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1st African Para Games:Ghana’s amputee team thrash Liberia to book semi-final spot
Team Ghana continued their quest to claim Amputee football gold at the ongoing Accra 2023 Paralympic Games following a 5-0 thrashing of Liberia on Thursday to book a place in the semi-finals.
The team started their campaign with an emphatic 7-0 victory over Uganda before slipping 2-1 to
Morocco and had to make amends in their final game against Liberia to move to the next stage of the competition.
Ghana’s Mohammad Mubarak continued his fine form for team Ghana in the tournament, adding to his tally just four minutes into the game to give Ghana a deserving lead before teammates Hamza Mohammed and Collins Gyamfi added the second and third goals, respectively, to provide Ghana with a commanding 3-0 lead heading into the break.
Ghana continued to exhibit their attacking prowess in the second half with two more goals from Ussif Yahaya and a second from Mohammed Mubarak to take the scoreline to 5-0, a result that sealed their qualification for the knockout stages alongside side group leaders Morocco, who also finished the group stages with a perfect record after three games.
Speaking after the convincing win, the head coach for the team, Stephen Richard Obeng, said, “the win means a lot to me and every Ghanaian because the Black Stars also qualified to AFCON 2024,just like we did. We had to put yesterday’s loss behind us and bounce back in this one.”
“We expect a massive game in the next round, and we’ll go all out. This is Ghana, and everyone will be watching us. Hopefully, by Sunday, we will be champions”, the coach added.
BY MICHAEL D.ABAYATEYE
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ASWIM lauds Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang
The Association of Women in the Media, (ASWIM) has congratulated Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang on her historic achievement as Ghana’s first female Vice President.
The association said her trailblazing journey with sterling accomplishments from academia to politics, is undoubtedly, a vivid inspiration to countless women and girls across Ghana and Africa.
This was contained in a statement signed by its president, Mrs Mavis Kitcher, and copied to The Spectator on Tuesday in Accra.
“ASWIM celebrates your remarkable career, marked by numerous firsts, including the first female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, (UCC), and the first female to hold a professional chair in Ghana, (UCC),” the statement said.
It said the accomplishments of Prof Opoku- Agyemang were clear testament to the brilliance, resilience and resourceful nature of the complete beautiful African woman.
“As she takes on this new role, ASWIM proudly lauds her commitment to education, women’s empowerment, distinguished public service and patriotism and is very confident that her pursuit of excellence, love for humanity, humility, decency, modesty and commitment to the welfare of the vulnerable will characterise Ghana’s political leadership and public service,” the statement added.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
Entertainment
Demolition of Fantasy Dome unfair — Mark Okraku-Mantey
Months after the Fantasy Dome was dismantled to make way for construction at the Ghana International Trade Fair site, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr Mark Okraku-Mantey, has expressed concern over the manner the facility was destroyed.
In an interview on Daybreak Hitz with Andy Dosty, Mr Okraku-Mantey criticised the handling of the dome’s dismantling, suggesting that it could have been done without causing damage.
“I don’t think that leadership gave instructions that they should do what happened. The structure was a prefab but I hear the people destroyed it. That one, we cannot defend it. It is unfair to him (owner). Sometimes, you give instructions and people will go and do things that will make you look bad,” he stated.
When asked about any punitive measure against the workers responsible for the destruction, Mr Okraku-Mantey clarified that the Trade Fair does not fall under his ministry.
He said he had previously contacted the owner, Leslie Quaynor, to discuss relocating the dome, and even suggested the National Museum as a potential site, though it was too small.
The demolition of the 20,000-seater Fantasy Dome occurred on March 16, 2024.
According to Dr Agnes Adu, CEO of the Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited, the action was taken after multiple notices were given to Quaynor to vacate the premises for redevelopment, as per their tenancy agreement.
Dr Adu noted that all previous tenants had complied except for the Fantasy Dome.
Quaynor, in an interview with JoyNews, confirmed that his lease had ended, and was in the process of relocating the dome.
He had requested an extension, which was denied, leading him to seek a writ and an injunction from an Accra High Court to halt the demolition.
Despite this, the demolition proceeded, causing significant damage to the structure.
Quaynor described the incident as a major setback, not only for his business but also for the entertainment industry, which relies on venues like the Fantasy Dome.