GRi Sports Ghana 27 - 02 - 2001
Ghana football needs policy on player
transfer - Seidu
Hearts, national teams receive items worth
One billion cedis
Olympics elections-BT Baba retained as GOC
president
Ghana football needs policy on player
transfer - Seidu
Accra (Greater Accra) 27 February 2001
Alhaji Mumuni Abudu Seidu, NDC Member of Parliament for Wa
Central on Friday said the nation needs a clear-cut national policy on transfer
of players to foreign clubs to ensure their availability for international
matches.
Supporting a statement made in Parliament by Mr Samuel Adu
Yeboah, NDC Agona East, congratulating Accra Hearts of Oak on the successes the
club chalked in the last soccer season, Alhaji Seidu said it is regrettable
that our players lose interest in the national team as soon as they start
playing professional football abroad.
He was apparently referring to the senior national team, the
Black Stars, who traveled to Sudan on Thursday for an important world cup match
with just one professional player in the person of goalkeeper Richard Kingston,
when indeed, 13 of them were invited for the match. Most of the players
attributed their absence to club commitments.
The MP said when a definite national policy is put in place
it will be binding and obligatory on the players to honour national assignments
and strengthen the Ghana's chances of attaining good results at international
level.
Alhaji Seidu said the success of Hearts must give an added
impetus to the national soccer teams to excel and bring glory to the country.
Supporting the statement Mr Kwabena Adusa Okechiri NPP
member for Nkawkaw said Hearts achieved the laudable results due to their
dedication and consistency in team building.
He said most of the players stayed with Hearts for about
three seasons and their long association manifested in understanding and team
cohesion, which are paramount in team building.
Mr Okechiri admonished other club administrators and coaches
to retain their players for long periods and nurture them into spectacular
performers to win laurels for the clubs and the nation.
A self-proclaimed "staunch Kotoko supporter", Mr
Edward Osei Kwaku, NPP member for Asokwa West associated himself with the
statement and advised other clubs to take a cue from the hard-work, dedication,
discipline and perseverance exhibited by Hearts.
The MP said it took Hearts three decades to become
Continental Clubs Masters (CCM) and praised the management and players for
keeping faith with the "never say die spirit".
Mr E.T. Mensah, former minister of Youth and Sports and MP
for Ningo-Prampram, said he was once a Welfare Officer for Hearts when the team
lost narrowly to Hafia of Guinea and Union Duala of Cameroon.
He said the team excelled this year because there was unity
of purpose among players, executives and the technical team and urged them to endeavour
to sustain the excellent form with which the laid siege on Africa.
He called on the Council of Patrons and management of the
club to float shares and widen the club's revenue base in order to remunerate
the players and the technical team adequately to make the team bigger than it
is now.
Mr Kofi Attoh NDC member for Ho Central said the management
of Hearts must invest the huge financial benefits their triumph brought them in
a soccer academy, a playing field and a hostel to further elevate the club.
Accra Hearts of Oak won the domestic double, the African
Champions' League and the African Super Cup trophies last year. Hearts have
thus qualified to represent Africa in the 2nd FIFA World Clubs
Championship scheduled for Spain in July.
Last week the Cable News Network (CNN) ranked the Club as the
eighth best club in the world.
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Hearts, national teams receive items worth One
billion cedis
Accra (Greater Accra) 27 February 2001
The family of the late Lawton Ackah-Yensu, a Sports Administrator, on Monday presented sports items worth one billion cedis to the National Sports Council (NSC) in Accra.
One-forth of the items, which include injury related suppliers and medical equipment was presented to the "Continental Club Masters", Accra Hearts of Oak, while the remaining went to the four national teams-Black Stars, Meteors, the Black Satellites and the Black Starlets.
Nana Nyarko Ackah-Yensu, son of the one-time Chairman of the Ghana Football Association said the family would later donate a trophy to be competed for in a special competition to mark the second anniversary of his father's death.
On why Hearts was chosen, Mr Ackah-Yensu said for one team to win the local league, the FA cup, the Champions League and the Supers Cup, there is the need for them to be encouraged.
He expressed the hope that similar help would be extended to other clubs who would emulate Hearts.
Mr Jake Obestebi-Lamptey, Minister of Presidential Affairs suggested that the trophy should be donated to lower leagues, especially at the colts level to help stimulate the development of the sport at the grassroots.
The late Ackah-Yensu played for Sekondi Eleven Wise, Vipers and Kumasi Asante Kotoko in the fifties and became the GFA chairman in the seventies.
He was one-time a Director of Kumasi Asante Kotoko and a live Patron of Cape Coast Vipers Football Club.
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Olympics elections-BT Baba retained as GOC
president
Accra (Greater Accra) 27 February 2001
Mr BT Baba, chairman of The Ghana Handball Association was re-elected as president of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) to serve another four-year term at its terminal congress held in Accra on Friday.
With the exception of the positions of assistant secretary and treasurer in which new members were elected, the rest were retained unopposed at their various positions.
Mr Joe Kwarteng, Chief development Officer of the National Sports Council and former assistant General Secretary polled 47 votes as against 11 polled by Mr Francis K Dickson, to win the position of Chairman of Ghana Badminton Association.
The position of assistant General Secretary went Mr George B. Awuakye, chairman the Hockey Association of Ghana who polled 29 votes as against 21 and eight polled by Mrs Elizabeth Quarmyne, member of Women Sports Association of Ghana (WOSOPAG) and Mr Emmanuel Nikoi, chairman, Netball Association of Ghana respectively.
Those elected unopposed were Mr Frank Appiah, executive member of Ghana Amateur Boxing Association and Dr Deborah Cubagee first and second Vice-Presidents espectively with Mr Albert Tettey as the General Secretary.
The election, which was conducted by officials of the Electoral Commission, was described as free and fair by some of the delegates unlike previous ones, which often resulted chaos.
They expressed satisfaction of the peaceful atmosphere, which prevailed during the four-year term of the out-going executive members.
Colonel John Sharpe, chairman of the GABA said the new members need the support and trust of all to enable them work even harder.
Addressing the delegates later after his election, Mr B.T. Baba said they will ensure positive continuity and work harder to salvage the decline in sports.
Mr Baba said his outfit will work in a transparent manner without fear or favour to ensure the development of the associations.
"Over complacency will not be part of us," he said pledging a total support for the various associations as well as for school and university sports programmes.
The GOC also used the congress to touch on the Committee's impending projects expected to take off soon.
He said the GOC has acquired a 10-acre plot of land at Amasaman, near Accra, for
the construction of a Community Olympic Sports Stadium.
The project will have a football Park, an athletic oval, sport hall and a clinic among others.
Mr B.T. Baba said the project is in line with International Olympic Committee's policy of providing such projects in deprived communities.
He said Amasaman was chosen because it is a fast growing community with a lot of youngsters who could use the project to develop their sporting talents.
"With some of these structures in place, our athletes and boxers can get access to facilities which will help them win national and continental honours'' Mr Baba said the project which will start by end of this year would be completed within four years.
He disclosed that work has already begun on a sports complex in Accra near the Ridge Church.
The complex will have tennis, handball, volleyball and basketball courts, a conference room and sports shop among others.
Mr Baba said the complex has been cited near the stadium to make it easily accessible to those actively involved in sports.
He commended Nestle Ghana Limited and other sponsors who have contributed immensely to the achievements of GOC's objectives.
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