FC Samartex 1996
Samartex started as a works team for a timber and plywood mill in the forest of Ghana’s Western Region, with players training after their shifts. They spent a quarter of a century in the lower divisions, reached the Premier League in 2022 and won it at the second attempt. A town of around 29,000 people has had a champions of Ghana side ever since.
A Works Team from the Timber Mill
Samreboi sits in the Amenfi West District, where the Samre and Tano rivers meet. Its mill opened in 1947 as the African Timber and Plywood Company, and in May 1995 Samartex Timber & Plywood took it over. The company registered a club the same year for its workers and the town. The players were full-time employees, coached by union secretary Budu Kumi, and they won promotion from the Western Region’s third division in their first season, by July 1996. Under Thomas Hirsch the club was renamed FC Samartex 1996.
In 2004 Sports Minister Kojo Baah Wiredu opened the club’s ground, with dressing rooms and stands, alongside a 26-room players’ building with a gym and dining hall. Samartex then spent years in the lower leagues. Their best-known cup day came in 2014, when they knocked Accra Hearts of Oak out of the FA Cup. In 2021–22 they won Division One Zone Two with 66 points from 30 games, ahead of New Edubiase United and Ebusua Dwarfs.
Champions in Year Two
Their first Premier League season ended in tenth place with 46 points. A year later, under coach Nurudeen Amadu, Samartex won the title. They sealed it on 2 June 2024 at the Nsenkyire Sports Arena, beating Bibiani Gold Stars 1–0 with an Emmanuel Mamah goal just before half-time. That took them to 58 points with two games left. They finished the season by beating Accra Lions 2–0 at home. On 31 August 2024 they added the Champion of Champions trophy, beating FA Cup winners Nsoatreman 1–0 in Tarkwa.
The title brought a first CAF Champions League campaign. Samartex won 1–0 in Douala against Victoria United of Cameroon and 1–0 again in Accra on 25 August 2024. Raja Casablanca were next. A 2–2 draw in Accra on 15 September, with Francis Gyentuaa scoring with an overhead kick and Michael Ephson adding the second, was followed by a 2–0 defeat in Morocco, 4–2 on aggregate.
Top of the Table Again
Samartex finished seventh in 2025–26 with 50 points as Medeama took the title. Coach Christopher Ennin left, and in July 2026 the club appointed Nana Kweku Agyemang, who had kept Vision FC up the season before. The 2026–27 Ghana Premier League began with a 3–1 home win over Karela United. In Week 7, Joshuah Fuseini scored and Christian Agyenim hit an added-time winner to beat Medeama 2–1 at Nsenkyire, ending the champions’ unbeaten start. That put Samartex top of the table on 14 points from seven games, level with Hearts of Oak and Medeama.
Emmanuel Mamah
Green and White
Green and white were chosen by Thomas Hirsch to represent the forest that the timber business depends on, and the club motto is Unity and Victory. Since 2021–22 the shirts have been made by Icarus, who designed a new range to mark the club’s heritage for its first Champions League campaign. Samartex release home, away and goalkeeper shirts each season, and third shirts in 2023–24 and 2024–25.
This FanFile covers FC Samartex 1996 as a club rather than one particular jersey. Check the crest, sponsor, manufacturer label and product code on your own shirt to identify its specific season and edition.
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