Former Asante Kotoko left-back, died aged 41 on Tuesday.
The player’s demise was confirmed by the club in a tweet expressing their shock at his passing.
Yeboah enjoyed a successful career at the Kumasi club, winning the league three times.
But how did he start out, how did he get to BA United and why did he choose Asante Kotoko over Hearts of Oak and Great Olympics?
Early days
Godfred Yeboah was born at Fiapre a town in Sunyani West Municipality in the Bono Region.
He attended Fiapre Methodist school, where he played football and participated in athletics events as well.
Yeboah came from a family of sportspeople; his mother used to play netball and taught the sport at his school, while his father was also a left-back who played for BA United.
He was actually named Alex Anim Yeboah after his grandfather but he took up the name ‘Godfred’ in honour of his father, who died when he was in Class Six.
His father used to take him to watch BA United’s matches when he was younger.
Time at BA United and interest from Kotoko, Hearts and Olympics
He joined his father’s old club and helped them qualify to the Ghana Premier League from the Division One League that year, although they were relegated that season.
His performances were praised, however, and he was recommended to then-Asante Kotoko head coach, Ernst Middendorp, along with Hamza Mohammed, which led to scouts coming from Kumasi to watch their matches.
After a 1-0 loss to RTU in which he had played badly due to an injury, Yeboah was taken aside by former Asante Kotoko coach, Frimpong Manso, who advised him not to play when injured again as he might not know when a scout was watching.
Ernst Middendorp came to watch Yeboah in action himself in a match against Hearts of Oak after which he took the player aside and told him of Kotoko’s interest in signing him.
At that point, BA United had already received offers from Accra Hearts of Oak and Accra Great Olympics for Yeboah. Hearts of Oak were so desperate to sign him, their local chapter had several conversations with the player every morning.
George Arthur, who played with his father at BA United, told him how the fans had embraced him when he signed for the club.
Yeboah then moved to Accra to stay with his agent, which was taken as a sign by Middendorp that he had decided to move to Hearts of Oak, so when the player showed up at Kotoko’s training ground, the German wasn’t too pleased.
However, the player explained to Kotoko captain Godwin Ablordey that he had come to join them and was ready to train with them that same day which prompted a change in the manager’s demeanour.
Middendorp was so pleased that he gave Yeboah boots and the other things he’d need to play.
After leaving Kotoko in 2009, he joined a club in Vietnam.
Yeboah played three times for the Black Stars in a 1-0 friendly loss to Benin in 2003, a 0-0 draw with DR Congo in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, and a 1-1 draw with Tanzania in a friendly.
He was on the bench in a 3-0 loss against Nigeria in a World Cup qualifier in 2003.
He also featured briefly for Wa All Stars (now Legon Cities) and Ashanti Gold on loan from Asante Kotoko.
Prior to his death, Yeboah had been training young footballers at the Baffour Soccer Academy based at Nsuatre.
Info taken from an interview granted by the player in 2019 to Don Summer.
