Sports
Black Bombers on rescue mission
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The Black Bombers team on arrival in Bankok
In a little over two months, the biggest global sports fiesta, the Olympic Games will kick-off in France.
Christened the 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Paris 2024, the upcoming international multi-sport event is scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11 with the motto: Ouvrons grand les Jeux.
That translated to English means‘Games wide open’.
It will indeed be widely open as approximately 10, 500 athletes converge on the city of Paris to compete in 329 events in 32 sports disciplines.
That number of contingents would definitely include that of Ghana which is expected to be comprised of athletes, boxers, cyclists, badminton, table tennis, hockey, volleyball players and many others from the over 50 sports disciplines in the country.
However, the nature of qualification to the Games has more or less become a hindrance for athletes of these disciplines.
For some of them, it has become an activity similar to qualification to the quadrennial FIFA World Cup.
Currently, the only team or group of athletes that have qualified to represent Ghana at the global sports extravaganza is the 4x100m Relay Team that secured qualification from the recently held athletics championships in the Bahamas.
Apart from the relay team, Ghana’s participation in the championship hang in the balance as athletes struggle to record qualification marks and times in their respective trials.
Hence, the national boxing team, Black Bombers’ participationin the Paris 2024 Olympics qualifiers in Bankok, Thailand from today offers a glimmer of hope.
As the most successful Ghanaian team in the history of the Olympics, it is not out of place to trust in their ability to add to Ghana’s numbers in the Games to improve the country’s standing on the all-time medal table of the Games.
Out of Ghana’s 16 appearances, she could only boast of five medals – four bronze and a silver, with four coming from the Black Bombers and one bronze from the Black Meteors team of the 1992 edition held in Barcelona.
That impressive record as Ghana’s best Olympics team is what must spur on flyweight Theophilus Kpakpo Allotey, featherweightMohammed Amadu, light welterweight Joseph Commey, light middleweight Henry Malm, light heavyweight Jonathan Tetteh, British-based super heavyweightMark Kodjovi Ahondjo and United States-based female middleweight Ornella Sathoud to snatch some of the 51 places allotted from the trials.
The situation again raises eyebrows over the state of Ghana sports and it free fall with very little or no effort to rescue it.
Like it’s always said, the time for officialdom to act to save Ghana sports is now. If Ghana is not able to qualify in football which is her biggest sports pride, struggling to qualify athletes and boxers, then it meant the door would be completely shut on those with smaller budgets.
While we wait to see attempts to improve Ghana’s 125th ranking on the Olympics medal table, we wish the Black Bombers well in this endeavour to restore the nation’s sporting pride.
By Andrew Nortey
Accra Hearts of Oak and Dreams FC will headline Matchday 5 of the Ghana Premier League when the two sides meet at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow, with both clubs seeking a result that could shape their early season campaign.
The encounter comes at a crucial moment for the two sides with the Phobians looking to recover from their first defeat of the campaign and Dreams still searching for their first victory after four matches.
The Rainbow lads started the season strongly but were beaten 1-0 by Karela United last weekend, while Dreams suffered a slim 1-0 defeat to Bechem United.
Hearts had earlier recorded impressive victories over Berekum Chelsea and Bibiani Gold Stars before drawing goalless with Bechem United, leaving the club with seven points from their opening four matches.
Their defeat at Karela United, however, means they will be under pressure to quickly return to winning ways against a Dreams side determined to make home advantage count.
Dreams, meanwhile, have endured a difficult beginning to the campaign and will see tomorrow’s fixture as an opportunity to change their fortunes.
The ‘Still Believe’ side have collected points from only their opening draws and are yet to register a victory, making the meeting with one of the country’s traditional giants an important test of their character.
Elsewhere, Vision FC will welcome Bibiani Gold Stars to the Nii Adjei Kraku II Sports Complex today, with both teams looking to strengthen their positions.
Vision have shown encouraging form in the early stages, while Gold Stars will be seeking a response after suffering a 2-0 home defeat to newcomers Port City FC.
At the Debibi Presby Park, newly promoted Debibi United will face defending champions Medeama SC tomorrow.
Medeama finally opened their account with a convincing 4-1 victory over Basake Holy Stars and will be hoping that the result marks the beginning of a stronger title defence.
Port City FC will continue their impressive debut campaign when they host Bechem United at the Daasebere Boamah Darko II Park.
Basake Holy Stars will attempt to recover from their heavy defeat to Medeama when they host Berekum Chelsea at the Ampain AAK II Sports Arena.
Aduana FC will welcome Swedru All Blacks to the Nana Agyemang Badu I Park after producing one of the weekend’s most notable results last Sunday.
At the Kpando Stadium, Heart of Lions will host FC AshantiGold ’04 in another meeting between sides coming off victories.
FC Samartex 1996 will meanwhile welcome Young Apostles FC to the Nsenkyire Sports Arena, with the home side seeking to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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Tuesday, September 29, 2026 would go into the annals of Ghana football as one of the darkest days for the Black Stars.
In an AFCON 2027 qualifier against The Gambia, the Black Stars did not only break the hearts of the fans, but conceded a defeat that left followers with sleepless nights.
Coming from a Matchday 1 defeat to the Elephants of La Cote d’Ivoire in Bouake, the outcome of the second game against The Gambia was one that was non-negotiable.
It had the ability to spark a revival to contend for one of the slots for the next AFCON showpiece.
The Gambia is a formidable side but definitely, not one to have frustrated Ghanaians to watch in pain and awe the Black Stars lose a game from a winning position.
That is a possibility in the game of football but when the stakes are high in such cases, it becomes unacceptable to the fans.
And grievously has Carlos Queiroz answered the massive call for his resignation.
At his post-match press conference, he made it clear that bowing out was the easiest decision but insisted that would not solve the myriad problems facing the Black Stars.
For the coach to be fired two days after that declaration raises a lot of concerns as he seem to be aware of existing problems the FA may even not know.
Unfortunately, coaches over the years have always been sacrificial lambs in situations of this nature but when he talks about particular problems affecting the team, his sack leaves much to be desired.
That aside, it is important to also take another look at the country’s pool of players, both local and foreign based.
Some of us have been advocates for forming the Black Stars around the ever-present local players who may lack the skill, finesse and flamboyance believed to give the foreign based players the edge over their local counterparts.
The locals, however, compensate that with their commitment and dedication.
Sadly, it appears this consistent call have fallen on deaf ears and no one wants to give any attention to that.
If the fear is that results would be poor, then that would be no excuse again following outcomes of the Stars in their last two games.
From what was witnessed in Bouake and Accra, one can confidently boast that there isn’t much difference between the foreign based players and the locals.
If there is any, it would probably be the treatment given to the two sets of players.
The call on the FA now is to give major consideration to the local players. Any coach that sees no good in the local players must have no business handling the national team.
That does not also shut the door on the ‘foreigners’. We witnessed how the early 90s teams were beautifully blended to have a formidable team.
It is time the FA goes back to the basics. With the locals, there can be more camps, leading to improved cohesion. Any foreign based player invited must settle into the team quickly and make a difference. That is the only way to rescue the Black Stars from its free fall.
By Andrew Nortey
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