Sports
US-based Ghanaian teen boxer supports surgery of little girl
THIRTEEN-year-old juvenile boxer Joseph Awinongya Jnr has pledged to support young Paulina Anokye to undergo spinal surgery.
The US-based young pugilist, Awinongya Jnr, who is also a philanthropist would financially support Anokye to undergo surgery to remove a spinal tumor which had affected her mobility and eventually thrown her into paralysis.
Little Anokye, a native of Kwadaso in Ashanti region, was diagnosed with spinal tumor at age four when she started experiencing immobility in her left fingers.
Anokye, due to lack of finance to correct the defect, has resorted to herbal treatment which further deteriorated her condition affecting her right arm and both legs, rendering her paralysed.
Awinongya Jnr, also known as Jojo saw the deteriorating condition of the little girl on YouTube on and with the help of his Dad, Joseph Awinongya Snr, has decided to reach out and support.
“I showed the video to my dad and he asked me to choose between getting a Play Station 5 which I so much desire to have and supporting Paulina with the funds. I chose to help Paulina and forget about the Play Station because her condition gradually is killing her because of money,” Awinongya Jnr stated.
Jojo would pay for her medical assistance fees and give an undisclosed amount for her up-keep for four months after her surgery at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital where she has been booked for surgery on today.
Jojo also appealed to the general public here in Ghana and in America to support Paulina financially to enable her go through the surgery and her recovery process successfully .
He expressed appreciation to Jim Muisenga General Manager of Hawk Chevrolet of Joliet, Secretary of State Illinois Jesse White, Roger C. Claar the Mayor of Bolingbrook, Lori Lightfoot Mayor of Chicago, Joliet Mayor Bob O’ Dekirk,Isaac Agyapong Ansere MBA, CPA, Real Estate Broker and Emmanuel Hatzi X’s & Os Sports Bar for their support with his projects and development as a boxer.
As part of their support to nuture young talents in the country,Awinongya Snr is working to invite another amazing juvenile boxer Hakeem Nii Nortey Lokko, who is also trained by his father Carl Lokko (Owner and headcoach of Bronx Boxing Club and Technical Director of the Ghana Boxing Authority) to Chicago to exchange boxing lessons and to be part of Jojo’s his ongoing documentary.
Jojo, who is currently rated number one and two in the 90lbs and 95lbs divisions in America, has won almost all competitions he has participated. He has shown superb exhibition of boxing artistry, rare display of boxing IQ, academic excellence and has become the toast of many in Ghana and Chicago where he lives with his family.
BY MICHAEL D.ABAYATEYE
Ghana Premier League leaders, Medeama SC, will welcome Karela United to the TnA Stadium in Tarkwa tomorrow, in a Matchday 20 game with the aim to stretch the lead.
Medeama SC, the 2022/23 champions, are aiming to win the title for the second time in their history and, rightly so, have opened a seven-point gap.
Coach Ibrahim Tanko and his charges have been at their marauding best both home and away, recording 40 points from 19 games.
They go into tomorrow’s game with high hopes of avenging the only defeat suffered this season, which came at the hands of Karela United.
For Karela, who are eighth on the table, a double over the leaders will help their push for a top-four finish this season.
Defending league champions and second-place team, Bibiani Gold Stars, will trek to the Berekum Golden City Park to play as guests of struggling Berekum Chelsea tomorrow, with sight set on closing the gap on the leaders.
The Baba Yara Sports Stadium will come alive as striker Albert Amoah leads his Asante Kotoko side to tackle Basake Holy Stars.
Asante Kotoko have lost three games this season including a painful 2-1 defeat to Holy Stars in the first-round tie.
In other games, the University of Ghana Stadium will today host the Eleven Wonders versus Accra Hearts of Oak match; the Swedru Stadium will host Swedru All Blacks FC and Aduana FC; the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem is venue for Bechem United and Heart of Lions; while the Hohoe Stadium play host to the Hohoe United and Vision FC clash; and the Nsenkyire Sports Arena hosting the Samartex FC versus Nations FC game.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
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It’s less than a week since the 2025 AFCON ended in Morocco.
For those that had the privilege to watch it via television, it may have gone into the competition’s annals as one of the best in terms of organisation.
But for the ‘yen bo biom’ (match abandonment) ‘excellently’ staged by the eventual winners, Senegal’s Terranga Lions, AFCON 2025 was beautifully staged and was incident free.
But in the social media age, it is extremely difficult to get every incident wrapped under a cover of darkness.
Videos showed a mix-up at the goal area of Senegal arising from a towel placed near the goal post by goalkeeper Mendy.
But almost a week after, two countries – eventual winners Senegal and Ghana, a non-participant, are still celebrating the gains from the championship.
Streets of Senegal have been filled with fans who wants to catch a glimpse of their heroes.
The victory marked the second time Senegal have been crowned AFCON champions, having won the competition for the first time in 2022.
Characteristic with teams’ success in Africa, they have been handsomely rewarded.
Senegal president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has announced that each member of the AFCON winning squad will be awarded a plot of land on the country’s coastline.
Additionally, each player will receive 75 million CFA francs ($134,000; £100,000).
In Ghana, FIFA Referee and Video Assistant Referee (VAR), Daniel Laryea, has become a cult hero with his encouraging performance, especially in the semifinal game between neighbours Nigeria and Morocco.
Last week, this column amply celebrated him and ordinarily, one would expect the focus to shift; and rightly so, the focus is actually not on him but referees of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) whose action, if not sanctioned, could ruin the gains and image credibility Laryea won for Ghana.
A number of clubs have been complaining recently about the state of officiating in the GPL as others threaten to boycott if the situation does not improve.
Kotoko was among the complainants after a decent goal in their game against Gold Stars was disallowed for a very funny reason.
An incident was also reported from Tema where a referee changed a decision to disallow a goal after watching a video of how the goal was scored on a Smart Phone of a fan.
Those reports, the success story of Daniel Laryea and a call by the Vice President of the Ghana Football Association, Mr Mark Addo on referees to aim higher has occasioned this opinion piece, to perhaps remind referees of their responsibilities in making the game attractive in Ghana and the duty of the FA to crack the whip on erring referees.
The FA Vice President, in presenting FIFA badges to 23 Ghanaian referees including Laryea for the 2026 football season, saying that, “I urge you (referees) to keep your heads high. There is a lot of expectation on you, and you must work hard to maintain the standards required”.
He continued: “Aspire for greatness and aim to become world-class referees. How you are perceived when your name comes up matters. Impartiality, fairness and top-class performance must always guide your work.”
In the face of what is happening, Addo’s call was appropriate and straight to the point.
Referees are vital cogs in the football ecosystem and their doing and undoing could make or unmake the efforts put in by a club. What can be more frustrating than a club scoring a genuine goal to be disallowed wrongly?
Many years ago when Asante Kotoko felt cheated and no one listen to them, they staged ‘ye bo biom’ which should not have a place in football. Senegal has just added an international dimension to it.
This is why the FA must sit up and check the names of referees which are becoming synonymous with undesirable officiating against some particular clubs.
By Andrew Nortey
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