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Of Black Stars’ AFCON ticket, and football’s home violence

Sweat merchant of the Black Stars, CK Akonnor, deserves a bouquet of orchids for seeing Ghana to the Cameroon 2021 African Cup of Nations.

First, the Stars on Thursday held their own against South Africa away as they battled Bafana Bafana to a grueling 1-1 tie – a result that guaranteed Ghana a place in next year’s AFCON – with a game to spare.

And, this feat was achieved without some of the marquee names like skipper Andre Dede Ayew and brother Jordan as well as Thomas Partey, to mention but a few.

So, having already booked their ticket, many expected Akonnor to use many of the fringe players – who are mostly home-based, in their second game against Sao Tome and Principe played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.

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Interestingly, we saw the Ayew brothers and Partey playing for the entire duration in the comfortable 3-1 home win.

Many Ghanaians would have loved to see Great Olympics’ star player and the league’s finest performer, Gladson Awako, go the whole hog, instead of the 45 minutes time he was allotted after the break.

One wonders what Akonnor wanted from Andre by keeping him in the game for 90 minutes. That was absolutely unnecessary!

In his last-ditch attempt to get his name emblazoned on the scoring sheet, the Ghana captain nearly sustained a nasty injury as a Sao Tome defender lunged his foot on the path of Andre who for several minutes, had to receive medical attention on the pitch.

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All would have put the blame squarely at the feet of the coach if something bad happens to Andre, an important player he would need in the nation’s Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers in June.

Having already booked a place for Cameroon, it was a big moment for the coach to have given the locals the opportunity to prove their mettle!

Do not forget, these boys have been in camp preparing feverishly for South Africa as well as Sunday’s tie for about a month or so.

So, what is the essence for keeping them if you cannot give majority of these huge local talents the chance to demonstrate the stuff they are made of!

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Anyway, Akonnor’s former boss Kwasi Appiah – who steamrolled the Cameroon 2021 campaign, also deserves some laudation for the qualification.

When you consider the fact that South Africa failed to qualify for the biennial football showpiece after their 2-0 loss to Sudan on enemy territory, you would understand why the Stars and their technical staff deserve some pat on their back for making it.

Importantly, we must start drawing the ‘master plan’ for the Cameroon tournament now if we really want to break the 39-year-old trophy drought.

It goes ugly again!

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HOOLIGANISM at our stadia is increasingly taking a very terrifying dimension and only last Sunday, yet another nasty incident was recorded at a division one league game.

Indeed, what was supposed to be an enthralling afternoon of football turned bloodily ugly when supporters of the home side, Wamanafo Mighty Royals, turned their frustrations on match officials, hammering them to a pulp, for perceived biased officiating.

This was after their game against Sunyani-based Bofoakwa Tano had ended in a scoreless stalemate.

It was a pathetic sight as many media outlets reported that the officials were beaten in a manner that suggested they were notorious armed robbers.

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The officials of the game were Niatire Suntuo Aziz, Suleman Mohammed, Yakubu Abdul Rahman and fourth referee Hasim Yakubu.

Predictably, the Ghana FA was expected to ban the venue, as it had done in similar situations; and they did just that. But it is not enough!

Perhaps, the FA must be told in plain language that their best in the fight against these hooligans is not enough to halt these needless incidents. It is not enough at all if we only end up preventing the offending clubs from using their home facility after they had inflicted carnage on human beings.

We must go beyond banning venues after such sordid acts – and like ‘blood-thirsty’ wolves after their prey, hunt for these iniquitous band of hooligans.

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We have failed to deal ruthlessly with pitch hooliganism over the years and it would continue to bite us hard until we see these merciless miscreants arrested, prosecuted and gaoled to serve as deterrent to others.

Fortuitously, the FA has their cameramen recording these games and they must be able to produce video evidence from which such barbaric fans can be smoked out.

We have toyed with this issue for far too long and that is why such perpetrators get emboldened over the years and continue to break more bones season-in-season-out.

It is lamentably becoming a regular feature in our domestic leagues and it does not encourage potential sponsors to want to invest in the game. We better halt it now or just throw our hands up in despair.

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PlainTalk with JOHN VIGAH

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Otto Addo names 23-man squad for Chad and Madagascar 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Black Stars head coach Otto Addo has named a 23-man squad for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Chad and Madagascar. 

The team, led by captain Jordan Ayew includes three home-based players: Benjamin Asare of Accra Hearts of Oak, Kamaradini Mamudu of Medeama SC and Razak Simpson of Nations FC.

Deputy captain and Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey returns to the squad after missing four of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers last year. With over 50 appearances for Ghana since his debut in June 2016, Partey brings valuable experience to the team.

Other notable inclusions are Kamal Deen Sulemana of Southampton FC and Jerry Afriyie of CD Lugo. Sulemana has regained full fitness after a lengthy injury layoff, while Afriyie retains his spot after impressing in the match against Niger in November last year.

Belgium-based Christopher Bonsu Baah, who plays for Genk, has also received an invitation. The left-footed right-winger, capable of playing as an attacking midfielder, began his career with Accra Shooting Stars before joining Norwegian side Sarpsborg 08 and later Genk in July 2023.

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The team will assemble on Monday, March 17, 2025, and train for four days before hosting Chad at the Accra Sports Stadium on Friday, March 21, 2025. The Black Stars will then travel to Morocco to face Madagascar in another Group I match on Monday, March 24, 2025.

Ghana are currently second in Group I with nine points from four matches after securing three wins and one defeat, leveling them with Comoros.

Ghana’s qualifying campaign began with a 1-0 win over Madagascar, followed by a loss to Comoros. They bounced back with consecutive victories over Mali and the Central African Republic in June last year to keep their chances of qualification intact.

Below is the full Squad: 

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Twelve players left out of Black Stars squad due to injury

Twelve players could not make the Black Stars squad for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers due to injuries. 

They include Alidu Seidu, Tariq Lamptey, Brandon Thomas Asante, Abdul Mumin, Joseph Aidoo, Abdul Manaf Nuruudeen, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Baba Idrissu, Ibrahim Sulemana, Daniel Kofi Kyereh, Majeed Ashimeru, and Joseph Painstil.

The injury details are as follows:

Alidu Seidu (Anterior Cruciate Ligament – Rehab), Tariq Lamptey (Ankle Ligament Injury), Brandon Thomas Asante (Muscle Tear), Abdul Mumin (Anterior Crucial Ligament), Joseph Aidoo (Muscle), Abdul Manaf Nurudeen (Ankle), Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Anterior Cruciate Ligament – Recovering), Baba Idrissu (Recovering), Ibrahim Sulemana (Adductor Tendonitis), Daniel Kofi Kyereh (Knee), Majeed Ashimeru (Rebuilding from injury – Needs time to fully recover), Joseph Painstil (Quadriceps)

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