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Sports must thrive in 2025

A scene from the Black Stars versus Angola AFCON qualifier in Ghana

Failures on the sports front in 2024 could force fans to be apathetic in the New Year in order to avoid the disappointments they endured.

There were discontents all over as Ghana failed to make an impact at global events like the Paris Olympic Games, athletics championships, boxing championships and qualifiers and many others.

What may trigger some interest could be the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers set to continue this year.

The FIFA World Cup has a strong appeal capable of turning apathy into a strong feeling and sensitivity to possibly bring the fans back to support the Black Stars bid to qualify.

But in doing so, the performances of the Black Stars have always come to hunt their followers and it remains one thing Coach Otto Addo and his men must resolve to earn the trust of Ghanaians.

The Black Stars occupy the second spot in Group I of the African qualifying for the World Cup behind Comoros on the same points but on inferior goal aggregate.

Against Chad, Central African Republic (CAR), Mali, Madagascar and Comoros, Ghana face a stern battle for the sole ticket allotted the group.

That would definitely not be an easy task but it is also not a challenge above the Stars. When the right players, those committed and dedicated to the Ghana course are selected, Ghana can make it.

The lenses would also be on other sports disciplines that held so much promise but failed to deliver.

Amateur boxing would be one that would attract a lot of attention after failing to excel at the various championships and qualifiers, resulting in the ‘no-show’ of the Black Bombers at the Paris Olympics Games.

Professional boxing, managed by the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) supervised a number of entertaining bouts with a number of boxers including John Laryea showing so much promise as world champions.

The GBA, however, was always in the spotlight with legal battles with its stakeholders over enforcement of its own rules.

The controversies with promotions and inadequate security at its fight nights have not made events safe for a lot more patrons although it attracted some new promoters in the year under review.

The year 2025 should offer its President, Abraham Kotey Neequaye, his board and major stakeholders the platform to end the constant fights, respect the rules and work together to produce new world champions and eventually ensure some sanity in the sport.

Athletics gave a good account of themselves but failed at the biggest stage – Olympic Games with the relay teams showing that they were yet to recover from their baton exchange nightmare.

Bawa Fuseini, Charles Osei Asibey, Philipina Frimpong and the other managers of athletics in Ghana must therefore, strive to take the spot a notch higher despite the challenges.

Aside the aforementioned disciplines, there are over 40 disciplines that clearly did their very best to make an impact but failed due to many challenges including finance. There were those who just added to the numbers.

But in the year 2025, every federation must aim to make a difference on the sports scene for the sector to thrive.

News

Committee probing petitions against Chief Justice to begin hearings tomorrow

The Committee set up by President John Dramani Mahama to inquire into three petitions filec against the Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, will commence hearings tomorrow, Thursday May 15, 2025.

The five-member Committee chaired by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang of the Supreme Court, was set up by the President in accordance with Article 146(6) of the 1992 constitution and in consultation with the Council of State, following a determination of a prima facie case against the Chief Justice.

The committee will sit three times a week and present their recommendations to the President upon completion of their work.

It would be recalled that President John Dramani Mahama recently suspended Chief Justice following the establishment of a prima facie case in response to three separate petitions seeking her removal from office.

News

38-year-old man gets life imprisonment for killing Assemblies of God pastor in 2018

After close to seven years of trial, a seven-member jury on Wednesday, May 14, returned a guilty verdict in the murder case involving the killing of the Senior Pastor of the Central Assemblies of God church at Tema in 2018.

The convict, Francis Nabegmado, a relative of the deceased, inflicted a fatal knife wound on Rev. Dr. David Nabegmado on December 30, 2018, after alleging that the senior pastor was a false preacher who engaged in idol worship and human sacrifices.

After an hour of summing up by the judge, Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, the jury retired briefly and returned with a unanimous guilty verdict.

Based on the unanimous verdict of the jurors who had previously studied the statements of the five witnesses called by the prosecution, and listened to the summing up process, the judge sentenced the 38-year-old to life imprisonment.

When he was offered an opportunity to comment on the verdict, the convict told the judge that he wanted to go home to meet his family.

“My Lady, I want to see my family, and I want to be taken to Yendi”.

When the judge told him she couldn’t make such an order for him to go and see his family in Yendi, the convict forcefully said, “I insist”.

Francis, who will now spend the rest of his life at the Nsawam medium security prison, had told the court throughout the trial that the decision to attack his uncle, Rev. Nebegmado, was driven by insanity, but that did not save him from receiving a life sentence.

Speaking briefly after the sentencing, Senior Pastor of the Assemblies of God church at Tema Community 4, Rev. Emmanuel Kwesi Ofori, said the church has been waiting for this closure for the past seven years and will soon issue an official statement.

Source: Myjoyonline.com