Osman Seidu Maada, better known to the world as Baba Yara, was born on October 12, 1936, in Kintampo Zongo in Ghana’s Bono East Region.
His story is one of dazzling rise, heartbreaking tragedy, and undying legacy, a tale that still echoes in Ghanaian football more than five decades after his death.
According to reports, the name “Baba Yara” itself came by chance. His mother, Amina Ibrahim, fondly called him “Baba” to distinguish him from his father, Seidu Maada.
But the famous surname “Yara” came from a childhood mishap. One afternoon, while kicking a ball against a wall, young Baba startled his mother, who shouted, “Ei, Baba Yara!”, “Yara” means child.
The nickname stuck, and with it, a legend was born.
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From the turf to the pitch
Before dazzling football fans, Baba Yara started as a young horse rider at the Accra Turf Club between 1950 and 1955.
His speed, agility, and balance thrilled crowds, foreshadowing the athletic grace that would later define him on the football field.
In 1955, Asante Kotoko signed him, and his debut was nothing short of magic. Playing against Dunkwa Town IX, he scored all three goals in a 3–3 draw.
A few months later, against Accra Hearts of Oak, he wore the number 7 shirt, igniting a rivalry that would become part of Ghana’s football folklore.
Fast, skilful, and deadly in attack, Baba Yara quickly earned the nickname “King of Wingers.”
Stardom with Kotoko and the Black Stars
By the late 1950s, Yara was the heartbeat of Kotoko, dazzling fans with his ability to go past defenders and score from impossible angles.
In 1959 and 1960, he was voted Ghana Player of the Year, cementing his place as the country’s brightest star.
His brilliance extended to the national team. He made his debut for the Black Stars in 1955, announcing himself in a grand style as Ghana thrashed Nigeria 7–0 at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Yara scored twice and provided four assists, an astonishing debut that set the tone for his international career.
In total, he earned 51 caps and scored 49 goals for Ghana, a staggering record for a winger.
His partnership with striker Edward Acquah became legendary, a combination that terrorised defenders across Africa.
Real Republicans and national glory
Under President Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana assembled the Real Republicans in 1961, a “super team” combining the best players from local clubs. Baba Yara was a natural choice.
Alongside stars like Edward Acquah, he turned the team into an unstoppable force.
That same year, he was honoured as the Most Distinguished Member of the Black Stars, the highest football award in Ghana at the time.
Yara was set to play a significant role in Ghana’s squad for the 1963 AFCON, but fate had other plans.
The tragedy that ended his career
On March 4, 1963, the Real Republicans were returning from a league victory against Volta Heroes in Kpandu.
Near Kpeve, their bus lost control on a slippery curve and crashed into an embankment.
Baba Yara suffered a devastating spinal injury, leaving him paralysed from the waist down at just 26 years old.
Flown to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the UK, he spent months in recovery but never regained mobility.
His once-sparkling career was over. For the next six years, he lived quietly, bedridden and in a wheelchair, a symbol of resilience but also of Ghana’s greatest football heartbreak.
A poignant moment came later in 1963 when the Black Stars, fresh from winning their first AFCON, visited Baba Yara at his home in Kanda Estate.
They presented him with the Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem Trophy, a moving gesture to honour the man who had given so much but was denied the chance to celebrate on the pitch.
Final days and legacy
On May 5, 1969, Baba Yara passed away at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra at the age of 32.
His death plunged the nation into mourning. Ghana lost not just a footballer, but a cultural icon, a player whose brilliance embodied the spirit of a young nation finding its feet.
In 2005, the Kumasi Sports Stadium was renamed the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in honour of his legacy.
With a capacity of 40,528, it remains Ghana’s largest football arena and a living monument to the man who once lit up the country.
FKA/JE
Meanwhile, watch as Ghanaians debate the performance of Black Stars coach Otto Addo
