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The Dream Tournament: European scouts impressed
The second edition of the Dream tournament was a huge success, with top European scouts who travelled to Ghana for the event being very impressed with the talents they saw.
The two-day event drew top scout Sebastian Arnesen, agent Marcel Veerman, Manchester City and Troyes scout Christophe Jeannot, and Rapid Vienna head scout Matthias Ringler.
It also attracted Spain’s Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Jose Guitiérrez, the High Commissioner of the Republic of Malta to Ghana, H.E. Jean Claude Galea Mallia, as well as Katharina Link, Managing Director Pulse Ghana and West Africa, Beatrice Mensah-Tayui, Chief Executive of Cybele Energy, and Nathan Kwabena Adisi, popularly known as Bola Ray, who is a top Ghanaian radio and television personality and entrepreneur.
The tournament was organised by young Ghanaian football agent Daniel Boifio Jr, head of DBJ Empire in collaboration with Empire Sports Agency, with the goal of scouting the best talents for European exposure, and several players were selected.
The competition began on Monday, October 17, 2022, with six teams participating: West African Football Academy (WAFA), Attram De Visser Soccer Academy, Sporting Club Accra, ESA Select Side, Krystal Palace Academy, and Academie Planete Foot Du Togo.
After the preliminary round, WAFA, Sporting Club, Krystal Palace, and Academie Planete Foot Du Togo emerged as the top four, with WAFA and Sporting qualifying for the final and the other two settling for third place.
WAFA won the trophy with a 1-0 victory, Sporting finished second, and Krystal Palace finished third with a 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Togo.
The tournament was played at a high level, with the players desperate to impress the well-connected scouts, and several of them did. The chosen players will leave the country for trials in Europe before the end of the year.
The next edition is scheduled to take in February next year.
Source: starrfm.com.gh
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
