West African academicals soccer tournament to be instituted
Hasaacas provided the drama by holding Goldfields and Kotoko, before clubbing Hearts of Oak on Sunday 21 October 2001 and suddenly the baton has been handed over to Olympics to play the ‘hatchet man’ in the Star premiership beginning on Sunday 28 October 2001 when they take on Goldfields, Kotoko and Hearts in that order.
Olympics, the only unbeaten side in the second round of the competition, will travel to the Len Cay Stadium in the Ashanti Region to play crises-plagued Goldfields in a game that could deepen the woes of the “Soccer Miners” who, by twist of events, are battling to avoid relegation. With a rejuvenated side such as Olympics, injury-plagued Goldfields could sink further into turbulent waters.
Hasaacas, basking in their newfound glory, should be wary of Ghapoha when they clash at the Accra Sports Stadium on Friday 26 October 2001; more so when the city lads seem to be enjoying a new lease of life since adopting the Accra stadium as their home ground.
However, the kick of the week is the local derby at the Kumasi Stadium where relegation- threatened King Faisal hope to turn the tables against ‘landlord” Asante Kotoko in a potentially explosive encounter.
For a side like Faisal who have been very economical with goal-scoring, it would be interesting to see how they would be able to break through Kotoko’s granite-hard defence that has conceded just four goals in 12 home games.
Runaway leaders Hearts should have little problems defeating struggling Adansiman in Accra on Sunday 28 October 2001. Hearts poses the most intimidating attack of Ishmael Addo and mercurial Emmanuel Kuffour, who have largely contributed to their team’s 100 per cent home record. Hearts’ unbeaten home record does not look threatened in any way.
Accra fans would have a ‘full plate’ this weekend as Liberty Professionals lock horns with Dawu Youngsters at the nation’s Wembley. Though Liberty Professionals have been very disappointing this season, they seem to have tightened the screws lately and therefore, stand to grab fifth home victory from this encounter.
Kwaebibirem United, who are putting in a late fight to avoid relegation will face a Herculean task at the Nkawkaw Park where they play Okwawu United, who have been gifted three “free” points at the expense of Goldfields.
Bottom-of-the-table Maxbees would have to grab all three points at Koforidua where they are expected to host Bofoakwa Tano, the only club without an away victory all season.
Finally, at the grassless Kaladan Park in northern Ghana, Real Tamale United (RTU) is favourites to beat Berekum Arsenals who currently occupy a relatively safer position on the table. – Graphic Sports
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 26 October 2001 - Accra Great Olympics advanced to the one-eight stage of the F. A. Cup competition with a 3-1 win over division one side, Rainbow Stars at the Accra Sports Stadium on Thursday 25 October 2001.
After a rather scrappy start with some misses at goal, Olympics opened the scoring in the 15th minute through their new ‘kid on the block’ Francis Mantey, with a beautiful dividing header from rasta-haired Michael Asante’s cross to end the half.
Dennis Odoom got the second goal for Olympics after receiving a pass from Fatawu Barnes in the 52nd minute before Abega redeemed a goal for Rainbow in the 54th minute. His curling free kick in front of the eighteen-yard box saw goalkeeper Sam Quaye rooted to the spot.
However, Oly’s penalty expert, David Larkotey Lartey, failed to connect a spot-kick in the 66th minute when the lone ranger upfront, Fatawu Barnes, was brought down in the vital area.
Substitute winger, Isaac Amponsah nodded home the third goal in the 81st minute with a perfect finish in a two-man move with Barnes who emerged as the brightest spot in the Olympics squad.
Combative midfielder, Kobina Dodzie, did not last in the game as a result of injury and was substituted by Coach J. E. Sarpong; perhaps resting him for the top league clash with Obuasi Goldfields at the Len Clay Stadium on Sunday 28 October 2001. – Ghanaian Times
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 26 October 2001 - The head coach of the Black Stars, Mr Fred Osam-Duodu, has requested all players of the team to report to camp at the National Sports College at Winneba in the Central Region by lunch time on Monday 29 October 2001.
The team broke up last week to enable the players to honour their various league assignments at the various stadia across the country recently.
However, the stars could not re-assemble this week in view of the one-sixteenth F.A. Cup matches, which were played on Wednesday 24 October 2001.
This development further frustrated the already late preparations of the Black Stars towards the African Nations Cup in Mali next year.
Lined up for the team to keep them in shape for the biennial championship are a series of trials scheduled to begin on 19 December 2001 against Mexico. Daily Graphic
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 26 October 2001 - For the first time, probably in the history of Ghana sports, a football matter is to be a determined by the Supreme Court of the land.
Mr Emmanuel Charles Quartey of Osu-Ashante, Accra, is initiating the landmark action against Accra Hearts of Oak limited, Mr Ato Ahwoi and Nana Wereko Ampem II, following an earlier decision of the Court of Appeal.
In an appeal filed on his behalf by his solicitor, Mr Nutifafa Kuenyehia, Mr Quartey is praying the Supreme Court to reverse the decision of the Appeal Court and enter judgement in his favour.
A Court of Appeal on 12 July 2001, with His Lordship Justice Brobbey presiding, reversed an earlier High Court decision which upheld Mr Quartey’s suit that the conversation of Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club into a limited liability company, was illegally done.
Aggrieved and dissatisfied with part of the decision of the Court of Appeal, the plaintiff outlined 11 grounds of appeal and promised additional grounds to be filed upon receipt of the Record of Appeal. A date is however yet to be fixed for the hearing. – Graphic Sports
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 26 October 2001 - It could be one of the most dramatic illustrations of the famous “ grace to grass” imagery if the worst nightmare of Obuasi Goldfields should come to pass this weekend.
By the mathematics of many observers and insiders, Obuasi Goldfields could lose 12 points from their current accumulation of 36 points and that could pluck them from the third position on the premier league table and dump them at the bottom.
With Okwawu United and Asuom Kwaebibirem both from the Eastern Region, poised to benefit at the sidelines, judgement on cases before the disciplinary and appeals committees of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), could hand Goldfields a punishment with severe consequences.
At the core of the matter are two protests against Goldfields defender Tony Baffoe and another in which Goldfields are alleged to have refused to honour a league match against Okwawu United at Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region.
In a 5th week match in which Goldfields beat Okwawu 4-0, Okwawu protested that Tony Baffoe was not properly registered with the Obuasi club. The Disciplinary Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), dismissed the case by Okwawu, but the club later called for a review of the case arguing that the Appeals panel was not properly constituted.
Recent reports indicate that on Tuesday 23 October 2001, the newly- constituted Appeals Committee sat and upheld the decision that declared Tony Baffoe an unqualified player.
Should the football governing body apply the appropriate sanctions of three points deduction if a case of unqualified player is brought to its attention, Goldfields would lose three more points in addition to the six it is to lose from the Okwawu case.
Worse still, they are to lose three more points from their accumulated lot for failure to honour their 26th week encounter against Okwawu United, bringing their total points deduction to 12 and sending them staggering from the fourth position on the table to the bottom most part of it. - Graphic Sports
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 26 October 2001 - The Board Secretary of Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club Limited, Mr Ernest Thompson, has stressed the need for decisions of the Appeals Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to be published in order to enlighten the soccer public about their operations.
Publication of such decisions, he said, would assist soccer fans to ascertain the basis of the various appeals and how conclusions are arrived at.
Mr Thompson who made this appeal in a letter copied to the FA General Secretary and the chairman of the Executive Council of the GFA, referred to the publication of the Disciplinary Committee’s decision on the Charles Taylor yellow card case as a healthy development which would enhance the knowledge of the sporting public on the rules of the game.
“ It also encourages informed debates on these decisions since the reasoning behind such decisions is made known” he noted and added that,” currently, some of us would like the public to read the full text of the decision on the Appeals Committee’s “football boots” saga and also other decisions such as the Kotoko versus Arsenals appeal”.
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 26 October 2001 - Mr Emmanuel Teiko Tagoe, chief coach of the Black
Panthers Boxing Club at Bukom in Accra has called for refresher courses for professional boxing judges to make them conversant with the new rules of the sport in order to eliminate controversies from their decisions.
He said when this is done, worthy national champions who would be ready to prove their superiority on the continent and in the world would emerge and “Ghana's name would be rewritten in gold on the global boxing map”.
The coach, who is known in local boxing circles as 'Akisseh', said in an interview that it is appalling to groom a boxer and send him into a fight, very well prepared only for him to get an unfavourable decision because the judges have failed to interpret the rules of the sport properly.
He said when that happens, the boxer is discouraged and if he is not properly counselled, he would not be able to ‘regain his form because he knows it is not the better boxer who wins a fight, but rather it is the judges’ favourites who do’.
Coach Akisseh said there are many potential world champions in the country but biased officiating, coupled with lack of motivation is killing their enthusiasm.
“Some of the judges don't know when a punch is blocked and many of them cannot differentiate between a very powerful punch and a feeble one. Sometimes slips are taken as knockdowns and vice-versa”.
He cited the verdict given to Moubi Armstrong over his boxer, Ben Odametten in a national featherweight title bout recently, as a travesty of justice and called on the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) to order a rematch as soon as possible so that the better boxer wears the belt.
Speaking on other problems facing the sport, the coach said lack of adequate training facilities and kits are the most significant obstacles the discipline encounters.
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 26 October 2001 - Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) is to institute a sub regional academicals' soccer competition to be the bedrock for unearthing talented high school students for their various national teams.
At a press briefing in Accra on Thursday 25 October 2001, Dr Charles Mensah, Country Director of VALCO, said his company has began discussions with Togo and Benin, and an emissary would soon be sent to Cote d' Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Guinea to solicit their participation.
Dr Mensah said already Nigeria has joined Ghana to ‘form the nucleus of the programme, which has manifested in the annual two-legged competition between the two countries’.
He said the academicals soccer, which was revived about three years ago, is yielding good results as players like Sulley Muntari of Italian club Udinese, the Asante Kotoko duo of Ofosu Appiah, and Emmanuel Ayisi and Mustapha Esuman both of Liberty Professionals are making steady progress toward stardom.
The Resident Director said VALCO has committed 300 million cedis towards the organisation of the Fourth Edition, which gets underway at the Accra Sports Stadium on Monday 29 October 2001.
He disclosed that 24 million cedis would go into prize money while 150 million cedis would be used in the provision of kits such as jerseys and boots. The overall winner would take away five million cedis; the first runner-up, four million cedis while the second runner-up take home three million cedis. There would also be cash consolation prizes for other participants.
At the end of the tournament, 24 players would be selected for camping in preparation for an encounter against Nigeria in March 2002.
Dr Mensah said his company is liasing with the National Sports Council (NSC), the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to ensure that the programme achieves its objectives.
Outlining this year's tournament, Mr Benedictus Dzokoto, Coordinator of Physical Education Programmes of the Ghana Education Service said mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that, all schools field only children within the stipulated age limit.
This year's tournament would involve Bolgatanga Secondary School, Upper East Region; Aggrey Memorial Secondary School, Cape Coast; and Saint John's Secondary School, Western Region, in Group A. Asanteman
Secondary School, Ashanti Region, Takoradi Secondary School, Western Region, and Tamale Secondary School, Northern Region, will constitute Group B.
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