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GFA President visits Black Starlets ahead of WAFU B Championship
The President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, has met with the nation’s national male U17 team and backed them to qualify to the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
Beaming with smiles and energy, the hardworking GFA chief, interacted with the players and technical team at their hotel in Accra on Tuesday, ahead of the team’s WAFU Zone B opening match against neighbours Ivory Coast on Wednesday May 15, 2024.
President Simeon-Okraku told the team his hands were itching to touch the golden trophy at the end of the tournament, thus setting a tough target for the Black Starlets.
“I am very happy to be here and to see you on the night before your first major competitive test tomorrow. Over the past months, you have been working hard and looking forward to this week. I’ve come here to encourage and assure you that the Football Association and the entire nation are behind you,” President Okraku said
“You offered yourself to serve Ghana at this tender age and Ghana has offered all of you the chance to serve. This is the first time that I am going into a tournament that I feel extremely confident. I trust in your abilities and whatever happens, you will surmount the challenge. I’m looking forward to the celebration after the match,” he encouraged amidst loud applause.
President Simeon-Okraku charged the players to reward Head Coach Laryea Kingston and his backroom staff for the confidence reposed in them.
He said, “For the chunk of you, this is your first time of representing Ghana in a competitive game. But when you were first scouted by the technical team, your ambition was to arrive at this day. Your ambition was to show to Ghana the stuff you are made of and what you can do for yourselves and for our country. Fortunately, you’ve gone through a good preparatory period where you have listened, practised and rehearsed all the ideas, the methodologies and the processes from the technical team. Now, it’s time for you to show to Ghanaians all the things that you have learnt.”
The Black Starlets will open the WAFU Zone B tournament on home soil with a crunch tie against Cote D’voire on Wednesday at the University of Ghana Stadium. Benin is also in Group A.
A run-of unbeaten matches in Ghana has turned the home team into a side with high hopes of qualifying to the U-17 AFCON for the first time since 2017.
The team took their preparations a notch higher when they participated in a UEFA U1-6 tournament in Russia last month, losing to the host nation and dismantling Kazakhstan and Serbia.
The regional tournament serves as a pathway to the 2025 U-17 AFCON, with the top two teams earning qualification.
The Black Starlets will commence their campaign against Ivory Coast on May 15, followed by a fixture against Benin six days later.
Ghana have not participated in the U-17 AFCON since finishing as runners-up in 2017. It is noteworthy that the U-17 AFCON also serves as a qualifying platform for the World Cup.
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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.
