BY NADIA NTIAMOAH
Four Ghana Premier League clubs have been confirmed for the 2026 GHALCA Top Four tournament as preparations gather momentum for the start of the 2026/27 domestic football season.
Ghana Premier League champions Medeama SC will be joined by Bibiani Gold Stars, Hearts of Oak and Dreams FC in the traditional pre-season competition organised by the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA).
The four clubs earned their places based strictly on their final positions in the 2025/26 Ghana Premier League, according to GHALCA Administrative Manager Nana Oduro Nyarko.
The decision means Nations FC will not participate in this year’s tournament despite qualifying to represent Ghana in the CAF Confederation Cup.
Oduro Nyarko explained that GHALCA had decided to restrict participation to the four highest-placed teams from last season’s Premier League rather than extend invitations based on qualification for continental competitions.
“Participation will be limited to the clubs that finished first to fourth in the 2025/26 Ghana Premier League,” he explained in an interview with Akoma FM.
“As a result, Nations FC, despite qualifying for the CAF Confederation Cup, will not take part because they did not finish in the league’s top four.”
The clarification confirms Medeama, Gold Stars, Hearts of Oak and Dreams FC as the four sides that will battle for the pre-season trophy.
Medeama enter the tournament after emerging champions of the 2025/26 Ghana Premier League and will particularly view the competition as an important part of preparations for their upcoming CAF Champions League campaign.
The Tarkwa-based club will compete in the preliminary stages of Africa’s premier club competition and will therefore use the Top Four tournament to assess their squad and build match fitness before their continental assignment.
For Hearts of Oak, Bibiani Gold Stars and Dreams FC, the competition will similarly provide an opportunity to test new signings, assess tactical preparations and improve fitness before the commencement of the new league season.
The GHALCA Top Four has historically served as one of Ghana football’s major pre-season competitions, bringing together some of the strongest-performing clubs from the preceding domestic campaign.
Beyond competing for silverware, participating clubs have traditionally used the tournament to fine-tune their squads and provide coaches with competitive matches before the start of the Premier League.
