Sports
Wake up, slumbering Ghana football!
• Kurt Okraku – GFA boss
Ghana football continues to become the butt of public ridicule day-by-day and this should be a matter of grave concern to the managers of our game.
For decades now, our national teams and clubs have played second fiddle to the rest of the continental game and we seem to be fine with the repulsive decomposition and disintegration.
It is sad!
Our talented local players continue to leave the scene in droves to other African countries in search of greener pastures; others to even neighbouring Togo, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. Some, too, have found their future in countries that recovering or have just recovered from the ravages of war because of despicable remunerations.
Count the number of our players campaigning in the Sudan, Ethiopia and even Niger. Is it not pathetic?
We pay our players peanuts and they are all-too ready to jump onto the next bandwagon when the chance presents itself, leaving the domestic leagues poorer.
You cannot blame them. They deserve better!
Evidently, most of our stadia have had ‘ugly’ empty stands starring deep in the faces of the thinly-scattered fans around, because of the scarcity of quality players. Fans, naturally, will go to the stadia to watch quality football – and when they do not find what they want, they might turn attention to the lures of quality European football.
The Gullivers of Ghana football – Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak, have for a long time now struggled in Africa simply because they lacked the quality and capacity to rub shoulders with their more endowed competitors.
How can it be said that the last time Kotoko (once rated best) clinched an African glory (African Clubs Championships Cup) – the equivalent of the CAF Champions League, was in 1983 – 40 years ago? And, what of Hearts who last enjoyed continental glory (Confederation Cup) some 19 years ago, having won the CAF Champions League in 2000?
Again, how comfortable would you feel telling a young, dyed-in-the-wool follower of the Black Stars that the last time the senior national team conquered Africa was in Libya, 1982 – 41 years back? The slump is frustratingly unacceptable!
After all these years of disappointments and awfulness, stakeholders should be thinking of organising an emergency meeting to brainstorm on the way-forward of our football. Fact is that our football is almost in a comatose.
And, it is the reason hundreds of Ghanaians took to social media and condemned proposals by some unidentified group of people calling for an extension of the tenure of the GFA president Kurt Okraku, whose first term of office ends this year. The FA boss is eligible to run fora a second term. If he wins, he stays.
However, that should never dominate our conversation now. We must redirect our energies to the resurgence of our ailing game, and nothing else! The standards are flaking off with a flight, and it is a worry!
To think that we are not even considered among the Top 10 best leagues in Africa, should be disquieting enough to spark a serious revolution in our football.
As it is done in other countries, we must woo the government to make direct investment in the football leagues, with the FA ensuring the clubs are suitably structured in full compliance with the regulations on accountability and transparency.
Indeed, there are a lot of things we are not doing right and one hopes the recent chain of reverses would blow out that sense of entitlement we have erroneously flaunted around all this while.
We have slumbered for far too long and we got no option than to wake up now or never!
Sports
A welcome elections respite
Ghanaians of voting age would be expected to participate in today’s Presidential and Parliamentary Elections to be held in every district, metropolis, constituency and region of the country.
It is such a very important exercise no fanatic of politics would want to miss due to the quest to have favourite political groupings to wrestle power.
Elections in Ghana for close to three decades have been about two of the biggest political parties in Ghana – that is, the New Patriotic Part (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In between the spaces, a few ‘mushroom’ political groupings have attempted the unthinkable but lived to experience outcomes that questions the rationale behind decisions to even contest.
It is not as if they were unaware of those shocks – they knew perfectly well.
Not even the great Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s Convention People’s Party (CPP) has managed to break the duopoly the NPP and NDC dominance.
Such is the importance followers of the two parties attach to their respective political parties’ capture power to remain in the helm of affairs as far as development of the country goes on.
Today, the importance of the elections would be felt across the various divides and sectors including sports.
The volatile nature of the exercise has required a suspension of most sports related activities across the country in the various divisions.
Officially, there have not been any formal communication to that effect from sports like boxing, athletics, tennis, golf and others with the aptitude to command the masses.
However, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has officially announced a week break for all members, all of its competitions.
The break is to enable all football stakeholders to perform their civic duties in today’s general election.
What this mean is that the Ghana Premier League (GPL), the Access Bank Division One League (DOL), the Malta Guinness Women’s Premier League (WPL), and all other competitions will take a week’s break.
Apart from enabling people to honour their civic responsibilities, the elections break also provide a welcome relief for the GFA, the Black Stars, Coach Otto Addo and local boxing icon, Ayitey Powers, whose promotional outfit has come under fire for nuisances associated with his promotions.
Starting with Powers, the least said about the confusion generated from his promotions leaves much to be enthused about and not good enough for a young promotional outfit.
Fortunately, his last two promotions have been the biggest – first staging the ‘Power of the Fist’ on June 29 at the Bukom Boxing Arena and headlined by a National Super Middleweight Championship, involving Elvis Aworgah, popularly known as ‘Soldier’ and Ernest Baubali.
Powers staged another big event the last two weekends, which just like the aforementioned event, ended on a controversial after confusion whether the main event was a championship or an eight-rounder.
That caused an abrupt end to an event that had guests spending over 12 hours at the arena.
It left enormous question marks over Power’s promotional integrity and the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) ability to ensure boxing is handled professionally as boxers report very late for promotions while fans are compel to sit and wait for extra hours.
The break will also, surely offer some breather to the GFA and Coach Otto Addo who have been on firing line since the Black Stars failed to qualified for AFCON 2025 in Morocco.
Addo had guided the Black Stars in one of the team’s worst campaigns in AFCON qualifying history, emerging winless in six games played against Angola, Sudan and Niger as all three countries beat and drew with the Black Stars.
The FA has since come under intense pressure to take a decision of the future of Coach Otto Addo who indicated he was going nowhere despite an overwhelming call by fans to quit.
But it appears all those issues have been buried under the carpet while Ghanaians look forward to either give the NPP an unprecedented third term with Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in the saddle or hand the baton over to NDC as former President, John Dramani Mahama, wait patiently to continue with the race.
But assuredly, those issues that remain undigested would not be kept under the carpet forever; as long as there would be life after elections, Insha Allah, football and boxing fanatic would be back to exhaust all.
By Andrew Nortey
Sports
MTN FA Cup thrills: Hearts to slug it out with Immigration FC at Pobiman
Record holders of the MTN FA Cup, Accra Hearts of Oak, will tomorrow begin their journey to another conquest when they welcome Division One League (DOL) side, Immigration FC, to the Pobiman Sports Complex for the round of 64 clash.
The Phobians will be going into the game with memories of that painful loss to Nania FC from the same division last season.
With many focusing their attention on their “El-Clasico” game against bitter rivals, Asante Kotoko, on December 15 in Kumasi, chieftains at the club would be hoping Coach Aboubakar Ouattara and his charges would guard against complacency in this game.
Immigration FC have proven to be tough customers in their away matches, having already trekked to the Ho Sports Stadium to blow away home side, Dynamo FC, at the preliminary stage game.
What remains to be seen is whether they can replicate that fine form against the record holders.
Defending champions, Nsoatreman FC, will look to start their journey to retain the title when they welcome Division One League side, Techiman Heroes, to the Nana Amoah Kronmansah II Park in Nsoatre tomorrow, while Asante Kotoko line up against lower side, Future Stars, at the Len Clay Stadium in Obuasi.
In other games today, the WAFA Park in Sogakope will host the clash between Agbozome Weavers and Accra Lions, African Talent will stay put at the Blue Sky Pelican Park in Doboro to host Kotoku Shining Stars, while Northern City take on Wa Sore Nante at the Aliu Mahama Stadium in Tamale.
Wa Power FC will welcome Tamale City to the Malik Jabir Stadium, King Faisal will host Asokwa Deportivo at the Ejisu Okese Park, Nations FC will visit the Len Clay Stadium to play as guest of New Edubiase at the WESCO Park in Kumasi, Acceleere82 will face Sefwi All Stars, Malima FC and TF Exponential FC will sort things out at the Tumu Astro Turf with the Bekwai Gyamfi Park hosting the clash between Bekwai Heroes and PAC Academy.
The rest of the matches will see Real 24Hours play Karela United, Berekum Chelsea host Boresa FC, Debibi United take on KAC Soccer Academy, Aduana Stars host Dormaa Unity, Techiman Liberty host Bofoakwa Tano, while Young Apostles come up against Techiman Eleven Wonders.
Sky FC will face Wise, Nzema Kotoko will face Medeama SC, Nsuopon Fidelity come face to face with Elmina Sharks, Ebusua Dwarfs slug it out with Soccer Intellectual while Baseke Holy Stars engage Gap Soccer Academy.
Also, Samartex FC will engage Bibiani Gold Stars, Dreams FC against Heart of Lions, WAFA go face to face with Golden Kicks, Na God FC oblige Nania FC, True Democracy against Koforidua Sempi FI, while Danbort FC play Vision FC.
By Raymond Ackumey
