Head Coach of Dreams FC Abdul-Karim Zito says he had to psyche his charges against putting their minds on money when the decision was taken by the club to participate in the CAF Confederation Cup.
According to him, that has been one of the secrets that is propelling the club to success in this year’s CAF Confederation Cup.
“I made my boys to understand that though money is given, we should not put our minds on the money,” he said in an interview on Maakye Sports on Tuesday, April 2.
He revealed how slim it was a final decision for the board of the club to take as regards the team’s participation in the second-tier club competition in Africa.
He said the slim decision was as a result of the financial position of the club.
The former Asante Kotoko player said he had to, therefore, encourage the players to play for pride and not for money.
“I told [my players] it must be the desire to play. They give us money but we didn’t put money first. I told them Dreams FC are giving you the opportunity. Just execute your talent. So that was our main [aim]. That was our secret.”
He added that one thing that motivated them was the lamentation of Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku, who is the bankroller of the club, that he would be disappointed if the players were not taken to the competition to showcase their talents.
Coach Zito said the decision has indeed paid off.
Dreams FC advanced to the group stage of the 2023/24 CAF Confederation Cup from the preliminary round.
They topped a group that also had Tunisian giants Club Africain and made it to the quarter-final stage, pegged against Stade Malien de Bamako.
Over the weekend, they beat the Malian giants by 2-1 ahead of the second leg at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Sunday, April 7.
