Tesano Dolphins coach appeals for funding for swimming in Ghana

After another clean sweep of honours at the Loya Accra Open swimming championship, the coach of the famous Tesano Dolphins has made an appeal to corporate Ghana to invest in and support the sport of swimming.

The Loya Accra Open which was successfully held on Saturday 27^th April at the Legon Swimming Pool, has been described by many as arguably the biggest organised national swimming championships yet in Ghana.

Swimmers from the Tesano Sports club improved on their times in the various competitions and also set records.

– Tesano Dolphins, flaunting their medals

Notable among them are 16-year old Kwaku Addo and 17-year old Ophelia Swayne, both of the Roman Ridge School. Their proud coach, Abbiw Jackson, who also has two of his wards in the team, is happy with the improved times and believes they will do well in their next international competition.

– Lincoln Community School, showing their medals

“This was a good competition because we had, what I deem as Ghana’s second strongest team, the Lincoln Community School, coming in full and giving us a run for our money,” he said in an interview withAllSports.

“But as you can see, anywhere we competed with them we came out better.

“This is a stepping stone for an upcoming competition in Germany. Most of my kids hit the targets we set for them. Kwaku was to hit 25.90s so we work progressively to 25.10s for the competition. And he hit the target. We are on course.

“With a little more training and focus, Kwaku can drop to 25.10s by the time we go to Germany.”

– Coach Jackson also threw more light on the prestige of the upcoming competition.

“This is a competition that is touted to be among the eight best categorised club competitions in the world, with about 45 clubs from all over the world participating. It’s just us [Tesano Dolphins] from Ghana and one from Nigeria, who are representing Africa.”

Coach Jackson, a trained lawyer and an administrator, who works with the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), also made a passionate appeal to the corporate bodies to support the sport.

“Clearly, amongst our swimmers are some of the finest in the world for their age. But these swimmers will go nowhere if we don’t get some financial support. I’m urging all those who love the sport of swimming. We have top swimmers in Ghana, invest some money in them.

“Don’t give money to us [coaches] and think we’re going to squander it. Let’s use it in developing the sport. Let’s use it in paying for the kids’ airfare and logistics so they can have strong competition outside this country. And I bet you, swimming will overtake a lot of other sports in this country,” he concluded.

– Kow Asafua Jackson leads Ghana’s entry at the 41st Swim Fest in Heheim, Germany, 2011

– Ghanaian parents travelled to support their wards in Germany (Swimming)

– Ghanaian parents travelled to support their wards in Germany (Swimming)

The Tesano Dolphins will be representing Ghana at the 42^nd Schwimmfest in Neheim-Husten, Germany, where about 800 to 1,000 swimmers will compete. This is one of the 10 best club-based age-categorised competitions and will have 45 to 50 clubs from all over Europe.

Africa will be represented by two countries; Tesano Dolphins of Ghana and Ikoyi Club of Lagos, Nigeria. The Dolphins have a delegation of 20 swimmers and are aiming to win 20 medals.

They however need a lot financial support as Coach Jackson tells this reporter that each swimmer requires USD 3,000 to register and send them to Germany.

 

Posted on April 30, 2013

 

Tesano Dolphins’ Ophelia Swayne seeks to win gold in Germany

– Ophelia Swayne, Tesano Dolphins

Tesano Dolphins’ Ophelia Swayne won five gold medals at the recently organised Loya Accra Open swimming championship.

Ophelia is a 17-year old student of Roman Ridge School and was Ghana’s best performer at the 2011 All Africa Games in the female category.

Even with a tight schedule of schooling and training, Ophelia has clocked impressive times in various events. She is looking forward to making an impression in the upcoming international meet in Germany.

“It was really hard and very competitive. My wins didn’t come easy. I had to work really hard for them,” Ophelia said in an interview with AllSports.

“The intensive training programme I did this month has really paid off. This is just a stepping stone for us because we’re going to Germany next month.”

Ophelia swept five gold medals at the Accra Open and is looking to better her one gold medal-winning feat.

“This will be my second time in this international competition. My first time, I won gold and I was really proud of myself. Germany is not really easy. It’s a top competition. Clubs from all around the world come to compete. And people from that side can really swim.”

Showing a good sense of focus, Ophelia said that her focus was not on medals but on ‘dropping’ her time.

“I didn’t really focus on medals today. I was focusing on dropping my time. I actually did well. I dropped my time in some strokes. But I was disappointed because I couldn’t drop my time in the stroke I intended to.

“But not to worry. More opportunities will arise and I will work hard to do that.”

Ophelia also sent out a message for support for the sport of swimming.

“We really appreciate the support from Loya and others. They’re doing really great for us. That’s a good thing. If we had more people supporting us, we would do much better. I’d like to appeal for more sponsors.”

– (Fourth from right) Ophelia Swayne, Delphine Shooter, Zenobia Addo, Selinam Shabashie, Tesano Dolphins in Germany, 2011

Ophelia Swayne will be one of the Tesano Dolphins who will represent Ghana at the 42^nd Schwimmfest in Neheim-Husten, Germany, where about 800 to 1,000 swimmers will compete. This is one of the 10 best club-based age-categorised competitions and will have 45 to 50 clubs from all over Europe.

Africa will be represented by two countries; Tesano Dolphins of Ghana and Ikoyi Club of Lagos, Nigeria. The Dolphins have a delegation of 20 swimmers and are aiming to win 20 medals.

Posted on April 30, 2013

 

Young swimmer Kwaku Addo looking to win gold in Germany

– Kwaku Addo, Tesano Dolphins

Tesano Dolphins’ Kwaku Addo was aiming to win two gold medals but he swept five gold medals at the recently organised Loya Accra Open swimming championship.

The 16-year old student of Roman Ridge School has only been swimming for less than two years but has been described by his coach, Abbiw Jackson, as a wonder kid who can win medals for Ghana.

Kwaku, in an interview with AllSports, was beyond himself and was glad to have exceeded his set target coming into the Accra Open and reducing his time to 25:9s.

“I feel great. It’s a privilege. I’m honoured. It feels so good,” he said, trying to catch his breath.

“My competitors are really fast and to beat them is a real honour.

“I came just to win two gold medals but I ended up winning five gold medals.”

Kwaku Addo has been undergoing hard, feverish training in preparation for an upcoming international competition in Germany and is looking to win some medals.

“My expectation is to do better than I did the last time. I hope this hectic training that we’ve been enduring will pay off.

“The last one I went to was in 2011, also in Germany. I couldn’t get to win anything and that was horrible. So this year, I hope to win as much as I can get.

Kwaku Addo will be one of the Tesano Dolphins who will represent Ghana at the 42^nd Schwimmfest in Neheim-Husten, Germany, where about 800 to 1,000 swimmers will compete. This is one of the 10 best club-based age-categorised competitions and will have 45 to 50 clubs from all over Europe.

Africa will be represented by two countries; Tesano Dolphins of Ghana and Ikoyi Club of Lagos, Nigeria. The Dolphins have a delegation of 20 swimmers and are aiming to win 20 medals.

Posted on April 30, 2013

 

Records broken at the Loya Accra Open swimming championships

– Loya Accra Open Swimming Championship

Arguably the biggest organised national swimming championships yet in Ghana, the Loya Accra Open was successfully held on Saturday 27^th April at the Legon Swimming Pool.

With participation from a number organisations and individuals, records were set a broken at the event with a high level of competition.

The biggest swimming club in Ghana, Tesano Dolphins, from the Tesano Sports Club were in attendance. Also participating was Lincoln Community School, French School, British Int. School, Association Int. School and UG Basic School.

Ophelia Swayne, who was Ghana’s best performer at the 2011 All Africa Games in the female category, and Kwaku Addo, both of the Roman Ridge School, were two of the stand out names on the day as they swept gold medals in most of the events in which they participated.

The two young Ghanaians also dropped their personal best times, much to the delight of their coach, Abbiw Jackson, of the Tesano Sports Club.

In the Boys G4 50m Freestyle, Kwaku Addo was able to make a time of 25.98s when he came in with a seed time of 26.38s.

In the Girls G4 50m Backstroke, Ophelia Swayne recorded a time of 34.56s when she came in with a seed time of 38.25s.

Coach Abbiw Jackson, who is in charge of the Tesano Dolphins, said that he long term aim is to prepare these young swimmers for the international competitions and Olympic games.

“This was a good competition because we had, what I deem as Ghana’s second strongest team, The Lincoln Community School, coming in full and giving us a run for their money,” he said in an interview with AllSPorts.

“This is a stepping stone for an upcoming competition in Germany. Most of my kids hit the targets we set for them. Kwaku was to hit 25.90s so we work progressively to 25.10s for the competition. And he hit the target. We are on course.

“With a little more training and focus, Kwaku can drop to 25.10s by the time we go to Germany.”

Williams Kyei, Secretary General of the Ghana Swimming Association, said the winners would participate in the FINA International Swimming events, including the African Juniors in Egypt and the World Juniors in Dubai.

He was also very impressed with the turnout of events on the day.

“This has been a successful meet beyond expectation. Records have been broken, some swimmers have dropped times, some have improved their personal best, and new talents have also been discovered.

“We are happy and we are looking forward to developing these talents that have been unearthed today.”

AllSports will continue to bring you more news concerning swimming in Ghana.

 

Posted on April 29, 2013

 

FEATURE: A look at the 10th CAF U-17 Championship

The 10^th CAF U-17 championship will begin this weekend in Casablanca, Morocco and eight teams are participating in this tournament.  The hosts will be taking on Gabon in the opening match of the tournament at the Complexe Sportif Mohammed V stadium in Casablanca.

The tournament, which begins on Saturday 13^th April, will run till Saturday 27^th April and this piece gives us a look at the participants.

Burkina Faso, who are reigning champions, will soon have their reign ended as they did not qualify, to defend their title.

And as such, a new heir to the throne is to be determined.

Not only will the next champions be crowned but also the semi-finalists will get to represent the continent at the FIFA U-17 World Cup to be held in United Arab Emirates from 17 October to 8 November 2013.

The eight teams that qualified to partake in this tournament have been divided into two groups. Group A has hosts Morocco, Gabon, Tunisia and Botswana. And Group B has Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Ghana.

A look at Group A

The hosts, Morocco, have already started preparations towards hosting and winning the competition. They recently beat Niger 3-2 in a pre-tournament game. One of the oppositions the host will face will be in the form of their group mates, Botswana.

They edged out Algeria, beating them 3-2 on penalties, to qualify for the tournament. But Botswana, who are making their third appearance in the finals, will look to win the first match at the finals and then build from there.

One of their rising stars, Emmanuel Kabelano Mooketsane, will be one to look at. They face Tunisia on 13^thApril.

Tunisia are responsible for the absence of reigning U17 champions, Burkina Faso. They beat them over a two-leg tie, losing the first 2-1 but coming back strongly to win the second 3-0. In their preparations towards the tournament, they have played twice against Ivory Coast, drawing one and losing 4-2 in the other.

Group A is completed by Gabon. Gabon edged out Benin on the road to the tournament and will face a tough task in their first game at the competition. They will play hosts Morocco at the Stade Mohamed V, in Casablanca. A tall order, by the look of it.

‘Group of Death’

On to Group B, we have Côte d’Ivoire. On the road to the tournament, they defeated Senegal.

Les petit Éléphants have never won the tournament and will look to change that this time round. While camping in Tunisia ahead of the tourney, they beat them 4-2 while drawing the first game. Their first test will be against Congo, on 14^th April at the second venue, the Stade de Marrakech, in Marrakech.

Congo are the other team in Group B who beat Tanzania on their way to the African spectacle. The team, which also participated at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, come into the tourney with a lot to offer. Though not power houses on the continent, they are not one to take for granted.

Nigeria are also in Group B and will be one dangerous team to look out for. They have won the African Under-17 Championship two times (2001 and 2007) and were runners-up in 1995.

They also won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1985 (at the time it was U-16) and the Golden Eaglets will come to compete, expecting to soar.

Ghana focus

Finally, we have Ghana, two-time African Champions (1995 and 1999) and two-time World Champions as well (1991 and 1995). The Black made it to the tournament after beating South Africa by a 5-3 aggregate scoreline. Arguably the biggest game in this group will be that between Ghana and Nigeria.

The Black Starlets camped in Novara, Italy, to prepare for this tournament. The team beat Swiss side FC Gossau 10-0 and lost 3-2 to Sampdoria. In their final match, they romped over Novara’s B side 6-2 and are in high spirits.

The team has said that the recent achievements of their senior counterparts, the Black Satellites (U20), at the African Youth Championship held in Algeria will spur them on to do well in Morocco as well. The Black Satellites placed second, losing to Egypt on penalties, and won silver.

Emmanuel Boateng and Benjamin Tetteh will lead the attack for Ghana.

A twist in the tale

Meanwhile, the latest twist in the build-up to the competition has been the directive from CAF. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has directed the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to subject players of the national U-17 team to mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests ahead of the qualifiers for the African championship.

The exercise, which is across board, is to curb the ‘age cheating menace’ which has blighted age competitions on the continent. The continent’s soccer controlling body has reportedly sent out similar directives to the Associations.

According to CAF, the decision to have all the players undergo MRI tests was reached by its Medical Committee, as an immediate way of ending age-cheating at the 2013 African U-17 Championship in Morocco.

 

Posted on April 12, 2013

 

Black Stars’ captain, Asamoah Gyan, returned to Ghana on Friday to emotional scenes as his family lined up to meet him. He arrived in a private jet in the company of his elder brother, Baffour Gyan, at the Kotoka International Airport. He broke down in tears when he met his family. A sad tale even gets sadder as Gyan was to come home and celebrate the birthday of his late mother on Friday, 9th November. Speaking to a local radio station, JOY FM, Gyan talked about how he’s dealing with the shock. “It’s a big shock, as everybody knows. In life, you need to experience bitterness. You don’t need to be expecting happiness all the time,” he said. Gyan, who scored two goals on Thursday to help his Al Ain side to the top of the Pro-League, said he had to gather enough mental strength. “When I heard the news, it was a bit strange to me. I was a bit shocked. But as a footballer, you don’t need to go onto the field with emotions. It will distract you. “I’m calm, because I understand life. “I was very close to my mum. God knows the reason why she left us. I’m sure everything will be fine.” Madam Cecilia Love Amoako passed away on Tuesday in Accra after a motor accident around the GNAT Hall.

Robert Kpodo, who emerged as the overall winner at the maiden edition of the Interplast Masters Tennis Series, has said that he is looking to regain his number one ranking in Ghana.

The competition Interplast Masters Tennis Series was played among the top 16 players in the country and is expected to be staged regularly.

Kpodo recorded a two-set victory (6-4, 6-1) over the aggressive under-card George Darko, at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday. He walked away with a cash prize of $5000.

He believes that he can motivate himself to the top.

“I used to be Ghana’s number one at a point in town, but I lost all my points. I intend to regain my points but before I do that, I needed to win this tournament. And I have. That is the major thing that pushed me on,” he said, speaking to Asempa FM.

“I didn’t think I was going to win. Looking at the status of the players who turned up for the competition, even though I am one of the top, I didn’t think I would win.

“After every match, when I progressed, I looked at my next opponent and psyched myself up to beat him, one at a time.

“Looking at how far I have come, the journey alone is motivation enough for me. For me to have played with Serena Williams, and for her to say that I did well, I don’t have to look elsewhere. I just have to look at myself and motivate myself to keep on with what I do.

 

Posted on April 11, 2013

 

Joshua Clottey demands Sports Minister to fulfill boxing gym promise

Former IBF Welterweight champion, Joshua Clottey, has sent out a message to the Youth and Sports Minister. His message is short: live up to your promise.

Youth and Sports Minister, Elvis Afryie Ankrah, had said that government will construct a modern boxing gym of international standard in due course to enable the nation’s boxers train adequately and professionally, and to host international boxing bouts.

Mr Afriyie Ankrah made these commitments on his recent tour of some boxing gyms in the Greater Accra Region to familiarise himself with state of the gyms that produced the likes of legendary Azumah Nelson, David Kotey Poison, Ike Quartey and Joshua Clottey.

Joshua Clottey, who spoke passionately, said that the boxing community are waiting eagerly to see this dream come to reality.

“On his last tour, the Sports Minister promised he would build gymnasiums. I just want him to live up to his promise. Because we have heard this so many times.

“Most of the other regimes made the same promise and have failed to deliver.

“So my only message to the minister is that we have heard the promise and we hope he lives up to his word.”

 

April 11, 2013

 

FEATURE: After loss to Bejaia, what next for Kotoko?

Keep Didi Dramani. Let his policies and regime seep through. He will do well and just needs the time to do this and patience from fans and his bosses.

Kumasi Asante Kotoko were on Sunday knocked out of the CAF Champions League competition by a JSM Bejaia side, who are only making their second appearance in the competition.

Their fans, and many Ghanaians, are incensed about this outcome, and understandably so.

A cursory monitoring of the airwaves on Monday morning confirmed this.

The Porcupine Warriors had passed up a big chance to progress to the ‘money zone’. And maybe more importantly, the chance to play against last year’s finalists, Esperance, had just been blown.

It begs the questions ‘What went wrong?’, and more importantly ‘What is the way forward?’

For one, coach Mas-Ud Didi Dramani has obviously not found the right mix of his setup yet. Consistency has been lacking in the Kotoko team since he took over the reins.

A while back, the defence was advanced that Mas-Ud Didi Dramani had very little influence on the players who were bought as replacements for the huge exodus of key players.

When he took the record-setting Black Maidens to the World Cup and did well with them, many Kotoko fans hailed him as ‘The Messiah’, to take over from Maxwell Konadu and do better with the team.

‘Firesell’

Now, a lot of things happened in this short frame of time. Kotoko sold players, key players who were pivotal in their win of the Glo Premier League title and, by default, their passage to compete in Africa’s biggest club competition, the CAF Champions League.

The young defender, Baba Abdul Rahman, who moved to the Bundesliga team Greuther Fürth was a big loss in the defensive department. That move was one that could not be avoided. But he was not even owned by Asante Kotoko, as he was on loan from Dreams FC. More so, he was replaced by a reliable Gideon Baah. So this one ‘loss’ can be excused.

Also with hindsight, the management of Kotoko will rue having to lose Yahaya Mohammed, sending him out on loan to Tema Youth.

But the likes of Daniel Nii Adjei, Ben Acheampong, Nathaniel Asamoah and Yaw Frimpong, who were sold out in the ‘buy and sell’ culture that seems to be growing, are inexcusable. The apparent absence or lack of long term planning has definitely cost Kotoko a lot.

A clear club policy concerning long term planning must be instituted. If you groom a set of players for years …it defeats logic to lose a huge core of that team.

A while back, listening to radio discussions, the defence was advanced that Mas-Ud Didi Dramani had very little influence on the players who were bought as replacements for the huge exodus of key players.

Let’s say that this is true. Now, if a coach doesn’t choose his own material, he may be able to build a defence for himself. And in this situation, the frequent rotation of Didi’s setup gives this school of thought some credence.

Another reason which could very much be a major contributing factor to the woes of the Ghanaian giants is the rumoured tiff between the coach and management.

Any frigid relationship between a coach and his team’s management members is just a recipe for disaster.

This ‘rumoured tiff’ seems to have been quelled now but there were times when there were accusations that Dramani was not fielding some players due to this. Squabbles in any setup poison the atmosphere and don’t give off the best of auras.

For two-time champions, a 30-year drought without Asante Kotoko winning the coveted African title is not a good look on them.

What’s the way forward?

First thing. The decision makers at the club should not cower under the pressure calls for Didi Dramani’s sacking.

That would be a knee-jerk reaction which could see the club take two steps forward and one step back. They may find a good replacement, but their progress would be very slow-paced.

Keep Didi Dramani.

Let his policies and regime seep through the fabric of the team. I believe he will do well with the club. He just needs the time to do this and patience from fans and his bosses alike can help him achieve this.

Also, a clear club policy concerning long term planning must be instituted. If you groom a set of players for years and get the right mix who get you the Glo Premier League and a participation in the CAF Champions League, it defeats logic to lose a huge core of that team.

That is what happened and that is how Kotoko lost to a JSM Bejaia side, who are faltering in their own local league.

For two-time champions, a 30-year drought without Asante Kotoko winning the coveted African title is not a good look on them.

They need to get back to exerting their influence on the African stage and hopefully close in on the Esperances, TP Mazembes and the like.

Kotoko need to put plans and structures in place for the immediate future and the long term. In the meantime, they are in contention for both the Glo Premier League and the MTN FA Cup. It is very possible for them to win at least one of these titles.

With the kind of fire their fans are breathing, silverware at the end of this season can do a whole lot of good in appeasing them.

Berekum Chelsea set the standard very high, when last year they advanced to the ‘money zone’ and did well in there. For a team like Kotoko, to lose to an Algerian team who are only making their second appearance in the CAF Champions League, it is just disappointing.

Posted on April 8, 2013