Sports
MTN FA Cup: Hearts, Kotoko tipped to advance
Failures on the sports front in 2024 could force fans to be apathetic in the New Year in order to avoid the disappointments they endured.
There were discontents all over as Ghana failed to make an impact at global events like the Paris Olympic Games, athletics championships, boxing championships and qualifiers and many others.
What may trigger some interest could be the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers set to continue this year.
The FIFA World Cup has a strong appeal capable of turning apathy into a strong feeling and sensitivity to possibly bring the fans back to support the Black Stars bid to qualify.
But in doing so, the performances of the Black Stars have always come to hunt their followers and it remains one thing Coach Otto Addo and his men must resolve to earn the trust of Ghanaians.
The Black Stars occupy the second spot in Group I of the African qualifying for the World Cup behind Comoros on the same points but on inferior goal aggregate.
Against Chad, Central African Republic (CAR), Mali, Madagascar and Comoros, Ghana face a stern battle for the sole ticket allotted the group.
That would definitely not be an easy task but it is also not a challenge above the Stars. When the right players, those committed and dedicated to the Ghana course are selected, Ghana can make it.
The lenses would also be on other sports disciplines that held so much promise but failed to deliver.
Amateur boxing would be one that would attract a lot of attention after failing to excel at the various championships and qualifiers, resulting in the ‘no-show’ of the Black Bombers at the Paris Olympics Games.
Professional boxing, managed by the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) supervised a number of entertaining bouts with a number of boxers including John Laryea showing so much promise as world champions.
The GBA, however, was always in the spotlight with legal battles with its stakeholders over enforcement of its own rules.
The controversies with promotions and inadequate security at its fight nights have not made events safe for a lot more patrons although it attracted some new promoters in the year under review.
The year 2025 should offer its President, Abraham Kotey Neequaye, his board and major stakeholders the platform to end the constant fights, respect the rules and work together to produce new world champions and eventually ensure some sanity in the sport.
Athletics gave a good account of themselves but failed at the biggest stage – Olympic Games with the relay teams showing that they were yet to recover from their baton exchange nightmare.
Bawa Fuseini, Charles Osei Asibey, Philipina Frimpong and the other managers of athletics in Ghana must therefore, strive to take the spot a notch higher despite the challenges.
Aside the aforementioned disciplines, there are over 40 disciplines that clearly did their very best to make an impact but failed due to many challenges including finance. There were those who just added to the numbers.
But in the year 2025, every federation must aim to make a difference on the sports scene for the sector to thrive.
By Andrew Nortey
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
