Accra: The race for the Ghana Premier League's Golden Boot has produced some of the country's most memorable goalscorers, from Peter Lamptey and Dan Owusu in the 1970s to modern-day stars such as Yaw Annor and Samuel Attah Kumi. Since 1973, the award has been won by some of Ghana's biggest football names, with a number of strikers etching their names into the history of the competition through remarkable goalscoring campaigns.
According to Ghana Web, the first recorded winner was Peter Lamptey of Hearts of Oak, who scored 26 goals in 1973. Bofoakwa Tano's Dan Owusu then established one of the competition's earliest scoring dynasties, becoming the first player to win the Goal King award three consecutive times, scoring 24 goals in 1974, 26 in 1975, and 28 in 1976. The 1970s and 1980s featured several legendary names, with George Alhassan winning in 1977, and Real Tamale United's Muhammed Choo claiming the award in 1978 and 1982.
Asante Kotoko icon Opoku Afriyie won in 1979 and 1981, with Emmanuel Quarshie taking the 1980 award for Sekondi Hasaacas. The decade also saw Anane Kobo win consecutive awards in 1983 and 1984, while Great Olympics' George Alhassan returned to the top in 1985. Cornerstones striker Tony Yeboah followed with back-to-back scoring crowns in 1986 and 1987.
The late 1980s and 1990s brought another generation of prolific forwards, including Henry Acquah, Muhammed Tijani, Thomas Boakye, Abdul Mumuni, Augustine Arhinful, Laud Oscar, Charles Amoah, and Kofi Deblah. The turn of the millennium belonged to Ishmael Addo, the Hearts of Oak striker who won the Goal King award three years running from 1999 to 2001, scoring 19, 21, and 22 goals respectively, making him the second player after Dan Owusu to achieve this feat.
The 2000s then produced winners such as Bernard Don Bortey, Charles Taylor, Shaibu Yakubu, Prince Tagoe, Emmanuel Clottey, Eric Bekoe, and Alex Asamoah. In 2009/10, the award was shared by Bismark Idan and Samuel Affum, while Nana Poku, Emmanuel Baffour, Mahatma Otoo, Augustine Okrah, Kofi Owusu, and Latif Blessing continued the tradition of individual scoring excellence.
The league faced interruptions, first with the Anas Aremeyaw Anas investigative expos© in 2018, which led to the cancellation of the 2018 season, and later during the 2019/20 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the league returned, Diawisie Taylor won the 2020/21 Golden Boot with Karela United. Yaw Annor followed for Ashanti Gold in 2021/22, before Abednego Tetteh, Stephen Amankona, and, most recently, Samuel Attah Kumi took the scoring crown. Amankona achieved a rare feat by winning back-to-back Golden Boots for Berekum Chelsea in 2023/24 and 2024/25, while Attah Kumi became the latest Goal King after scoring 19 goals for Bibiani Gold Stars in the 2025/26 campaign.