New Segment: Ghanaian Players Abroad

Call it what you may.

Ghanaian Players Abroad. Ghanaians Playing Abroad. Whichever term, this will be a segment dedicated to the round-up of the activities of Ghanaian footballers who ply their trade outside of the shores of Ghana. From the African continent to the rest of the world.

This #GhanaianPlayersAbroad project has been going on for a while on social media (mainly #Facebook and #Twitter) and not it has been migrated onto this blog.

The aim is to keep everyone updated about the performances of Ghanaian players (doh) in leagues outside Ghana, providing information about the number of minutes played, goals scored, etc. That way, everyone knows who is active and who’s not.

As it is with most things, it will be impossible to cover everyone. Not every single Ghanaian player’s activity can be tracked. So mainly, it either covers those in the top two divisions or just the top.

Another issue is “what makes a player a Ghanaian”? This project covers all who are of Ghanaian parentage. Said players may not have naturalised for Ghana yet, but once they have not yet decided to play for another country and are eligible to play for Ghana, they can be covered.

I hope you enjoy this.

Do well to drop your comments concerning anything. Let’s make this exciting.

 

 

INTERVIEW: Tom Boakye – The star from Bremang living his dream (Part II)

Accra, Ghana

 

Part II of this series continues the story of Tom Boakye, from his days in college to his first professional contract.

 

“When I got back from Sweden, Tom Vernon called me and told me that I would be going to Manchester City on trial. And within two weeks, I moved to Manchester for the trials, which turned out to be very successful. One Scott Silas over saw my performance. Unfortunately, they didn’t have an opening for a Right Back at that moment.

Tom Boakye on trial at Manchester City

 

“They tried me in other positions and honestly, I don’t feel that I failed. But every coach has an idea about how to pick his players and which to use. The coaches were happy with me, my attitude, how I play. Unfortunately, I couldn’t sign for them but Tom told me not to worry because he was certain that I would get a club. I kept working hard and, God being so good, I ended up in Sweden.”

Sankofa. A twi word which means “reach back and get it”. Exactly what he did. Tom had to come back to Ghana to stay active. And through that, his opportunity came.

“After that, I returned to Right to Dream, to play with them as they helped me to get a team. Fortunately, Östersunds FK coach Graham Potter came to Ghana to watch me, liked me and I signed a two-and-a-half year contract right here in Ghana. I mean usually, people would go outside to sign but I signed right here in Ghana before going there.”

Boakye mentioned his two countrymen and teammates earlier. Well, former teammates. Laryea and Shaze have both left Östersunds for Örebro SK and Umeå FC respectively. Tom has made it a point not to be pressured to make a move too. At least, not just yet.

“Football can take you anywhere. It can take you away from your friends and family. It’s just unfortunate that Laryea and Shaze are leaving the club because they have done very well for the club. From Division 2 to the Superettan League. Such a big achievement. They leaving is a new challenge and new phase of their careers. I will miss them a lot. They are the ones who made me feel at home when I came. It’ll be tough losing them but they are still in Sweden so we will definitely keep in touch.

“I don’t feel any pressure at all. I need to do my job on the pitch and other things will come naturally. If I start to think about transfers and moving, that can affect my focus, I can’t afford that. They are moving out, yes, but I will keep working hard and my right time will come. Right now, I respect the club and fans for all they have done for me. My focus now is for Östersunds.”

And his one-and-a-half years at the club has come with good and bad memories. He recounts some.

“When we got the promotion. That will be my best ‘high’ so far. It was a dream come true, in 2012, when I first came here on my first ever professional contract. The aim of the club was to gain promotion into the Superettan. I played the remaining half of the season and fortunately, we reached that goal. The coach, the board members, they were so happy.

“My low…hmmm…during the Superettan league, things were not going on as we wanted. We lost about four games in a row. That had to be my low. But the silver lining to it was that Östersunds rose from that and went on to survive the drop. “We kept the team work, we stayed together and we came back and won about nine games in a row.”

Boakye donning the ‘band’

 

Boakye touches on one of the misconceptions about him being a captain, and explains.

“Most of my friends and people in Ghana thought I was the captain of Östersunds. No. I am not. A couple of times in the season, I wore a band on my arm. This is meant for the youngest player in the team. There is the band for the captain but this one is meant to help boost your morale. No, I was not captain.”

Maja Hemmingsson, who works in Sweden with Forex Bank, is Tom’s partner. She wandered off to stroll around the mall when the interview began. We call her over to talk to her as well, but before she comes, Tom says: “Maja is my girlfriend. She came along with me on this holiday. She has had a great time and can’t stop talking about it.”

Maja Hemmingsson with her partner, Boakye

 

When a smiling Maja finally takes her seat, she echoes this. But not without a few choice words about her man.

“Ghana is lovely. Everyone is very to me and they always give me a smile when I look at them. The food is amazing and the country is nice. I would love to come back. It’s nice to see where Tom comes from.

“I always go to his games to support him. He says I scream too much.

“He always makes me smile and he’s got a big heart. He even makes people who don’t know him feel comfortable. He’s a good person.”

For someone who is seen as having a big heart, it is no surprise that Tom has showed the trait for the second year running. In his native community Bremang, in the Ashanti Region, Tom organizes a football tournament.

“Giving back is a major priority for me. This is one of the main things that is in Right to Dream’s plan. Not to give back to Right to Dream but to your family and society. I organised a little tournament in my community in. This was meant to encourage them, to not just play football for fun. They can look at me and know that they can become like me even as I mentor them to know the best possible way to get there.

Boakye addressing participants in the ‘Östersunds FK tournament’ he organised in Bremang

 

“This year’s was the second tournament. Last year’s was the U15’s and this year’s was the U17’s, which was much, much bigger. This year’s involved four teams and was named after Östersunds FK, because of the help that I got from them. They donated full sets of jerseys and kits and I think it’s just right that I did it in their honour.”

 

Tom is one of the many bright products that Right to Dream has produced and it sure goes without saying that he is living his dream.

 

Ghana Black Stars: A foot in Brazil

In this post, I chronicle Ghana’s journey through qualification for the mundial focusing on the twists and turns and the reason why Kwesi Appiah had proved himself.

By Ing. George-Patrick Bediaku

 

The road to qualification has been murky. Ghana is about to realize the dream of making a third successive appearance at the FIFA World Cup, this time to be held at the home of beautiful soccer….and the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. I dare say many individuals need Ghana to qualify for the mundial NOT just for the beautiful game of football. Many Ghanaians salivate at the prospect of visiting the home of the wildest carnivals, beautiful beaches, beautiful wo….wait, wait a minute. Has Ghana qualified? Will Ghana qualify?

One thing is for sure. Ghana has shaped its own destiny quite well. And of course, under the tutelage of Kwesi Appiah.

 

The Journey so far

By virtue of Ghana’s high ranking in the July 2011 FIFA Ranking, they did not take part in the CAF First Round 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. The first round consisted of 12 home-and-away ties, and featured the 24 lowest ranked teams in Africa. The winners of these series proceeded to the second round.

The Second Round is where it really began for Ghana. The July 2011 FIFA Ranking was used to seed the teams and Ghana was seeded in Pot 1 alongside top teams like, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon among others.

Ghana was placed in Group D with then defending AFCON 2012 Champions Zambia, Sudan and Lesotho.

Ghana’s first points were picked at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, in what has become the famous (or infamous?) ‘Floodlights incident’. Ghana hosted Lesotho on June 1, 2012 and won by seven (7) unanswered goals.

Meanwhile, Sudan had recorded a 2-0 win at home over champions Zambia in the Al-Hilal Stadium, Omdurman. We will find out soon why this was a worthy of mention.

Ghana’s next game was eight days later, June 8, at the newly-opened 40,000-capacity Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola. Ghana lost the game by a lone Christopher Katongo goal.

At this point, Ghana topped Group D by virtue of a better goal difference despite having the same points (3 points) as Zambia. But in October, things turned around.

After Zambia registered a protest, FIFA awarded Zambia a 3-0 win as a result of Sudan fielding the ineligible player Saif Ali in Sudan’s 2-0 win over Zambia on June 2.

This dealt a heavy blow to Ghana’s chances.

Fast-forward to March 2013, after a disappointing showing at the 2013 AFCON in South Africa, Ghana had a plan going forward. Win all remaining four matches. Ghana had successive home and away ties against Sudan and an away tie with Lesotho. Then a final Second Round game against now dethroned champions Zambia.

Again, the home tie against Sudan was played in what is now referred to as Ghana’s spiritual home (football-wise), the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi. And trust the football fans in Kumasi to pack up that 38,000-capacity stadium. That, coupled with the fact that the fans are closer to the field than at the Accra Sports Stadium, meant that an intimidating atmosphere would be created and would favour Ghana.

On 24^th March, Ghana hosted and convincingly beat Sudan, 4-0. Gyan, who had relinquished his captain band to the returning Sulley Muntari, was on the score sheet, with rising star Mubarak Wakaso, Abdul Majeed Waris (who got his debut goal) and Emmanuel Agyemang Badu.

 

The first twist

What is necessary to state at this point is that, Lesotho had done Ghana a huge favour by getting a 1-1 draw with Zambia. Zambia still led the group with 7 points, Ghana followed with 6 points. But Zambia dropped points.

On to the next one. June 8. Al-Merrikh Stadium, Omdurman, Sudan. Ghana recorded a 3-1 away win over Sudan. Captain Asamoah Gyan’s brace helped him equal and surpass Ghana’s standing record topscorer, Abedi Pele. Abedi’s record was 33 goals, Gyan now had 34 goals. Sulley Muntari was also on the score sheet.

Meanwhile, Zambia’s 4-0 thrashing of Lesotho meant Ghana was far from comfort. Zambia still led the group with 10 points, Ghana second with 9 points.

 

The second twist

The penultimate game of the Second Round was on Sunday June 16, at the Setsoto Stadium, in Maseru, Lesotho. Ghana won that game by two unanswered goals, Rennes defender John Boye opened the scoring and Captain Asamoah Gyan extended his record to 35 goals. But Ghana was most overjoyed because of what happened in Ndola the day before.

On Saturday June 15, Sudan held home side Zambia to a 1-1 score in the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium. This meant that Ghana leap-frogged Zambia in the group standings. Ghana now topped Group D with 12 points and a +14 goal difference, and Zambia followed with 11 points and a +8 goal difference.

 

The Saga of the Returnees…

Another thing that has featured prominently in the tale of the Black Stars’ qualification journey, is the return of players who ‘retired’ from international duty, for various reasons. The four players in question are the Olympique Marseille duo, the Ayew brothers, Andre and Jordan, Schalke’s Kevin-Prince Boateng and Chelsea’s Michael Essien.

After the intervention of the President of Ghana, HE John Dramani Mahama, and the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Ayew brothers decided to call off their retirement and announce their availability to be called up for national duty.

The issue of Kevin-Prince Boateng is another magnet of varied opinions. Many say he uses Ghana, he chooses which games or periods are prestigious enough for him to partake in, cue the 2010 World Cup and 2014 World Cup. It’s a whole minefield for another discussion.

Not helping his case has been his inability to feature for Ghana after his return. Boateng did not play in the Ghana-Zambia game in Kumasi (which Ghana won 2-1) and the reason brought forward by the GFA at the time was that he had aggravated an injury in his troubled knee. Then on his return to his German side, Schalke, Boateng explained to reporters that the “hard-surfaced pitches in Ghana” was the reason why he did not play.

“My knee didn’t feel quite right. The pitch wasn’t such a good surface to play on because it was a bit hard,” he told reporters on his return to Germany to resume club duties with Schalke.

“That’s why the manager and I agreed that I would not play.”

Then with ‘coincidental’ timing, Boateng again was not available for the Ghana-Egypt clash, again at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi. Ghana went on to win by an outstanding 6-1.

But the questions kept coming. “Is it really coincidence?”, “Will he play when we don’t play in Ghana?”, “Do we really need Kevin?”

Then there is Michael Essien. This man has suffered a couple of career-threatening in his time on national team duty. He informed the Ghana Football Association (GFA) that he wanted to take some time off to regain fitness and a more permanent place at club level. Yet some people would like to refer to him as disloyal and unpatriotic. I personally feel that is harsh because Essien has given dedicated service to Ghana for years.

Essien incurred more wrath when he failed to make an announcement after his Charity Game in Accra, as he promised. But when he did make his return in the 2-1 win over Zambia, all of Ghana could attest to his quality and experience.

For those who say we have come this far without these four individuals, and so we do not need them, I ask. Do you think the Black Stars, as it is now, is world class? Do you think we can get better? I answered yes to those questions. And coach James Kwesi Appiah has said that he would prefer to have the best pool of talents to be able to choose from. But has also made it clear that no one has an assured walk-in into the team setup.

“It’s important that all Ghanaian players make themselves available,” Appiah told http://www.ghanafa.org.

“Once you get everyone available, it’s up to you the coach to decide whether you need a player at a particular time. It depends on the game and the tactics that you are going to play, if they can fit in you bring them in but as to whether they will by all means be in doesn’t come in,” he said.

 

Exodus 14:13b

On Monday, September 16 2013, at the draw held by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Egypt, Ghana was drawn against Egypt in their last hurdle on their way to Brazil 2014. The first of the two-legged playoff tie was to be played in Ghana.

Many were worried about this tie. To start off, Egypt are seven-time African champions. More frightening was the fact that Egypt were the only side on the continent to have a 100% winning record in qualifying.

To cut a long story short, Ghana romped over Egypt, mauling them by six-goals-to-one. A surprise to all.

Another feather in the hat of coach Kwesi Appiah.

Exodus 14:13b: “…for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever.”

 

Appiah’s statistics

Many have questioned whether Kwesi Appiah is the best man to take Ghana to the World Cup, whether his tactics are the best, etc…etc.

In a comprehensive piece written by budding journalist Fiifi Anaman for allsports.com.gh, he reveals that Kwesi Appiah’s statistics are actually the best there has ever been.

‘Ghana’s 6-1 mauling of Egypt saw coach James Kwesi Appiah play his 21^st game in charge of Ghana since being named coach in April 2012.

The win was Appiah’s 14^th in charge, representing a winning percentage of 66%.

His former boss, Serbian Milovan Rajevac (2008-2010) had managed a winning percentage of 47% (10 wins) after 21 games.

Former Ghana coaches Claude Le Roy (2006-2008) and Goran Stevanovic (2011-2012), both of whom Appiah understudied, though not being in charge for us much as 21 games, managed lower winning percentages compared Appiah’s current record. Le Roy managed 61% (11 wins from 18 games in charge) while Stevanovic managed 52% (10 wins from 19 games in charge).

Appiah’s Ghana have also been very prolific in front of goal, with a whopping 49 goals being scored in 21 games.

Goran Stevanovic managed 28 goals in his 19 games in charge, with Claude Le Roy managing 31 goals in 18 games in charge of Ghana. Milovan Rajevac, by the end of 21 games, had only managed 28 goals.

With regards to goals conceded, Kwesi Appiah’s Ghana has let in 17 goals in 21 games. Claude Le Roy’s Ghana conceded 20 goals in 18 games, with Stevanovic conceding 14 goals in 19 games. Milovan Rajevac’s charges had let in 19 goals by the end of his 21^st game.’

The stats, as they say, speak for themselves.

 

Toppmoller? For what?

In recent weeks, reports made rounds in the Ghana media that ‘people in the higher echelons of power’ were seeking ‘help’ for Kwesi Appiah, and one name was bundled around: Klaus Topmoller.

According to footy-ghana.com, Toppmoller had been contacted by third parties representing officials of the Ghana Football Association with a view to taking over the technical bench of the Black Stars.

Should the move happen, the 62-year-old Toppmoller will take all technical decisions regarding the team, leaving current Black Stars head coach Kwasi Appiah as a deputy in effect.

Reacting to the reports, Appiah told Michael Oti Adjei in an interview: “My concentration is on the Egypt game and nobody has told me anything about any technical director. I signed a contract which ends after the world cup so nothing has been discussed.

“As for working with others, it depends on how you put it. For instance I can need some guys with good technical ability to scout or monitor some teams for me. That is something that can be done and I have always been doing that so that is not a big deal. As for a technical director I don’t know what role he will play. Ghana has a technical director already so I don’t know where that is coming from.”

I think that we should let Appiah be. He has learned from his mistakes, he has handled egos very well. And more importantly, he has earned it. The first Black coach to send Ghana to the World Cup.

 

90 minutes away

After a 6-1 defeat of African giants Egypt, Ghana are all but through to the World Cup. But Appiah is cautious, not to celebrate to early. The return leg to be played on November 19^th at the Air Defence Stadium in Cairo will need Egypt to at least score five unanswered goals in order to upset Ghana.

Appiah says he is determined to become the first indigenous Ghanaian coach to lead the country to the world cup.

“Every coach will love to coach at the highest level and in football the world cup is that competition. I will be proud as a Ghanaian to be the coach of Ghana at the World Cup. It is something a lot of Ghanaian coaches will be interested in but we must finish the job in the return leg first before we can celebrate.”

 

Copacabana…Rio de Janeiro…here we come!

I believe Ghana is in Brazil. I can already feel my toes in the sands of the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. I can already see the upsets that Ghana will cause at the global mundial against any foe, with all these quality players to choose from.

But like my coach said, let’s “concentrate on the Egypt game.”

 

Ghana’s Portuguese Beach Soccer coach targets “impossible” feat

– Black Sharks in Morocco with Portuguese coach, Jhonny Da Conceicao

Ghana’s national beach soccer team, the Black Sharks may have already achieved the biggest shock of Morocco 2013. The President of the Ghana Beach Soccer Association Yaw Ampofo Ankrah has confirmed that they have secured the services of one of the most sought after and experienced beach soccer tacticians in the game.

The Portuguese coach, Jhonny Da Conceicao was in charge for the first time when Ghana played host nation Morocco in their opening game of the tournament.

With the youngest team in El Jadida-Morocco, the Black Sharks are considered huge underdogs in a tournament that features seasoned campaigners including former African champions and World Cup participants Senegal, Cameroon, Egypt and Nigeria.

GBSA President Ampofo Ankrah said negotiations with the coach started a few weeks ago and only concluded on the eve of the opening ceremony. ”Money was never the key issue but rather how both parties can benefit from a long term relationship especially as Ghana is a considered a raw team”

However, Conceicao who is a former Portugal beach soccer coach with nearly ten years experience, believes this is the best time for Ghana to be introduced to the powerful sport on sand.
”Look, this competition has the best sides from Africa so we can see our level and progress from here without being too worried about winning or losing as long as the boys fight in every game”

The 35 year old former player has coached at seven previous World Cup campaigns with his last job being manager of the United Arab Emirates, a team he successfully which he qualified to the upcoming world cup in Tahiti.

Coach Conceicao was the assistant-Manager for the Portuguese national side in 2004 and as head coach of Sporting Clube de Portugal, ha side he guided to win the National Beach Soccer Circuit in 2010.

In 2011 he joined the national team of the United Arab Emirates. He has also won three beach soccer titles in Europe, two titles in Mundialito, been runner-up and three times bronze medal winner in World Championships.

Taking charge of his first national team from Africa, the tactician clearly sees an opportunity to help develop beach soccer talent in Ghana.

 

Conceicao will be assisted by local coach Maxwell Kpeglo during the qualification tournament. Details of the contract were not immediately disclosed but it is understood that it would be a performance based agreement.

 

Posted on May 23, 2013

 

Racist chants directed at David Accam; he says “They can’t bring me down”

Black Stars and Helsingborg striker, David Accam, was the other Ghanaian who was at the receiving end of audible racist abuse from fans of Swedish club Syrianska.

In the game in which Helsingborg won 1-0 away on Sunday, Accam had gone down after a tackle in the 34^th minute, when one Syrianska fan shouted the ‘n-word’ from the terraces as the ultras berated Accam to get back on his feet.

The referee, who was well placed to hear the curses, did nothing.

In the 90th minute, as Accam was being substituted, the second round of racisms occurred. He exited the pitch under a barrage of abuse which included another racial slur using the ‘n-word’. Again, the officials did nothing.

Helsingborg have reported the incident to the authorities. But Accam is staying strong about the incident.

“I’m still going strong, they can’t bring me down,” Accam said exclusively to AllSports.

“It’s not nice when people abuse you because of the colour of your skin but I was able to control myself and I didn’t react.”

He however wants the incident to be dealt with and not swept under the carpet.

“I want this to be dealt with. This should not be allowed in this modern world.

“The referee said he didn’t hear it. But you can hear it clearly, even when you watch the video. I expect the Swedish FA to do something about it.”

The 22-year-old, who is the sixth graduate from the renowned Right to Dream Academy in Ghana to play in Europe, scored 14 goals for Östersunds FK in the Division 1 in 2012. He then moved on to Helsingborg where he scored 10 goals in 2012.

Footage of Syrianska’s ultras racial assaulting David Accam can be seen below.

 

Posted on May 8, 2013

 

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

 

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

 

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