As an avid fan of listening to sports shows on the radio growing up in Ashanti Juaben, I fell in love with many voices that we had never set our eyes on. Voices of journalists like Joe Laka and Sometymer Otuo Acheampong, who were the gurus of Fox FM’s midday sports, were too familiar. Osei Oware was also a popular figure on the show.
On Kapital Radio, Spanky was a commentator who ran commentaries on UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cups for the listeners. Spanky of blessed memories was jovial as he introduced the style of adding comics to sports broadcasting. Listowell Yesu Bukarson was a calm sports journalist who was full of information.
Bright Kankam Boadu, in the 90 Minutes newspaper, helped us read all the football and other sports news making waves across the globe.
On Otec 102.1 FM, C Biney and Akosua Ago Banahene made our Monday nights joyful after watching Kwabena Yeboah’s famous Sports Highlights Show on GTV.
One voice that mesmerised our ears was a certain Awal Mohammed’s who used to tell us all about the history of world football. The Familiar Boy’s voice was so familiar, unlike his face.
My dear friend, Kwadwo Antwi Bossman, who died a decade ago from throat cancer, and I used to skip classes at Juaben Senior High School to listen to Awal Mohammed’s voice and football lectures on the radio. We bought a mini Walkman, which had an option to listen to the radio after massive savings. It helped us to bring an abrupt end to always going home to just listen to Focal Sports on Fox FM and skipping classes.
Awal Mohammed was blessed with the ability to catch the attention of his listeners with his mellifluous voice, unmatched analysis and his ability to recall everything football has seen since the commencement of the 20th Century.
The familiar Boy was our idol as we decided at age 14 to be sports journalists in the near future. The love he commanded in Asante Juaben and Juaben Senior High School from 2003 to 2007 was immeasurable, as my mates still call and ask me the whereabouts of my boss, Awal Mohammed, anytime they read my sports articles or listen to me on the radio.
Awal Mohammed could easily be one of the greatest influencers of sports journalism in the Ashanti Region, as his passion and dedication behind the microphone were unmatched.
Fast forward to the early 2010s, and we never heard of Awal Mohammed again. The voice was nowhere to be found, and our interest in listening to sports shows on the radio started to wane the moment we were not hearing from him.
2026 got off to a great start for fans of Kessben Sports when the legendary Joe Laka welcomed Awal Mohammed to his show. The feeling for people like us was surreal as we were missing him.
Probably, the Familiar Boy was born for the microphone; he immediately reconnected with his fans the moment he mentioned Joe Laka’s name. One commenter on Facebook said, ‘Every one minute biara na Joe Laka din nam mu’ as his words were accompanied by laughing emojis. This was Awal’s trademark. He loved mentioning his colleagues’ names on the radio with beautiful smiles.
Awal Mohammed did not waste time and started flowing from all angles, much to the surprise of the sports crew led by the host, Sir Joe Laka. Dr Franko Naro was perplexed, Jnr Awal Mohammed enjoyed his senior’s flow while Andy Kerm was captured smiling.
Having stayed in the USA for more than a decade, many were calling for the Ghana Football Association to put him on the payroll for him to remain in Ghana to help write the history of our beleaguered Ghana Premier League.
On TikTok, users begged Ghanaians to come together to inform the GFA of the Familiar Boy’s return to the radio. He instantly became Mac Morrison, whose 1996 platinum hit song “The Return of the Mark” had instant success.
I can’t emphatically say that he is the best on the African continent when it comes to football history, but he could be. I had goosebumps all over me the day I heard Awal’s voice once again.
He is the only journalist to have informed Ghanaians that there was a club named Manchester United in Ghana. What a football brain!
Awal Mohammed is the Einstein of football history. Awal Mohammed is Messi in African Football when it comes to history. He could have won it all had it been awards for who the best sports journalist is based on the listeners’ choice. Maybe 8 Balon d’ors must be presented to the Familiar Boy for his contribution.
Much love from me to you, sir. You are the biggest influence in my sports journalism career.
