John Ansah, Chairman of the Ghana League Club Association (GHALCA), has revealed the team to replace Hearts of Oak in the 2026 Top 4 competition.

Hearts of Oak SC dropped out of the competition due to clashes between dates of the tournament and other pre-agreed programmes.

Though Ghana’s Football Association does not recognise the GHALCA Top 4 as a mandatory competition, selected teams take part in the competition to get their players in shape ahead of the start of a new season.

With the Phobians out the door, Mr John Ansah disclosed on Max FM’s Sports Pack show about FC Samartex 1996’s agreement to replace the Accra-based club.

“FC Samartex will replace Hearts of Oak… What I liked about them was that they kept asking us for the date because they didn’t want it to clash with the Nsenkyire Cup,” he said to host Nana Darkwa Gyasi.

The 2026 GHALCA Top 4 competition kicks off from August 26 to 30 at the University of Ghana Stadium.