# Yaw Preko

Yaw Preko (born 8 September 1974 in Accra) is a former football striker from Ghana. He is currently the manager of Ghana U20.

## Career

His career started in Powerlines, a small Ghanaian club, and his first European club was R.S.C. Anderlecht where he became Belgian champion three times. He played in Turkey from 1997 to 2004 before joining Halmstads BK in the Allsvenskan. He then left Halmstads BK in 2005 as the club did not renew his contract, he signed for Saudi Arabian team Al-Ettifaq and stayed with them for almost 2 years and then signed for HAGL in the Vietnamese V-League, which he left after one season. A free agent, Preko subsequently announced his interest of returning home to the Ghanaian league.

## International

He has played 68 international matches for the Ghana national team, and was a member of the team that won the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

## Coaching career

From December 2012 to July 2013, Preko was the assistant manager of Ghana's U20 national team. In October 2015, he became assistant manager under Kenichi Yatsuhashi. On 30 October 2016, he was appointed caretaker manager replacing Sergio Traguil. However, the club decided to appoint a new manager at the end of October 2018 and two weeks later, he was reunited with Kenichi Yatsuhashi at Nigerian club Ifeanyi Ubah still as assistant manager. Yatsuhashi was sacked already sacked on 12 December 2016 and once again, Preko took over as a caretaker manager and later permanent manager. In January 2018, he was appointed assistant manager for Ghana's U17 national team.
In April 2019, he was appointed assistant manager of Ghanaian club Kings Palace FC, again under Kenichi Yatsuhashi. In June 2019, he was appointed manager of Ghana's U20 national team.

## Career Statistics
### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Ghana | 1991 | 1 | 0 |
| Ghana | 1993 | 1 | 0 |
| Ghana | 1994 | 2 | 3 |
| Ghana | 1995 | 4 | 0 |
| Ghana | 1996 | 3 | 0 |
| Ghana | 1997 | 3 | 0 |
| Ghana | 1998 | 1 | 0 |
| Ghana | 1999 | 3 | 3 |
| Ghana | 2000 | 5 | 1 |
| Ghana | 2001 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 26 | 7 |
    Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Preko goal.
List of international goals scored by Yaw Preko :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 16 October 1994 | Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey, Niger | Niger | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 16 October 1994 | Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey, Niger | Niger | 2–1 | 5–1 | 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3 | 16 October 1994 | Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey, Niger | Niger | 5–1 | 5–1 | 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 4 | 28 February 1999 | Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana | Eritrea | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2000 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 5 | 28 February 1999 | Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana | Eritrea | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2000 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 6 | 28 February 1999 | Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana | Eritrea | 5–0 | 5–0 | 2000 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 7 | 9 July 2000 | Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana | Sierra Leone | 4–0 | 5–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |