My Footy mind - SHEGGS

PHOTOS: Karim Alhassan joins Al Merreikh on loan

2015-11-30T09:35:00.001-08:00

Liberty Professionals have loaned out former Hearts of Oak captain Karim Alhassan to Sudanese giants Al Merreikh. The centre-back recently returned to the Ghana Premier League and featured for the Scientific Soccer Lads during the 2014/15 season in an attempt to resuscitate his career after failed attempts abroad. In 2011, Karim unceremoniously left Hearts of Oak in a free agent move to join African giants Zamalek then under veteran coach Hassan Shehata but his expected five-year stay was short-lived due to limited playing time. The rugged defender left Egypt after a nightmarish experience where he went one full year without competitive action. Karim then immediately secured a deal with Turkish lower tier side Adana Demispor but only made 8 appearances for the side. He had a short stint with South Africa’s Black Leopards before jumping on another flight to Europe with Serbian side FK Radnički 1923. Now after quiet a number of impressive outings for Liberty last season, Alhassan has accepted a one-year loan offer to join newly crowned Sudani Premier League champions Al Merreikh. He joins compatriots Augustine Okrah and Francis Coffie at his new club. Below are pictures from Karim Alhassan's signing and unveiling on Monday:

PHOTOS: Donkor free kick hands Kotoko 2015 SWAG Cup

2015-11-29T18:08:00.000-08:00

Eric Donkor scored a last gasp free kick to hand Asante Kotoko the 2015 edition of the SIC-Nyemitei SWAG Cup on Sunday. The match, at the Baba Yara Stadium, which had Asante king and life patron of Asante Kotoko, Otumfuor Osei Tutu II, gracing the occasion as special guest of honour of the encounter between the porcupine warriors and league champions AshantiGold. The first half was all spiced up by an all-action battle but was just denied of a goal. Early in the second half, both coaches decided to tweak their sides with two substitutions each as they tried to vary tactics in search for that elusive opening goal. Coach David Duncan who handed debut starts to four of his new signings decided to give respite to new boy Stephen Nyarko by replacing him with Bennett Ofori who is also a new signing. Striker Kwame Boateng who also arrived at Kotoko during the week also replaced Dauda Mohammed. For AshGold, coach Bashir Hayford chose to replace Osei Baffour and Amos Addai with new signing Dauda Mohammed and youngster Paul Abeka respectively. Both sides continued to fluff as many chances they created but as the game wore down, the Miners were forced into making a late substitution due to an injury to goalkeeper Robert Dabuo. He was subsequently replaced by Nana Bonsu. But Bonsu, a known penalty save expert was denied his hopes of putting up a show of his dexterity as he conceded a goal from a free kick in the dying seconds of referee Prince Amoah’s 3 minutes additional time. Fast-rising wing-back Eric Donkor beautifully planted in his free kick to hand Kotoko a 1-0 victory which secured the side their 14th win of the SWAG Cup – a feat which also sees head coach David Duncan going into the records as leading either clubs to winning the SWAG Cup twice. The last time Duncan won, he led AshGold to beat his current club.

Line-ups Kotoko XI: Eric Ofori Antwi - Amos Frimpong, Edwin Tuffuor, Ahmed Adams, Richard Agyemang - Theophilus Nyame, Owusu Jackson, Stephen Nyarko/Bennett Ofori, Eric Donkor - Obed Owusu, Dauda Mohammed/Kwame Boateng Unused subs: Felix Annan, Samuel Kyere, Evans Quao, Stephen Oduro, Michael Yeboah AshantiGold XI: Robert Dabuo/Nana Bonsu - Augustine Sefa, Tijani Joshua, Kadri Mohammed, Awudu Nafiu - Eric Opoku, Alhassan Nuhu, Emmanuel Osei, Amos Addai/Paul Abrka - Emmanuel Osei Baffour/Dauda Mohammed, Fuseini Nuhu Unused subs: Francis Adjei, Desmond Agbekpornu, Anthony Yerful, Isaac Afoakwa More photos...

PICTURES: Abeiku Ainooson signs 1 + 2-year deal with Al Hilal

2015-11-19T09:32:00.001-08:00

Asante Kotoko defender has been officially unveiled as a new player of Sudanese side Al Hilal. Footy-Ghana.com can authoritatively confirm that after several counter negotiations, the porcupine warriors finally accepted a beat-down final offer of $30,000 for a one-year loan with an option for extension on Wednesday which paved the way for the centre-back who had arrived in the past weekend and already passed his medical to sign his loan agreement. According to our sources, Ainooson could earn as much as $50,000 in salaries and $40,000 for bonuses for the one-year deal with the Blue Crescent.

Per tradition, Hilal on Thursday, officially unveiled the former New Edubiase United player to the media and fans at the club’s headquarters.

Ainooson since his switch to Kotoko has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Ghana Premier League having swept two envious awards in the league and FA Cup in his first season with the dethroned Ghanaian champions. He however had quite an indifferent season just this past season due to recurring injuries. Ainooson recently showed signs of his old form while with the local national team during their failed CHAN qualifying preparations and is tipped to continue his new found form at Hilal whose new season begins early next year. Below are some other pictures from Abeiku Ainooson’s public introduction

PICTURES: Al Hilal finally sign Ashia for two years

2015-11-17T20:31:00.002-08:00

Ghana midfielder Kennedy Ashia has finally been unveiled as a player of Sudanese side Al Hilal. The 20-year-old joins the side in a free agent move after completing his contract with Liberty Professionals. He has now signed a two-year deal with the Omdurman-based club. Hilal delayed the confirmation of the young Ghana international’s signing for almost ten days despite passing his medicals and it has emerged that it was because of an interest in Ivorian playmaker Cheikh Moukoro. Apparently, the Sudanese giants also invited Moukoro for medicals in Khartoum before choosing Ashia who scored 11 goals in the 2014/15 Ghana Premier League over him. He is expected to be joined by compatriot and Asante Kotoko defender Abeiku Ainooson who has already arrived in Sudan and passed his medicals. Below are some pictures from the contract signing:

Business-minded Black Stars arrive and train in Moroni (PICTURES)

2015-11-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

The Black Stars look all set for their 2018 World Cup second round qualifying first leg away to Comoros on Friday. Coach Avram Grant and his men arrived in the Island’s capital Moroni early Thursday and checked in at the ItSandra Hotel before holding a mandatory training session at the match venue – the 3.000 capacity Stade International Saïd Mohamed Cheikh later in the afternoon.

All 23 members of the Ghana squad trained with no signs of discomfort ahead of the Friday, November 13 encounter. “We have no injuries which is a good thing for us. We trained well in Ghana and are hopeful of a win on Friday,” says midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang Badu.

The match comes off on an artificial turf but the Black Stars, during their preparations in Accra, failed to use an artificial playing field but the Udinese kingpin believes they can overcome the challenges that they may face with the pitch on the match day. “The (astroturf) field may affect us but we have no excuse. That’s what they have. We have also watched some of their clips and they are no bad side. The game has changed so we can’t underrate them. We have to be vigilant and concentrate and I hope that with our quality, we can ensure a good results. The Comoros-Ghana has been set for 12pm GMT kick-off time. Probable Ghana XI v Comoros: Razak Braimah - Harrison Afful, Baba Rahman, John Boye, Jonathan Mensah - Afriyie Acquah, Mubarak Wakaso, Solomon Asante, Andre Ayew - Jordan Ayew, Asamoah Gyan

2014-10-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

Team Media Officer of the Cameroon national U-17 team Albert Njié Mbonde has described as ‘waste of time,’ Ghana’s appeal to have the Confederation of African Football (CAF) rescind its decision on disqualifying the Black Starlets from participating in next year’s African Junior Championship to be hosted by Niger next year. Last Saturday, the Black Starlets were disqualified from participating in the U17 Championship following the CAF Organising Committee’s decision that there were discrepancies in the MRI results of Heart of Lions reserves team midfielder Isaac Twum after a retest was done on him on October 1. This followed a protest against seven Ghana players by Cameroon when they met the Black Starlets in the first leg of the final qualifying round to Niger last month. “From our own point of view, we think it [Ghana’s appeal] is a waste of time. If you watched the game and you saw the guys we presented as players and you saw the difference [with the Ghana team] because we are all Africans. It is true that you need legal documents to justify your claims but you shouldn’t also forget we are Africans; we know when a player is matured and due,” Njié Mbonde told Accra-based Asempa FM Monday night. “If the decision is overturned in favour of Ghana, it won’t change the fact that our cases are founded. CAF may decide otherwise sometimes if it gets political but I must tell you that Ghana has no chance. “By the descent of morphology of ages and all of that, I tell you Ghana has no chance. They are not new to us; we know them very well so we know what we are talking about. It could have even gone to more than two players; we just want to win this case at the level of two because we know that even one player is enough to be disqualified,” he added. CAF had upheld Cameroon’s protest following adverse findings by its Medical Committee made from the MRI details of Isaac Twum and Benjamin Asiedu which was submitted by the Ghana FA in March – but decided to suspend Ghana based on the reports on the former. The African football governing body sent Burkina Faso’s Dr. Francis Liliou who serves on the CAF Medical Committee to witness a retest of the two players the same Radiologist Consultant who carried out the initial MRI tests in Accra using the F-Marc procedure for age determination on October 1. Three weeks later [on Saturday, October 25], CAF wrote to the Ghana FA claiming the analysis of the MRI report from a Medical Centre in Ghana contradicts the analysis of two CAF medical experts on the eligibility of Isaac Twum and so has suspended the Black Starlets team. Twum background A little background information gathered by FootyGhana indicates that Isaac Twum is a February 14, 1998 born per his official documents and participated in the last edition of the African Junior Championship in Morocco two years ago.

He was scouted while playing in the Schools and Colleges competition for Koforidua Technical Secondary School was eligible for the 2013 Championship after the mandatory wrist MRI scan results placed him on Grade 1 of the CAF classifications. With age on his side, Twum now 16 years had his name registered as part of Ghana’s squad for the Niger 2015 qualifiers and his MRI scan placed him at Grade 2 as at March 2014 when Ghana submitted its list to CAF. Signals picked by FootyGhana indicates that the retest results showed a slight discrepancy with that of the initial test [done in March] but Twum was still within the age limit to make him eligible to feature for Ghana – he has after seven months from the initial test moved from Grade 2 to 3 of the ratings. It must be noted CAF has a 6-grading system which is used to determine the eligibility of players to the CAF U-17 category. Players who fall within Grades 1-5 are classified as being 18 years and below while those on Grade 6 are to be 19 years and above and automatically not qualified to play in the African Youth Championship. Ghana are strongly challenging CAF’s decision as they are convinced their mother body might have been wrongly advised especially after they carried another scan on Isaac Twum from another radiology expert in Accra last Sunday. The latest scan results proved Twum to be within the age limit, footy-Ghana is informed.

Official: GHALCA Top 6 Clubs Revealed

2011-08-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

By: Stephen Amos

The chairman of the Interim Management Committee of the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA), Alhaji Raji, has exclusively confirmed to Boss Sports the teams who would be competing in this year’s maiden Globacom sponsored GHALCA Top6 tournament expected to start in the first week of September.

This year’s event which is an extension of the annual Top Four tournament would see the top five clubs of the 2010/2011 premier league (Berekum Chelsea, Ashgold, Asante Kotoko, Medeama, Aduana) and the FA Cup champions, Nania FC lock horns for the coveted trophy and prize money.

“One of the reasons the then GHALCA Top4 tournament was institued was to help prepare our clubs that would represent Ghana in African club competitions and the FA Cup champions, Nania FC have shown thier intention to represent Ghana in the CAF Confederations Cup.

By this development, GHALCA decided to incorporate and extend the number of competing teams to six(6),” Alhaji Raji told Boss Sports.

“Initially, we wanted to include the defending champions Accra Hearts of Oak but realised they are not among the top five clubs of last season’s league so automatically, Aduana Stars fit the bill.”

The acting GHALCA boss disclosed his outfit is yet to decide on the exact date for the start of the competition contrary to reports of the August 28 date.

“Since the new season has been fixed to kick-off in October, we would start the Top6 competition in the first week of September and end by the third week. The teams would be grouped into two, the top two from each grouped will be drawn in the semi-finals, then the finals.”

The following top 5 clubs as per the 2010/11 glo premier league table would be competing with Nania FC : Berekum Chelsea, Ashgold, Asante Kotoko, Medeama and Aduana stars.

The Berekum Golden city park, Obuasi Len Clay, Baba Yara stadium, Essipong stadium , Accra stadium and the Sunyani Coronation park would be the host venues for the maiden GHALCA Top6 tournament.

Fabregas Says goodbye to Arsenal players

2011-08-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

By: Stephen Amos

Cesc Fabregas has officially said goodbye to Arsenal after an eight year stint with the London based club.

The outgoing gunners captain few minutes ago said goodbye to Arsenal team at the London Colney training grounds this morning.

A source close to the Arsenal team at Friday morning's training session just revealed to BTFTK:

"Fabregas has officially said goodbye to teammates at the training grounds. He went round shaking everybody's hand with a goodbye message.

He packed all his luggage in his locker and put it in his car and left, " BTFTK's source revealed.

Fabregas is expected to sign a five-year contract with Barcelona. He was on his way to the airport, but the plan to already fly to Barcelona on Friday afternoon was changed at the last minute.

He is however likely to travel on Sunday to Barcelona and be presented on Monday as Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola doesn't want too much noise ahead of their Super Cup encounter with rivals Real Madrid on Sunday.

PLB Announce Nominees For 2010/11 Awards Night

2011-08-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

By: Stephen Amos

Premier League Board (PLB) on Wednesday morning announced the nominees for the 2010/11 glo Premier league season awards scheduled to be staged at the State Banquet Hall on Saturday August 13 at 18.00 GMT.

The best player categories were grouped from votes cast by coaches of the various sixteen clubs that participated in the season’s championship.

However, Wa All Stars, relegated King Faisal and Real Tamale United failed to present their nominations to the organisers of the awards ceremony.

The guest of honour for this year’s event is CAF’s second Vice President, M. Almamy Kabele from Guinea.

Below are the nominees in various award categories:

Best Goalkeeper
Stephen Adams – Aduana Stars
Ernest Sowah – Berekum Chelsea
Sammy Adjei – Hearts of Oak

Best Defender
Rashid Sumaila – Abusua Dwarfs
Amos Frimpong – B.A Stars
Edward Kpodo - Berekum Chelsea

Overall Best Player
Ahmed Toure - Asante Kotoko
Emmanuel Clottey - Berekum Chelsea
Gladson Awako – Heart of Lions

Best Coach
Yusif Abubakar - Berekum Chelsea
Anthony Commey – New Edubiase
Professor Kwame Mintah - Abusua Dwarfs

Best Behaved Team/Fair Play
Liberty
All Stars

Best CEO
Dr. K.K Sarpong – Asante Kotoko
Fred Crentsil – Hearts of Oak
Obed Nana Kwame Nketia - Berekum Chelsea

Best Centre Referee
Thomas Nunoo
Seidu Bomison
Patrick Kwaku Kyeremateng

Best Assistant Referee
A.S Malik
David Laryea
Alex Anim

Nana Poku of Berekum Arsenals would pick the goal king award for scoring sixteen (16) goals. Volta Regional Football Association chairman Francis Dogbatse would receive the best Match Commissioner award.

Edward Boateng (Global Media Alliance), Alhaji Braimah popularly known as Alhaji Hearts and Sly Tetteh (Liberty) would be awarded for their special contributions to the league.

Emmanuel Offei would receive the best camera man award and there would also be an award for the best Ghana Football Association employee.

Chelsea lifted their debut trophy after securing 57 points and maintaining a 10-point gap at the top of the glo Premier League table after 30 rounds of matches.

Sadat Czechs In At Teplice

2011-08-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

Stephen Amos/thebossfmonline.com
Ghana Black satellites Striker Sadat Karim looks set for Czech Republic’s FK Teplice.

BTFTK bumped into the striker at the Turkey’s Ataturk Airport catching a flight back to Ghana for a Czech Republic visa after being refused visa in Turkey.

The striker had been in Turkey for trials with Göztepe Spor for three weeks hoping to sign for the Turkish side but talks stalled as a result of the recent match-fixing scandal that hit the country’s football.

In July, Turkish Police released a statement stating that there was concrete evidence that 19 football matches were fixed last season in the Turkish first and second leagues. This development is set to cause the delay for the commencement of the league as investigations continue.

Sadat Karim’s German agent, Didi Wendorff however managed to secure him a deal with the striker signing a pre-contract agreement with Czech Republic’s FK Teplice on Wednesday, August 3.

“I was in Göztepe Spor but the Turkish league has this corruption scandal so it is delaying the Super league and first division. I got a team in Czech Republic top flight but they refused me visa in Turkey so I have to come Accra for it by Wednesday (August 10).”

Sadat is a registered Berekum Chelsea player but was loaned to Ashanti Gold for the second round of last season. He previously played for Real Tamale United.

Asante Kotoko's Bogdan Korak To Get The Sack?

2011-08-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

By: Stephen Amos

Reports reaching BTFTK desk indicates an imminent sack of Asante Kotoko's Serbian trainer Bogdan Korak.

Information from the club's board meeting on Wednesday reveals the board has resolved to terminate the appointment of Bogdan Korak following a poor run of results among other reasons.

The club would pay a 3months salary as compensation to the Serbian trainer. If his speculated $5,000 monthly salary is anything to go by, the club would pay him $15,000.

Former Asante Kotoko player and current assistant, Maxwell Konadu would take in his stead.

However, a close source to the Serbian trainer has refuted these reports and claims: "Korak has only spent a half of his two seasons contract he signed with Kotoko. A clause in the contract states Kotoko are obliged to give him a 3-month notice prior termination and pay a compensation of $75,000."

51-year old Bogdan Korak arrived in Kumasi on November 13. 2010 as coach of Asante Kotoko replacing Ebo Mends who was also sacked for poor performance.

Disciplinary Committee Rains GH¢ 36,500 Fine On Kotoko

2011-08-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

By: Stephen Amos

The Ghana Football Association Disciplinary Committee has fined Asante Kotoko 36,500 Ghana cedis (US$55,500) and handed a three match ban on Serbian trainer Bogdan Korak for boycotting the medal ceremony of the 2011 President’s Cup which saw Berekum Chelsea triumph over Kotoko on penalties.

The Disciplinary Committee summoned players and technical team of Asante Kotoko to a meeting in Accra on Tuesday, July 26 to respond to charges preferred against them.

BTFTK understands the following sanctions have been charged against the Kumasi based club by the Disciplinary Committee:

• the club is to pay GH¢ 20,000 for their action

• the 6-member technical team for the match made up of coach Bogdan Korak, his assistant, Prince Acheampong, Malik Jabir, Issa Amadu, Kofi Antwi, Dr. Kwaku Boateng are to pay GH¢ 1,000 each

• the 18 players who failed to honour the medal presentation are charged with GH¢ 500 fine each

• Coach Bogdan Korak is to serve a 3-match ban and fined GH¢1,500.

BTFTK approached Kotoko's Administration and Public Affairs Manager, Ben Nti who declined to comment on the ruling but promised a 'swift' appeal Thursday.

Disgruntled Asante Kotoko amidst what they described as unfair officiating on the part of Class 1 referee Awal Mohammed on July 1, snubbed the medal and trophy presentation in the presence of the second man of the land.

Kotoko however, wrote an unqualified apology to the vice-president John Dramani Mahama to say sorry for their actions after the game.

In what looks like a double blow for Asante Kotoko, the Accra Rep, FA and Internal Relations Director of the club, Kwame Baah-Nuako is reported to have resigned his post citing his wish to further his education as his reason for tending in his resignation.

Romanian Cioaba Aristica Takes Over At Aduana Stars

2011-08-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

By: Stephen Amos

Immediate past Premier League Champions Aduana Stars, have signed Romania coach Cioaba Aristica few hours after officially parting ways with coach Herbert Addo.

The ‘medium English speaker‘ holds the first category trainer cards issued by Federaţia Română de Fotbal (FRF) as well as both uefa license “A” and “B” Diploma coaching certificates.

Cioaba Aristica is one of the youngest Romanian coaches who started his managerial career in the Arab countries. He boasts of good skills to discover talentented players.

At 39 years, he was the assistant coach of Costica Stefanescu who he played with as a professional footballer (Al Shoulla - Saudi Arabia) at Al Tadhamon Football Club of Kuwait in 2009.

His last job was at Jordanian club, Shabab Al-Ordon in 2010.

The coach who turns 40 years on Thursday “has signed a one-year renewable contract with the Dormaa based club”, FIFA player agent Leslie Kuku Bartels revealed to Boss Sports.

Aristica aims to trace the footsteps of highly rated coaches in the Gulf region like Elijah Balaci, Costica Stefanescu, Alexandru Moldovan.

Cioaba Aristica is expected to earn a monthly salary of $5000 and would be in Dormaa by Friday, Boss Sports gathers

Arsenal's Frimpong Committed To Impress

2011-07-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

Arsenal and Ghana youngster Emmanuel Frimpong is away with the Arsenal team on a pre-season tour of Asia. Arsene Wenger’s side are billed to play a friendly with Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur and Hangzhou Greentown in China on Saturday.

The young midfielder was impressive at last season’s pre-season campaign but did his cruciate at training after the first game of the 2010/11 premier league season away to Liverpool.

Frimpong, who manager Arsene Wenger had set to be given more chances to impress recovered from the serious knee injury he suffered at the start of last season in April and is now aiming to make up for the lost time.

“Every time I come on the pitch and with the more time I spend, the more confident I feel I just want to be on the pitch in training. The physio has told me the more time I spend on the pitch, the more confident I’m going to be in myself.“

However, the 19-year old admits he is not fully fit compared to the previous year and would only need to be patient to reach top form.

“I’m still not 100% fit as last year but that will come. I just have to be patient.”

Emmanuel Frimpong reiterates his commitment to the game, readiness to take the opportunity he gets and hopes to stay injury free.

“I’m one of the players that just want to give their all when I’m on the pitch so this is a big opportunity to show what i can do so hopefully, everything goes well, I stay clear off injury.

Rajevac names final 23 for Ghana Blackstars

2010-05-29T16:16:00.001-07:00

Kevin-Prince Boateng has made it into Milovan
Rajevac's final 23-man squad for South Africa
2010.
The 23 year-old attacker is yet to be capped for
Ghana after securing his nationality switch from
Germany.
Rajevac confirmed his decision today at Ghana's
training camp in Paris ahead of the Black Stars'
departure to Rotterdam tomorrow for the friendly
against Holland on June 1.
The Serbian coach cut six players from his squad
today, with goalkeeper Stephen Adams, Eric
Addo, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Laryea
Kingston, Haminu Draman and Bernard
Kumordzi all omitted.
Ghana will also play Serbia, Australia and
Germany in Group D.
Ghana squad
Goalkeepers: Richard Kingson, Daniel Agyei,
Stephen Aholu
Defenders: John Paintsil, John Mensah, Samuel
Inkoom, Hans Adu Sarpei, Rahim Ayew, Lee
Addy, Isaac Vorsah, Jonathan Mensah
Midfielders: Kwadwo Asamoah, Anthony
Annan, Sulley Muntari, Kevin-Prince Boateng,
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Stephen Appiah, Andre
Ayew, Derek Boateng
Attackers: Asamoah Gyan, Prince Tagoe,
Dominic Adiyiah, Mathew Amoah

Christopher Opoku: GHANA’S WORLD CUP SQUAD: SENTIMENT OVER REALISM

2010-05-09T04:30:00.000-07:00

So finally, Ghana’s provisional World Cup squad has been named. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t surprised with most of the names on the list and indeed, even though in my last few articles, I had indicated why I thought certain players should not be in the team, checks carried out clearly indicated that most of such players would make the squad. As usual, I will attempt to provide a critique of the squad.
Before I go on to the squad, player for player, it is time to make some observations and ask some tough questions. It would appear that some of the players selected made it into the squad based on past achievements more that anything else. There is no doubt that the likes of Stephen Appiah, Richard Kingston, Laryea Kingston, John Mensah and Michael Essien are great players in their pomp, but are they in their pomp? The records speak for themselves. I know I might be sounding like a broken record, but full fitness and regular playing time are to very important factors that should go into selecting a good World Cup squad, unless the team in question is travelling to make up the numbers.
To cite a few examples, England coach Fabio Capello is considering leaving Rio Ferdinand out of the English World Cup squad if he fails to prove his fitness and is indeed trying to convince Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher to come out of retirement. Ferdinand happens to be England captain and if Capello is considering dropping him on grounds of fitness, then it is a measure of how serious most of the competing nations are. Ronaldo is the all-time World Cup top scorer and even though he is regularly banging in the goals for Corinthians in Brazil (12 in 20 games as of last month), he has admitted that he might not make it into the Selecao on grounds of a comparative lack of playing time. Remember that he single handedly won the World Cup in 2002 by scoring eight goals. Rene Adler was to have been Germany’s number one goalie in South Africa and indeed after suffering his shoulder injury, he is quoted as saying that he could play through the pain barrier but head coach Joachim Loew decided not to risk him, a decision Adler agreed with. Adler has since been left out and on the basis of consistency, veteran keeper Hans Joerg Butt, who has been ever present for Bayern Munich this season, has been called up in Adler’s place. These are just a few examples of the sort of barometers several coaches are using to pick squads capable of competing at the highest levels.
This brings me to the afore-mentioned players as per the Black Stars. I am currently getting conflicting reports about whether Michael Essien will be fit in time for the World Cup. On one hand, I am told that his participation in South Africa is looking extremely doubtful; on the other, I am getting reports that he is finally over his injury problems and will be available to play in Ghana’s pre-World Cup matches. There is no doubt that he is by far Ghana’s best player and if there is any chance that he can play, it would be a major boost to the Black Stars, but the Chelsea midfielder has been quoted as saying that he would prefer to compete at the World Cup fully fit and that he might be forced to miss the trip to South Africa to save his long-term career. Add that to the fact that he was recovering from an injury when he travelled to Angola and after 45 minutes against Ivory Coast, he suffered the knee injury that has kept him out since then, and surely the conclusion is that if he is not fully fit, then perhaps it is time to plan for the World Cup without him!
The whole world and his wife know that Stephen Appiah has not played competitive club football for close to two years. His displays for the Black Stars during the World Cup qualifiers clearly reflect that fact and whilst he was instrumental in Ghana’s blaze of glory four years ago in Germany, it would be counter-productive to include him in Ghana’s final squad because he is not match-fit! The World Cup is a competition that leaves no room for error, much less lack of match fitness and whilst we all applaud Appiah’s exploits over the years, his selection into the team smacks of an attempt to reward him for past service to the Black Stars, a move that could blow up in the face of the selectors.
In my last piece, I included John Mensah in my opinionated World Cup squad. However, since that time, he returned to Sunderland’s starting line up against Manchester United and limped off after 18 minutes. I still maintain that he is one of the best in the business when fit, but will he be fit, when corrective surgery is clearly needed for his back problems? Do not forget that former Italy defender Alessandro Nesta had the same issues and had to stay out of football for over a year after surgery and now, Marcelo Lippi is still making overtures to convince Nesta to return to the national fold. Perhaps it is time for Mensah himself to bite the bullet and admit that he will not be fit enough for South Africa, otherwise he could put his entire career at risk, which would be a pity because at 27, his best years are ahead of him and perhaps the 2014 World Cup would be a good time for him to show his full fitness after undergoing surgery and playing for some time.
My stance on Richard Kingston has generated a lot of debate, with some arguing that he is very experienced and it would be catastrophic to leave him out. Well for me, what is good for the goose should also be good for the gander and if I am arguing that Appiah should be left out on the basis of lack of playing time, then the same argument should apply to ‘Olele’, who has not played a competitive match for Wigan this season. He clearly has fitness issues which were evident in Angola and even though he played through the pain barrier, it ultimately cost him the chance to represent Ghana against Bosnia a few months back. I am sure that Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac also has doubts about Kingston’s fitness and that is why he has called up four goalkeepers in the provisional squad. For me, I believe that Stephen Ahorlu, Daniel Agyei and Stephen Adams have all been in good form and should go to South Africa as Ghana’s three goalkeepers.
Laryea Kingston has had a mixed season for Heart of Midlothian. Fitness issues, a run in with the former coach and lack of playing time amongst other things have conspired to lower his performance levels and only 9 starts for the Scottish club tells the story. His omission from Heart of Midlothian’s 0-0 draw with Dundee United last week would suggest that new manager Jim Jeffries also has doubts over his fitness. I remember including him in my ‘stand-by’ seven, but I do not think he should travel to South Africa.
Eric Addo made it into Ghana’s provisional squad and whilst he is one of Ghana’s most experienced players, 12 starts in the Dutch Eredivisie out of 34 is a less than satisfactory output for Roda JC and an extended period on the bench does not bode well for the defensive midfielder turned central defender. His tactical awareness has been blunted by a lack of pace and in his last few games for Ghana, it was evident. Poor positioning on his part led to Bosnia’s equalizer against Ghana and for me, he should also miss the trip.
I maintained last time out that Haminu Draman should not make the trip and my stance remains unchanged because he has not played this season. He has been on the bench only once this season and his penchant for taking the wrong option at times is a mark against him. He might have scored in Germany, but that was then. This is now.
I am also concerned about Rahim Ayew’s inclusion into the squad because he has been in and out of the Zamalek team, and even though he has the ability to play in different positions and so will provide options, I am just wondering whether he is well-conditioned to play in South Africa. I reckon the jury is out on that one. How Dominic Adiyiah, who has yet to break into the AC Milan first team was chosen ahead of Eric Bekoe, who has had a prolific season with Petrojet in Egypt I will never know and at any World Cup, firepower is very important.
I omitted Derek Boateng from my list the last time out, but I will wholeheartedly agree with the decision to include him. He has had a consistent season with Getafe and with Emmanuel Agyemang Badu set to recover just in time for the World Cup, perhaps he might get a starting place alongside Anthony Annan in midfield. I am also delighted to see that Bernard Yao Kumordji’s consistency in the Greek Super Liga has been rewarded with a call up and he remains a useful option.
I was also surprised to see Jonathan Mensah’s name in the list. He was a regular for Free State Stars before a failed move to Udinese. He has been out of the reckoning for the South African side since then and I would have thought that some of our locally based central defenders like Karim Alhassan, Awudu Nafiu and John Kuffuor would have been picked as cover for Lee Addy and Isaac Vorsah.

With all this to chew on, one cannot help but ask the following questions; what target have we set for ourselves in South Africa? (GFA President Kwasi Nyantakyi believes Ghana can win the World Cup whilst Rajevac is targeting a second round place) What are the criteria for selection into the team? Have past accomplishments and experience become more important than full match fitness and consistency? Indeed, are e going to South Africa just to make up the numbers or are we bent on achieving anything all? Are we still being sentimental instead of wearing a cloak of realism? I guess we all have to wait until the final 23 is named and Ghana plays in the pre-World Cup friendlies. Whilst I would be happy to be proved wrong as per fitness issues of certain players, for now the above remains my opinion on the matter and only time will tell whether the Black Stars are being prepared adequately for the World Cup or whether this is a rerun of the mythical soap opera entitled , ‘He has done it before in the past, so…….’.

I'm Coming To Town says Arsenal's Emmanuel Frimpong

2010-04-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

Ghanaian born midfield powerhouse Emmanuel Yaw Frimpong who plays for Arsenal FC would be coming to his homeland, Ghana, on June 2, 2010. Yaw Frimpong born on January 2, 1992 moved to England at the age of 9 and was scouted by Arsenal when he was playing for a local side called Broadwater Farm. He joined the club after a short trial and quickly became one of the rising stars of his year group which included Sanchez Watt and Jack Wilshire.
As a 15year old schoolboy, Manny as he is affectionately called, captained the Under 18s side and made his first team debut in a friendly against Huddersfield in the summer of 2008.
Speaking to your authoritative blog, Yaw Frimpong said:
“I am coming to Ghana this summer to see my family in Kumasi”.
Manny has represented England as a teenager but declared in February 2010 that his international future lies with Ghana. He won youth international honours for England but despite spending a decade in England, his heart remains with his homeland.
“I have always said that, no matter what, I will always play for Ghana because at the end of the day, from what I believe, I am a Ghanaian.”
“England has done a lot for me and my family but at the end of the day I can’t see myself playing for England because I am not English. I am from Ghana.”
Speaking on his chances in the Black stars team, Yaw Frimpong said:
“With players like Essien and Muntari, I don’t think I’ve got any chance at the moment!”, he smiled.
“But hopefully, you never know in the future, I might get a chance.”

Glo-CAF Awards 2009: Top three nominees revealed

2010-02-16T12:34:00.000-08:00

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday revealed the top three nominees for the Glo-CAF Awards 2009 at a press briefing in Accra, Ghana.

Ex-Black Stars defender Anthony Baffoe revealed the identity of the nominees for the various categories at the ceremony attended by Kwesi Nyantakyi, President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and other sporting dignitaries

The flagship award, African Footballer of the Year 2009 has Ivorian striker, Didier Drogba, Ghana midfielder Michael Essien and Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto’o Fils as the contenders.

The top three for other categories namely; Best African Player on the continent, National Team of the Year, Club of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Coach of the Year were also revealed.

The winners of the respective categories will be announced at the Awards Gala fixed for March 11, 2010 at the Banquet Hall, State House, in Accra, Ghana.

This is the fifth time cellular giants Globacom is sponsoring the annual awards which seeks to reward distinguished football personalities for their performance during the year under review.

Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor picked the flagship prize at the 2008 Awards Gala held in Lagos, Nigeria last year.

Top Three nominees (alphabetical order)
African Footballer of the Year 2009
Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Cote d’Ivoire)
Michael Essien (Chelsea and Ghana)
Samuel Eto’o Fils (Inter Milan and Cameroon)

Best African player on the continent 2009
Uche Agba (Heartland FC and Nigeria)
Mputu Mabi (T.P. Mazembe and DR Congo)
Abdelmalek Ziaya (Entente Setif and Algeria)

National Team of the Year 2009
Algeria
Cote d’Ivoire
Ghana

Club of the Year 2009
Heartland FC (Nigeria)
Stade Malien (Mali)
T.P. Mazembe (DR Congo)

Young Player of the Year 2009
Dominic Adiyiah (AC Milan and Ghana U-20)
Kermit Erasmus (Feyenoord and South Africa U-20)
Sani Emmanuel (Bodens BK and Nigeria U-17)

Coach of the Year 2009
Diego Garzitto (T.P. Mazembe)
John Obuh (Nigeria U-17)
Sellas Tetteh (Ghana U-20)

Glo-CAF Awards 2009 rescheduled for March 11, 2010

2010-02-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

The Glo-CAF 2009 ceremony has been rescheduled and confirmed for Thursday, March 11, 2010. The Awards Gala will now be held in Accra, Ghana, intiatlly schedulled for Dakar.

The change of date is also to ensure the attendance of all nominees pencilled for honours. It will be the second time the annual event is being staged in the Ghanaian capital after March 2007.

Cellular outfit, Globacom will be sponsoring for the fifth time the event that seeks to honour and celebrate African football and its best performing actors for the calendar year 2009.

Ivorian striker Didier Drogba, compatriot Yaya Toure, Ghana’s Michael Essien, Samuel Eto’o Fils of Cameroon and Malian Seydou Keita are the contenders for the flagship award, African Footballer of the Year 2009.

2009 GLO-CAF Awards Top Three Nominees Emerge Feb 16.

2010-02-09T22:47:00.000-08:00

The race for the 2009 Glo-CAF Player of the Year will be narrowed down to the final three nominees to be announced in Accra , Ghana on Tuesday, February 16.

CAF will also on that day announce nominees for other categories including Coach of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Club of the Year, Inter-Club Player of the Year, National Team of the Year and Supporters Club of the Year amongst others.

Suleiman Habuba, the CAF Director of Communications said votes from all the 12 members of the Media Committee and 17 members of the Technical and Development Committee have been collated for the announcement.

He said the nominations were based on players’ performance for club and country from January to December 2009 and that the nominations cover all African players in European and the domestic African club leagues. “Obviously, we have made tremendous progress in the process of selecting the winner for the 2009 Glo-CAF Awards ceremony as the five highest scoring nominees have already been forwarded to all the national team coaches of CAF member federations for their vote ”, Habuba explained.

The five top nominees announced in Lagos last December are Drogba Didier of Chelsea and Cote D ’Ivoire, Essien Michael of Chelsea and Ghana, Eto’O Samuel of Inter Milan and Cameroon, Keita Seydou of Barcelona and Toure Yaya of Barcelona and Cote D ’Ivoire.

The 2008 winner, Emmanuel Adebayor of Manchester City and Togo failed to reach the top five. The awards ceremony sponsored by telecommunications giant, Globacom has held in Abuja, Accra, Lome and Lagos .

Angola 2010 : GHANA VS NIGERIA IN SEMI-FINALS CLASH

2010-01-25T23:44:00.000-08:00

By Stephen Amos, sheggs.blogspot.com

Ghana will face West African rivals Nigeria in Thursday's Africa Cup of Nations semi-final clash at the Estadio de 11 Novembro in Luanda.
Nigeria progressed to the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals by beating Zambia 5-4 on penalties and will meet Ghana in the semi-finals on Thursday.

It took 120 minutes and a penalty shoot out for the Eagles of Nigeria to fly past the Chipolopolo of Zambia and qualify for the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. Nigeria got the advantage after Nyirenda missed the third spot kick for Zambia. Super Eagles' goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeam secured a win by for Nigeria by scoring the last spot kick to make the shoot 5-4 in favour of the Eagles.

Everton FC's striker, Yakubu Aiyegbeni is the stand-in captain of the super eagles after injury ruled out substantive captain Joseph Yobo earlier in their group match against Benin. In an interview with Boss Fm's(in Ghana) sports desk, Yakubu spoke of the rivalry between the two big football nations on the continent and expectations of Thursday's titanic encounter.

"We are not going on a revenge mission. It is no revenge. Ghanaians are like our brothers. We are very close and whenever Nigeria plays against Ghana, it is a big rivalry. They did so well the last time in 2008 as the host country, we got beaten by them and hopefully now that we have got the opportunity to play them, we hope to beat them and do them the same."

He went on to make a statement of intent on the ongoing tournament as to wanting to play in the finals.

"Of late, we find it difficult in the nations cup and we just were unlucky the last time we went out when Ghana beat us but hopefully, i hope it is not going to be the same. We want to play in the finals."

"We want to win the cup and we have teaams like Ghana, they are a good team and even Egypt too. They are are all good teams and it is not going to be easy but for us, we are going to win. Our mentality is going there to win and fight for each other, hopefully we get to the finals and there, we will see how it goes."

Egypt will meet north African rivals Algeria, in a repeat of their tense and controversial World Cup play-off match in November, which saw Algeria progress to South Africa.

NO CHANGE IN AFCON FORMAT

2010-01-25T23:30:00.000-08:00

Europe's big clubs who regularly criticize the staging of the Africa Cup of Nations will have to live with the current format.

The continental competition is held every two years and is regularly criticized as European clubs are forced to let their players go in the middle of the season.

CAF President Issa Hayatou said that there was no possibility of staging the competition on a four-year cycle and but that plans to stage it on odd years was being examined.

Such a move would allow CAF to hold its showcase event on years that don't feature other major tournaments, like the World Cup or the European Championship.

"The decision is actually pending," Hayatou said in an Associated Press report.

"No decision has been taken yet. This requires a great reflection on the feasibility, particularly in terms of qualifying for major competitions."

Hayatou added that the tournament was an opportunity for all African countries to develop their infrastructures.

In Angola, where this year's Afcon is currently being played, new stadiums were built in Luanda and three other cities.

"We need sports infrastructure in our countries," Hayatou said. "Four stadiums were built in Ghana 2008, another four this year in Angola. These would not have happened without the Afcon. Afcon is a development tool not only in the football area."

The next Africa Cup of Nations will be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in 2012.

Source: Kickoffghana

Paraguay soccer star shot in Mexico Citybar

2010-01-25T13:17:00.000-08:00

By Stephen Wade, Ap Sports Writer

MEXICO CITY – Salvador Cabanas, the top player on Paraguay's World Cup team, was shot in the head before dawn Monday in the bathroom of a bar in a well-off neighborhood in Mexico City.

The 29-year-old striker underwent surgery in which doctors failed to remove a bullet lodged in his skull. Dr. Ernesto Martinez, who was part of the surgical team, said "we cannot guarantee that his life is out of danger." He called the player's condition stable.

"Injuries like this are unpredictable," Martinez added. "We don't know what kind aftereffects he might have — perhaps none, or perhaps there will be many. We don't know right now."

Mexico City Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera visited the popular nightspot "Bar Bar" and said from the crime scene robbery did not appear a motive "because nothing was taken."

Mancera later said a suspect had been identified from surveillance videos as a man with an accent from the northern state of Sinaloa — long considered the cradle of Mexico's drug lords — who traveled with at least one bodyguard.

However, Mancera said that as of yet "there is no indication of organized crime," a term Mexican officials use to refer to drug cartels.

Mancera said the suspect was known by the nickname "J.J." or "El Modelo" ("The Model") and was being sought. He said one of the suspect's associates was seen talking to a Cuban woman who worked at the club, and one possible motive was "there could have been some kind of trouble" over the woman. Cabanas was in the bar with his wife.

He said a cleaning employee said there had been "an argument, a strong exchange of words" between two men in the bathroom before a shot was fired.

The videos showed that club employees did not attempt to stop the suspects as they hurriedly left the bar and got in a car.

"Nobody did anything to stop them," Mancera said.

Cabanas plays for the Mexico City team America. Club president Michel Bauer said Cabanas was conscious when he arrived at the hospital and was speaking as he awaited surgery.

"He was a bit confused and didn't know what had happened and he was asking where they were taking him and why they were taking him there," Bauer told Mexico television Televisa.

Bauer said Cabanas' wife told him the two were preparing to leave the bar when the shooting took place in a bathroom. His wife said she found her husband on the bathroom floor.

Mancera said four people were being questioned — two security guards, the bar manager and Cabanas' brother-in-law. He said the brother-in-law volunteered to testify.

Authorities in the city's leafy Alvaro Obregon borough ordered the bar closed Monday, saying it had failed to provide adequate security for its customers based on the shooting.

Cabanas has played in the Mexico league since 2003 and is the highest-profile player on his national team. Paraguay will face Italy, New Zealand and Slovakia in the group stage of the World Cup in South Africa in June.

Cabanas has 125 goals in 218 games in Mexico and played last weekend in America's 2-0 loss to Morelia. This month he drew attention from Sunderland manager Steve Bruce, who expressed interest in adding Cabanas to his club in England's Premier League.

"Club America is deeply sorry for what happened to our beloved Salvador Cabanas and shows its total support for his family and loved ones," the Mexican team said in a statement.

Paraguayan Football Association president Juan Angel Napout said a doctor would travel to Mexico to assist Cabanas.

"We are praying for him," Napout said.

Cabanas was honored as South America's soccer player of the year in 2007 by Uruguay's El Pais newspaper, the only time a player in Mexico has won the award.

There is a long history of violence involving Latin American soccer players. Most prominently, Colombia defender Andres Escobar was shot and killed in his home country days after his own-goal helped the United States defeat the Colombians 2-1 in a major upset at the 1994 World Cup.

AFRICA TO RECEIVE $150m

2010-01-25T11:14:00.000-08:00

African soccer will receive $150m in television and marketing income over the next eight years in a significant increase in revenue for the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Up to two years ago CAF were paid $5m annually for African Champions League rights and $5.5m every two years for the African Nations Cup.

CAF’s financial report, released ahead of their congress in Luanda on Friday, said the organisation had an operating profit of $939 000 over the last financial year and a cash balance of $18.8m.

It said CAF were spending almost $25m on three training centres in Cameroon, Ethiopia and Senegal.

French company SportFive have the exclusive rights to all African competitions at national, youth and club level.

Angola 2010 : KALUSHA BWALYA SEEKS REVENGE AS ZAMBIA CLASH WITH NIGERIA

2010-01-25T03:07:00.000-08:00

Memories of the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations finals are likely to be replayed this evening when Nigeria’s Super Eagles face Chipolopolo of Zambia in the 2010 AFCON quarter-finals in Lubango, Angola.

President of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ), Kalusha Bwalya, was captain when Zambia last clashed with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations. Speaking to MTNFootball.com, Kalusha Bwalya, said that the current squad has shown their mettle against top teams in the continent and can claim the Super Eagles' scalp on the way to the final.

“We are very delighted to be through to the quarter-final after 14 years. We feel liberated, extremely pleased, with a lot of confidence that this team can show what they are capable of,” Bwalya said.

“The target was to get to the quarter-final, which has not been achieved for a long time. Every other thing on the way would be a bonus, but we feel confident that anything can happen now.”

Asked about the Nigeria quarter-final challenge, Bwalya observed: “We will look at Nigeria now; we did not concentrate on them before now. We have time to look at them in more details. We played against them in Durban in a friendly. The stakes were different then and we are very conscious of that. It was important for us to play against a team like Nigeria at the time we did in South Africa. We did not know that we would meet at this stage of the tournament. Everything put together, we do not expect anything less than a cup final. When we started, every game was a cup final for us and this will be an even more daunting cup final for us.

“We all said before the friendly in Durban that this was the first time Zambia were meeting Nigeria since that game in 1994. We all understand how important it is to meet a team like the Super Eagles, who have a good coach and exceptionally talented players. We hope we can play as well as we have played to stand a chance of going through to the next round.”

Zambia will be facing Nigeria at 19.30GMT in Lubango. Nigeria's coach, Amodu Shaibu is set to field the same squad that spanked Mozambique 3-0 in the third round of the group mathces to book a place in the quarter-finals of the African cup of nations.