim | Moro Salifu | |
| Berekum Chelsea | Seth Hoffman | Stephen Amankona | |
| Dreams | Vladislav Virić | Michael Agbekpornu | |
| Ebusua Dwarfs | James Kuuku Dadzie | Dennis Korsah | |
| Eleven Wonders | Ignatius Osei-Fosu | Simms Kwayie | |
| Elmina Sharks | Joachim Yaw Acheampong | Ishmael Hammond | |
| Great Olympics | Annor Walker | Gladson Awako | |
| Hearts of Oak | Samuel Boadu | ||
| Inter Allies | Henrik Peters Lehm | Hashmin Musah | |
| Karela United | Evans Adotey | ||
| King Faisal | Slaviša Božičić | Michael Akuffo | |
| Legon Cities | Bashir Hayford | Fatau Dauda | |
| Liberty Professionals | Andy Sinason (co-interim) Sellas Tetteh | Shaibu Ganiu George William Ansong | |
| Medeama | Yaw Preko | Joseph Tetteh Zutah | |
| WAFA | Prosper Nartey Ogum | Ibrahim Abukari |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Table | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legon Cities | Goran Barjaktarević | Sacked | 21 November 2020 | Bashir Hayford | 25 November 2020 | 18th[21] [22] | |
| Asante Kotoko | Maxwell Konadu | Sacked | 18 December 2020 | Johnson Smith (Interim Manager) | 18 December 2020 | 6th[23] [24] | |
| Johnson Smith (Interim Manager) | End of Interim basis | 26 March 2021 | Mariano Barreto | 26 March 2021 | 6th[25] | ||
| Hearts of Oak | Edward Odum | Re-assigned to the youth team | December 2019 | Kosta Papic | 2 December 2020 | 11th[26] [27] | |
| Kosta Papic | Resigned | 15 February 2021 | Samuel Boadu | 2 March 2021 | 11th[28] [29] | ||
| Dreams FC | Winfred Dormon | Re-assigned as assistant coach | 8 January 2021 | Vladislav Virić | 8 January 2021 | 16th[30] [31] | |
| Berekum Chelsea | Michael Hesse Odamtten | Sacked | 9 January 2021 | Seth Hoffman | 13 January 2021 | 15th[32] [33] | |
| Ashanti Gold | Milovan Cirkovic | Mutual consent | 23 February 2021 | Romain Folz | 31 March 2021 | 7th[34] [35] | |
| Medeama SC | Samuel Boadu | Resigned | 25 February 2021 | Yaw Preko | 3 March 2021 | 3rd[36] [37] | |
| Aduana Stars | Samuel Paa Kwesi Fabin | End of Contract | 27 February 2021 | Asare Bediako | 1 March 2021 | 8th[38] [39] | |
| Bechem United | Ernest Danso | Mutual consent | 25 March 2021 | Mingle Ocansey Kasim | 25 March 2021 | 8th[40] | |
| Liberty Professionals | David Ocloo | Sacked | 21 April 2021 | Andy Sinason Sellas Tetteh | 21 April 2021 | 17th | |
| Ebusua Dwarfs | Ernest Thompson-Quartey | Resigned | 13 June 2021 | James Kuuku Dadzie | 15 June 2021 | 12th[41] |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | King Faisal | Berekum Chelsea | 4–3 (H)[45] | ||
| | Ebusua Dwarfs | Karela United | 4–1 (A)[46] | ||
| | Ashanti Gold | Inter Allies | 7–0 (H)[47] |
| 1 | Razak Abalora | Asante Kotoko | 12 |
| Richard Attah | Hearts of Oak | ||
| 3 | Kofi Baah | Liberty Professionals | 11 |
| 4 | Joseph Addo | Aduana Stars | 9 |
| 5 | Seidu Rashid | Inter Allies | 8 |
| Richard Baidoo | Karela United | ||
| Frank Boateng | Medeama | ||
| 8 | Solomon Agbesi | Dreams | 6 |
| Benjamin Asare | Great Olympics | ||
| Eric Ofori Antwi | Medeama |
As of 29 July 2021
| Month | Player of the Month | Manager of the Month | References | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Manager | Club | |||
| December | Gladson Awako | Great Olympics | Kwaku Danso | Bechem United | [48] [49] | |
| January | Diawisie Taylor | Karela United | Evans Adotey | Karela United | [50] [51] [52] | |
| February | Joseph Esso | Dreams FC | Vladislav Virić | Dreams FC | [53] [54] | |
| April | Abdul Basit | WAFA | Yaw Preko | Medeama S.C. | [55] [56] | |
| May | Salifu Ibrahim | Hearts of Oak | Samuel Boadu | Hearts of Oak | [57] [58] | |
| June | Augustine Boakye | WAFA | Samuel Boadu | Hearts of Oak | [59] [60] | |
| Award | Winner | Club | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana Football Awards Coach of the Year | Samuel Boadu | Hearts of Oak | [61] |
| Ghana Football Awards Home-based Player of Year | Salifu Ibrahim | Hearts of Oak | |
| GPL NASCO Coach of the Season | Samuel Boadu | Hearts of Oak | [62] |
| GPL NASCO Player of the Season | Salifu Ibrahim | Hearts of Oak |