Sports
Kurt Okraku priorities youth football as GFA continues to build for the future
GFA President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, announced to delegates at Congress on Tuesday August 27, 2024 that the Association will fully place youth football at the top of the Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) development agenda.
The GFA has already unveiled a comprehensive strategy to rejuvenate the grassroots, aimed at strengthening the very foundation of Ghana football.
The strategy, which is already in motion, embodies the GFA’s commitment to ensuring the enduring vitality of the sport across all levels.
Addressing delegates at the 2024 convocation of Congress at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence in Prampram on Tuesday, President Simeon-Okraku underscored the importance of placing youth football at the top of the pyramid.
“It is critical for all of us who invest in Ghana Football to understand the need to invest more in our youth. We, therefore, need to institute policies that support clubs to develop talent in a competitive way so as to make our leagues attractive.” he told the delegates.
With his extensive background in Football Management and broad knowledge about the nuances of the sport, President Simeon-Okraku has a deep understanding of how to lead Ghana football along the lines of revitalising youth football in the country.
The Ghana Football Association has initiated several policies and programmes targeted at youth development and empowerment across all levels in the country. These interventions include the training of about 1,600 young referees under the unique Catch Them Young Refereeing policy and the introduction of the novel Elite National Girls U15 Challenge Cup (developed in line with FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme [TDS]) to develop top talent and enhance Ghana Football.
The GFA has also announced plans to collaborate with the Regional Football Associations to introduce Inter-District U-15 and U-17 festivals for boys and girls and continue the path of improving the KGL Foundation U-17 National Championship, Girls U-15 Inter Regional Challenge Cup while introducing a national U-17 Girls Challenge Cup.
The GFA aims to leverage Ghana’s massive pool of potential talent to boost on-pitch success at the domestic, continental and international levels as President Simeon-Okraku and the Executive Council remain keenly engaged on the youth development agenda.
The FA’s sharpening focus on youth football falls in tandem with FIFA’s announcement that the girls’ and boys’ FIFA U-17 World Cup will now be annual events from 2025, giving the very best young talents in every country the opportunity to shine on the global stage.
The GFA has outlined a set of key objectives geared towards enhancing participation and engagement at the grassroots level. The strategy prioritises opportunities for both male and female teenagers, emphasizing on inclusivity and accessibility to underscore the FA’s dedication to fostering a diverse and inclusive Ghanaian football landscape and thus nurture young talents and instill good values and passion for the game in them.
Sports
Samartex up for Raja challenge
Coach Nurudeen Amadu
CAF Champions League campaigners, Samartex FC, will tomorrow face Moroccan giants, Raja Casablanca, in the second round preliminary stage first leg match at the Accra Sports Stadium at 3pm.
Samartex secured passage to the second round after beating Cameroonian champions, Victoria United, 1-0 in both home and away fixtures.
Raja qualified to this stage after ‘dismantling’ Nigerien side, Association Sportive de la Garde Nationale Nigérienne, (AS GNN) 7-1 on aggregate.
Samartex is reminiscing a chance to battle one of Africa’s greatest sides en route to playing at the group stages of the competition.
Ghanaians are well aware of the daunting task that face the current league champions but remain hopeful Samartex has what it takes to combat Raja.
Coach Amadu says they are unfased by the fire power of the visitors and has a plan to deal with the visitors.
Speaking ahead of the game, coach Amadu stated that, “Raja Casablanca scoring seven goals does not scare us; this is football and anything can happened. We know that it is going to be a very tough game, but we are ready for the task.”
Having drawn blank in their first league game which served as preparation for tomorrow’s game, Coach Amadu would be hoping Baba Hamadu Musa, Emmanuel Mamah, Michael Ephson and Isaac Afful have a good day in front of goal to take their chances.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
Sports
Up your game, Stars
Black Stars players celebrate a goal
Four days after Ghana’s pride as a football nation was punctured badly at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, fans kept hopes alive, believing that the Black Stars would bounce back with a victory over Niger at a neutral venue.
But that was not to be as the team stumbled again, conceding a late goal by the Nigeriens to deny the Black Stars a vital three points to revive their campaign to Morocco 2025 AFCON.
The two heartbreaks contributed to make the week one that football fans would want to erase from their memories.
Without any major achievement in recent years from the Black Stars, Ghanaians have guarded jealously a striking, remarkable and enviable record of making the Baba Yara Stadium venue a fortress for over 20 years.
Statistically, Ghana has been unbeaten in the last 24 years at the venue. That should be enough confidence booster for any faint-hearted fan.
But to see that record torn into pieces by a country not considered as a powerhouse is certainly a bitter pill to swallow.
The fans reacted aggressively following the shock defeat by causing destruction to facilities in the stadium, an action that cannot be justified but it is important to also state how unacceptable it was.
With those points lost, attention switched to a do-or-die battle against Niger at a neutral ground.
Despite the poor show in the first game, a bit of confidence prevailed ahead of the Niger game.
That stemmed from the blame game by officialdom on the quality of the pitch at the Kumasi Stadium. Photos and videos of the Berkane pitch suddenly dominated social media space, giving the hope that fans were about to see the Black Stars all expected.
Indeed, they showed glimpses of that but like it is always said, the end justifies the means.
Despite taking a first half lead from defender Alidu Seidu, the Stars went to sleep while the Nigeriens took over and stunned with the equaliser.
That was a blow too heavy for the fans to take and exposed what looks like a team lacking quality on the field and the bench.
Truth be told, watching the Black Stars is becoming a hell of a task for a lot of fans. Getting good pitches to play on has become a challenge. That is compounded by the poor display from the same players that performs incredibly with their respective teams abroad.
For Otto Addo, he is fast losing the confidence fans had in him and the earlier he ends the trend, the better would it be for him.
Struggling with AFCON qualifiers is not a good signal because it is the same matches all other countries are using to test their strength ahead of the World Cup qualifiers which would demand far more than what is at stake now.
By Andrew Nortey
