Asante Kotoko have released head coach Eric Tinkler from his contract with immediate effect, ending a tenure of little more than two months and opening the way for the South African to take charge of Durban City FC.
The Ghanaian club announced the decision in the early hours of Monday, September 28, after accepting Tinkler’s request to leave for personal reasons. The statement followed Kotoko’s 2-0 home defeat to Aduana FC in the Ghana Premier League on Sunday evening at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
Kotoko said the board of directors had agreed to free Tinkler from his contract at once. The club added that both sides had held talks in an effort to keep the relationship intact at this early stage, but ultimately respected the coach’s decision.
In its statement the club thanked Tinkler for his professionalism during a short spell with the Porcupine Warriors and said it would begin the process of appointing a successor. Kotoko are next due to host Karela United on Thursday without Tinkler on the bench.
Tinkler was appointed on July 17, 2026, as part of a technical overhaul overseen by director of football Stanley Purl Menzo. The move marked his first coaching appointment outside South Africa after previous posts at Orlando Pirates, Cape Town City, SuperSport United, Chippa United, Maritzburg United and Sekhukhune United. Kotoko presented the hire as an attempt to restore a club that finished eighth last season after changing coaches mid-campaign. Tinkler, a former Bafana Bafana midfielder and 1996 Africa Cup of Nations winner, spoke at the time of returning the club to giant status and developing players for the national team.
His league record in Kumasi was one win, two draws and one defeat from four matches. Kotoko also won the Democracy Cup during his period in charge and claimed their first Ghana Premier League victory of the season against Heart of Lions. That unbeaten league start ended against Aduana. Stephen Amankona scored in the seventh minute after a defensive error involving goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim.
Aduana were reduced to ten men before half-time when Raymond Agyemang received a second yellow card, but Kotoko failed to equalise. Seidu Saana added a second goal in stoppage time. Tinkler later described the opening goal as cheap and said his team had made the evening more difficult than it needed to be. The club did not link the resignation to that result.
Tinkler is now widely expected to return to South Africa and take over at Durban City. The KwaZulu-Natal club dismissed Khalil Ben Youssef after a brief tenure that began in June, when the former Kaizer Chiefs co-coach replaced Pitso Dladla following City’s Nedbank Cup success.
Ben Youssef’s league record was reported as one win, four draws and two losses from seven Betway Premiership matches. He also oversaw a successful CAF Confederation Cup preliminary-round tie against Rukinzo FC. Tinkler had been linked with the Durban post before Ben Youssef’s appointment, with earlier discussions said to have stalled over the proposed technical structure.
