Sports
Blame them all! PlainTalk with John Vigah

It may have been six years now, but the pain and embarrassment of Ghana’s piteously miserable World Cup campaign in Brazil has still not dissipated.
The Black Stars were flushed out in the opening round in a campaign they had been tipped to progress even beyond the quarters.
In the absence of any domestic football activity, many sports presenters have been trying to analyse what really went wrong – with callers pouring out with divergent opinions on the issue.
Truth is that the Stars’ disastrously white-white performance could be attributed to poor team management, governmental naivety and player discipline.
Indeed, government underestimated the situation and failed to respond early enough to the request of the players as regards their $100,000 appearance fee as FIFA also delayed with their obligations.
Sadly, things got out of hand even before the government flew into Brazil $4m dollars to the players ahead of their final Group G game against Portugal.
For the Team Management, they failed dolefully to manage the tension that had engulfed the team’s camp in Brazil, culminating in the physical exchanges between Sulley Muntari and Moses Armah Parker (Management member) as well as the spat between Kevin Prince Boateng and Coach Kwesi Appiah.
At the end of it all, Sulley and Kevin were flushed out of camp with the Stars going ahead to lose 1-2 against Portugal in a game in which skipper Asamoah Gyan scored the equaliser that turned out to be momentous as it crowned him as Africa’s highest scorer in World Cup history.
Now, when you come to the players proper, one would say they just blew up a smart-as-whip opportunity to dazzle the world again.
Fact is, they lost focus and allowed the inordinate thirst for money to blow them into shreds.
Of course, it may not be the way to go; but in both Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010, their appearance fees were paid, albeit late. So, there was nothing to suggest that they were not going to have their money.
It appeared as if the players took their eyes off the ultimate prize. What mattered to them was money, money, money! Nothing more!
Having said that, Coach Appiah, too, cannot be absolved from blame after leading the Stars to that ego-battering 1-2 loss against USA.
In a post-game reaction, he told the media he had deliberately kept some of his best players (including Michael Essien and Kevin-Prince Boateng) on the bench, with the intention of introducing them when the Americans had ran out of steam. Incredible, not so?
You do not do this, especially when the Americans had sworn to “come at you,” having lost to Ghana in previous tournaments (2006, 2010).
It was pathetic to see how a lofty dream could come crashing all because of state botch-up, teammanagement and to a large extent, player discipline.
Lamentably, it was not only the story of Ghana – but that of other West Africa’s biggest hopes at the tournament – Cameroon, Nigeriaand Cote d’Ivoire.
Sports
FIFA Club World Cup trophy complete three-nation African tour

As part of the build-up for the novelty FIFA Club World Cup, the glittering trophy has made a stopover in three African countries namely South Africa, Egypt and Tunisia towards whipping up enthusiasm and interest for the new competition.
The trophy was hosted by the representative clubs of each of the three countries – Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Al Ahly (Egypt) and Esperance Sportive de Tunis (Egypt) – giving their fans and followers of the game in their cities and the country at large, to have a feel of the trophy.
Accompanied by a distinguished FIFA Legend, the beautifully designed 10-Kg gold plated shield, was received to a rapturous welcome in the cities of Pretoria, Cairo and Tunis as fans anxiously awaited the competition that puts together the best 32-clubs in the world.
The first stop was in Pretoria from 7-9 February making stops at the Mamelodi High School, birthplace of Sundowns, where the entire student population erupted into ecstasy upon the sight of the glittering trophy.
The trophy was later felt by staff of the Tshwane Mayor Offices before terminating at the Sammy Marks Square where fans had the opportunity to take photos with the trophy and FIFA legend, Italy FIFA World Cup winner, Alessandro Nesta and Sundowns legends such as former captain Hlompho Kekana, Tiyani Mabunda and legendary goalscorer Daniel Mudau.
“This trophy is a celebration of hope, pride and excellence. Today, we are not celebrating Sundowns going to the FIFA Club World Cup; we are celebrating the FIFA Club World Cup coming to Africa. We are excited to be part of this tournament and we can’t wait for the journey to begin,”Sundowns Chairman Tlhopane Motsepe said at a press conference.
The Brazilians as Sundowns are nicknamed are housed in Group F alongside Fluminense (Brazil), Borussia Dortmund (Germany) and Ulsan (South Korea).
From Pretoria, accompanied by FIFA legend Christian Vieri, the trophy headed for the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and the first stop was the iconic El Tetsh Stadium, the training grounds of current African champions Ahly. Later, the next stop was the Pyramids of Giza and the Egyptian Museum and finally the ancient city of Luxor between 13 and 14 February.
Housed in Group A alongside host Inter Miami who have the legendary Lionel Messi on their books, Porto (Portugal) and Palmeiras (Brazil), Ahly coach Marcel Koller is already looking forward to the opening game against Messi and his teammates.
“We are looking forward to the game against Inter Miami with Messi (14 June 2025 in Miami). I’m looking forward to the match and I believe my players are too and will go all out to do their best.”
From 15-17 February, the trophy made its final stop in Tunis accompanied by France World Cup-winning midfielder Christian Karembeu.
Welcomed by hundreds of Esperance fans clad in their famous yellow and red colours, the trophy was unveiled at the popular Al Zaytuna Mosque, Bab Souika, one of the gates of the Medina in Tunis and finally El Jem Amphitheatre, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Four-time African champions, Esperance will open their Group D campaign against Flamengo of Brazil on 16 June before wrapping up against Leon (Mexico) and Chelsea on 20 June and four days later.
Meanwhile, the final lap of the FIFA Club World Cup trophy in Africa will be in Casablanca, Morocco next April, home to Wydad Athletic Club. The Moroccans are housed in Group G alongside Manchester City (England), Al Ain (United Arab Emirates) and Juventus (Italy).
The tour will see the trophy make stops in the city of each of the 32 participating clubs in the biggest global club competition, scheduled for June 14 to July 13, 2025, in the United States.
Sports
Black Queens hold first training session in Casablanca in readiness for international friendlies

The Black Queens have held their first training session at the Lanoria club equitation pitch in Mohammedia, Casablanca as part of their preparation for the Morocco training tour.
Nineteen players worked on the pitch under the guidance of Kim Lars Björkegren. The training lasted for about an hour with the players being put through their paces by Athletics Coach Jordan Daitey.
Training will continue at the same venue on Tuesday and Wednesday before moving to the Pére Jégo Stadium on Thursday.
Here are some photos from the training as captured by our media team:






