Bibiani Gold Stars won the GHALCA Top Four
The GHALCA Top Four tournament was staged at the University of Ghana Stadium from Wednesday, August 20 to Sunday, August 24, 2025.
It brought together the top four clubs from the 2024/25 Ghana Premier League season in a preseason competition designed to give the teams momentum ahead of the new campaign.
The four clubs that participated were Bibiani Gold Stars, who had just won their maiden Ghana Premier League title; Heart of Lions, who finished second; Asante Kotoko, who placed third; and Hearts of Oak, who came fourth.
The stands were almost full, the football was competitive, and the rivalry was fierce.
Gold Stars win 2025 GHALCA Top 4 tournament
But when Bibiani Gold Stars were crowned champions instead of Accra Hearts of Oak, on the final day, confusion rippled through the stadium.
Both sides had finished the tournament with seven points each, and many supporters believed Hearts of Oak, with their superior goal difference and stronger record, deserved to lift the trophy.
Instead, Gold Stars were handed the title, sparking outrage among Phobia fans and raising questions about the fairness of the rules.
What the rules say
The rules of the competition proved decisive in the final outcome. According to Rule 4, any match that ended in a draw would go straight to penalties.
The winner of the shootout would be awarded two points while the loser received one.
This meant that a drawn match could no longer be shared equally as in the league, but instead offered a bonus point to the penalty winner.
For Bibiani Gold Stars, this rule worked perfectly in their favour. They opened the tournament with a 2–1 victory over Asante Kotoko, earning three points. In their second game, they drew 2–2 with Hearts of Oak but won the penalty shootout, giving them two more points.
Their final game against Heart of Lions also ended 1–1, and once again they triumphed in the shootout, collecting another two points.
In total, Gold Stars finished unbeaten with seven points from three matches.
Hearts of Oak’s campaign took a slightly different path. They began strongly, defeating Heart of Lions to claim three points.
Their clash with Gold Stars ended in a 2–2 draw, but they lost the penalty shootout, leaving them with only one point from that game.
In their final match, they beat Kotoko 2–0, earning three more points. Like Gold Stars, Hearts also finished on seven points.
The controversy came in the interpretation of Rule 5. When two teams are tied on points, GHALCA applies the same rules as the Ghana Football Association applies to the Ghana Premier League, beginning with head-to-head results.
In this case, Gold Stars’ penalty shootout win over Hearts of Oak counted as a head-to-head victory, even though Hearts had more outright wins and a superior goal difference of +3 compared to Gold Stars’ +1.
It was this single head-to-head result, decided by penalties, that crowned Bibiani Gold Stars as champions of the 2025 GHALCA Top Four tournament and left Hearts fans feeling aggrieved.
FKA/EB
Meanwhile, watch videos from the 2025 Democracy Cup trophy presentation to Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin on GhanaWeb TV below:
