Prominent Ghanaian politician Haruna Iddrisu has disclosed that he acquired Karela United using the funds generated from the transfer of Fatawu Issahaku to Sporting Lisbon.
Karela United were initially under the ownership of David Brigidi until his passing in 2018. Following Brigidi’s demise, the club faced financial challenges, ultimately leading to its complete takeover by Haruna Iddrisu in late 2022.
Haruna Iddrisu, the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, shed light on the source of the funds that facilitated his ownership of Karela United in an exclusive interview on the 3Sports show GPL Xpress. He explained that a portion of the money generated from the transfer of Fatawu Issahaku was instrumental in the acquisition of the club.
Haruna Iddrisu also owns the Tamale-based second-tier club Steadfast FC, the club that transferred the Black Stars winger to Sporting Lisbon in a deal worth 1.2 million euros, as reported by Transfermarkt.
Iddrisu shared the narrative of how the venture came about, stating, “It was more an accidental decision. It was not my wish. A very good friend of mine called and said, ‘Haruna, can you help? I want you to show interest in Karela.’ I told him I don’t have the money. He said, ‘Haruna, do your best, try and save this team and save Karela for me.’ So, we went in and have become very excited about it.”
“My dream now is to stabilize Karela in the Ghana Premier League, contribute to making it competitive, contribute to getting our players into various national teams and giving young people the opportunity, those who have football talent to realise their fullest potential and make a living or fortune out of it. It was desirably arisen out of the sale Fatawu Issahaku that we used it to do Karela and probably to run Steadfast along the line,” he said.
Karela United have relocated from Aiyinase to Tamale, where they now host their league matches.