Sports
Hearts, Dreams to rock Accra
Hearts of Oak new coach, Kosta Papic, will be targeting a first win for his side when they face Dreams FC tomorrow in a tricky tie at the Accra Stadium in a match week 5 encounter.
The Phobians’ winless streak from two games triggered the appointment of Papic – a coach who formerly guided Hearts to premier league success in 2008 – to take over from stop-gap manager, Edward Nii Odoom.
But the Serbian watched from the sideline after four days in charge as his side laboured to frustrating 0-0 draw against Karela United, a result assistant coach Asare Bediako pointed out highlighted their struggles with scoring.
Fortunately for the Phobians, the schedule handed them another home advantage to fix their shortcomings before setting off on the road for much difficult match days. As Papic aims to deliver Hearts a first win, he would be wary of Hearts former striker Joseph Esso, who would be eager to score against his former side.
In other games, a regional derby at the Carl Reindorf Park will witness Liberty Professionals against revived Great Olympics. Olympics should be hoping to continue their fairy-tale start to the season against a stubborn Liberty side.
In Obuasi, AshantiGold would be hoping to overcome their exit in the CAF Confederations Cup by recording their first GPL win against a well-drilled Elmina Sharks team.
League leaders Karela would hope to continue their good start against King Faisal.
Aduana Stars have a crunch tie in Dormaa against an improved Eleven Wonders side while Berekum Chelsea must dust-off the disappointment of their 1-0 loss to Ebusua Dwarfs to survive against WAFA at Sogakope.
The rest of match week five fixtures to be played today would see Inter Allies playing Bechem United at the Accra Stadium and Dwarfs facing Medeama SC in Cape Coast.
BY NANA BENTSI ODURO
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.
Sports
Ghana U15 Boys set to play in Mondialito Tournament in Israel
Ghana’s U15 Boys team is set to participate in the Mondialito invitational tournament, scheduled to take place in April 2025 in Israel.
This exciting opportunity comes at the invitation of the Israel Football Federation.
The Mondialito tournament is known for bringing together elite young athletes from multiple countries to compete in high level competition.
The tournament promotes cultural exchange and soccer excellence, with over 1,000 past participants going on to become professional athletes.
Ghana has been actively involved in various international football tournaments and development programs, demonstrating its commitment to nurturing young talent.
The Ghana Football Association has been working tirelessly to provide opportunities for its youth teams to gain international experience and compete against top-level opposition and the Mondialito tournament in Israel presents such a platform to the Ghana U15 team.
