Sunyani (B/A Region) - Alhaji M.M. Saani a member of the Board of Directors of the premier club, Accra Hearts of Oak, has commended Harry Zakkour, former Chief Executive of the club, for exhibiting a dedicated interest in the affairs of the club for so long time.

Alhaji Saani made the commendation when speaking at the launching of Brong-Ahafo branch of Accra Hearts of Oak Africa Cup Fund-Raising programme at Sunyani. The Brong-Ahafo programme formed part of Hearts of Oak's efforts to raise adequate fund to support the club in the forthcoming African Cup of Nations championship league.

Alhaji Saani noted that notwithstanding his resignation as the executive chairman of the club in 2000, Harry Zakour whose administration steered Hearts to win the national league for three consecutive times and the African cup, thus winning him the accolade the millennium chairman, has been supportive of the club financially anytime the need arose.

He described Zakour as "a man of a difference and very humane" and said the multiple victories he chalked for the team testify that " Harry really eats, drinks, baths and even sleeps with Hearts of Oak."

Launching the fund, Zakour thanked the supporters, who had travelled from all the corners of Brong-Ahafo Region for the event saying, "without you there is no Hearts of Oak". He said from the bottom of his heart, his resignation as the executive chairman of the club was not the end of his contributions towards the enhancement of the Phobian club.

"I gave Tommy (referring to Thomas Okine, the current incumbent chairman of the club) my blessings before resigning as chairman. My exit from the chairmanship position does not follow that I am away from the club. I am now a member of the Board of Directors hence it behoves on me to give my widow's mite towards the betterment of the team, Zakkor said.

On the club's African Cup fund-raising programme, he said this is the time the club needed financial assistance from supporters and appealed to them to donate generously towards that end.

Nana Kodua Asabre, National First Vice-Chairman and Northern Sector Organising Chairman, appealed to the followers of Phobian club in Brong-Ahafo to show their love for the club by embracing the management's fund-raising programme of "YI BI MA".

He said the contribution is not limited to only the supporters of the team but every Tom, Dick and Harry who has Hearts of Oak at heart could do so. Nana Asabre said a total of 70 million cedis was realized during the launching of the Ashanti Regional programme in Kumasi in the first week of January this year.

According to him, ?20m of the amount was collected during the launching while 50 million cedis was realized from the sale of coupons four days after the launch only in Kumasi.

J.Y. Appiah, Brong-Ahafo Regional Chairman of Hearts of Oak Supporters Union in a welcoming address said his administration had a target of ?50m and called on all the 13 supporters unions and nine chapters in the region to join hands together to enable the region realize its target.

Ms. Victoria Doku, National Women's Organiser of the Club's Supporters Union called on women in Brong-Ahafo to involve themselves in the fund-raising exercise by contributing to it, saying "no amount of voluntary contribution is small". An amount of ?10m was realized during an appeal for funds.