Sports
Exorcising the ‘losing demons’ in 2023
● Meteors celebrating a goal against Mozambique in their last game
Ghana football experienced a topsy-turvy ride in the just-ended year, leaving in its wake tears, anguish and despair.
It is not an all-too unfamiliar path for Ghana football, anyway. The nation’s game has for a while suffered a slump, recording results that would easily turn the uninitiated away from the sport.
Last year alone, the national 17 female and male football teams failed to qualify for major continental competitions. The Under-20 female side – Black Princesses, managed to clinch a ticket to the World Cup in India but were hugely humiliated as they lost all games by wider margins.
Our Black Stars did the nation some pride, edging out arch rivals Nigeria to qualify for the recently-ended World Cup in Qatar only to crash out in the opening round – a near replica of their calamitous 2014 first round exit in Brazil.
At club level, the nation’s Gullivers – Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak, were bundled out of their respective continental campaigns as they failed to reach the Money Zone.
Heartily, boxing and athletics stole a medicum of glory with five medals at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games – the pugilistic sport snatching three medals. It was quite worth celebrating, especially when only one medal was won in the previous quadrennial sporting festival in Australia.
This month – specifically from January 13, Ghana’s locally-assembled stars known as the Black Galaxies, will be representing the country at the now-popular Championship of African Nations (CHAN) tournament in Algeria, having been flung into a taxing group that consists of Morocco, Madagascar and the Sudan.
It is the team’s fourth championship but so far has nothing to shown for honour despite having finished second in the competition’s maiden even held in Cote d’Ivoire as far back as 2009.
This term, the Galaxies have demonstrated strong intent of winning the trophy for the first time, signals that were picked from their preparatory games – after eliminating rivals Nigeria in the final qualifier.
Camped in Egypt to sharpen their arsenal for battle, the Galaxies last week thrashed Egyptian club giants 3-1 in a dominant performance, having earlier accounted for Egypt’s national Under-20 team 2-0.
With the mood in the country quite low and despairing, we can only count on the spangling ‘local boys’ to restore the smiles on the faces of Ghanaians following the disappointment of the Black Stars in Qatar.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) must do its damnedest to ensure that we exorcise the demons of defeat that has haunted the nation’s passion and this should start with success at the Algeria CHAN tournament.
Having showed such strong promise in the series of games they have played – right from the qualifiers to this stage, all that the Galaxies need now is self-confidence. The team must believe in themselves; have the assurance that they can conquer all that cross their path.
That intrinsic motivation and those coming from the GFA and the government should be enough to do the trick.
By John Vigah
Sports
Kurt E.S Okraku elected CAF Executive Committee member
The President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, has been successfully elected as a member of the Executive Committee (EXCO) of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The four-year term runs from 2025-2029.
The President, who was elected uncontested, joins the 24-member committee of the powerful body of the continent’s governing body.
Kurt Okraku’s election to the CAF Executive Committee comes as recognition of his remarkable leadership at the Football Association, where he has worked to rejuvenate Ghanaian football since taking office in 2019.
His efforts to enhance transparency, promote grassroots football, women’s football and focus on youth development have been well noted within the African football community.
With Ghana’s strong footballing tradition and legacy, the presence of the GFA boss on the CAF EXCO is seen as an opportunity to advance the interests of the country and help promote football development across Africa.
Mr. Okraku’s role will give Ghana a stronger voice in the decision-making processes that shape the future of football on the continent.
President Simeon-Okraku becomes the sixth Ghanaian to serve on the CAF Executive Committee in a list that includes Ohene Djan, Kobina Hagan, Nana Fredua Mensah, Samuel Okyere, and Kwesi Nyantakyi.
Sports
GFA concludes training of Club Safety and Security Officers and Regional Sports Security Officers
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has successfully concluded its training program for Club Safety and Security Officers (CSSOs) and Regional Sports Security Officers (RSSOs).
This comprehensive training, which took place from March 7 to March 10, 2025, aimed to throw more light on the enhance safety and security measures across Ghanaian football.
The training was conducted zonally, covering all 86 elite clubs and 16 regions. Participants were divided into three zones, with Zone 2 covering the Ashanti, Western, Western North, and Central Regions, and Zones 1 and 3 covering the remaining regions.
The training modules included:
Challenges of Safety and Security in Ghana: Identifying and addressing key safety and security concerns in Ghanaian football.
Roles of the Club Safety and Security Officer (CSSO) and collaboration with Regional Safety and Security Officers (RSSO): Defining the roles and responsibilities of CSSOs and RSSOs, and promoting effective collaboration between them.
Club Safety and Security Officer Checklist: Providing a comprehensive checklist for CSSOs to ensure that all safety and security protocols are in place.
Introduction to the Enhanced Safety and Security Protocols 2025: Introducing new safety and security protocols aimed at improving safety and security at match venues.
Practicum and scenario session: Providing hands-on training and scenario-based exercises to prepare participants for real-world safety and security challenges.
The training workshop was led by DCOP Lydia Donkor, Chairperson of the Security Committee. Others included Capt (Rtd) Nick Owusu, Vice Chairman of the Safety Committee, Julius Ben Emunah, Head of Competitions, John Ansah, Felix Bewu and Emmanuel Osei, members of the Safety and Security Committee.
This training is part of the GFA’s enhanced approach to ensuring improved safety and security at match venues across all competitions.
