Sports
A taste of Premier League football
Wednesday (May 13) was a memorable day for fans of Division One League (DOL) side, Debibi United.
The club made history on that fateful afternoon as they registered a 3-1 win over Tamale City in the Access Bank Division One League playoff final to secure promotion to the Ghana Premier League for the first time.
Words alone cannot describe the emotional sights and scenes at the Accra Sports Stadium after the final whistle.
But those emotional scenes were understandable as they conceded the first goal of the game and were pinned to their half of the field for greater spells by a determined Tamale City side that also aimed a return to the elite stage of Ghana football, which they have tasted once.
But without that experience, Debibi showed character and refused to be suppressed and bullied by the Tamale lads.
They produced a stunning turnaround led by striker Kwadwo Antwi who delivered a match-winning performance by scoring a hat-trick to complete the 3-1 comeback victory.
Debibi United joined as the third club to have officially secured promotion from the Access Bank Division One League to the 2026/27 Ghana Premier League after winning their respective zones.
The two others were Port City and FC AshantiGold 04.
Port City emerged victors from Zone Three where they showed character against some very tough opponents including former Premier League sides, Accra Great Olympics, Okwahu United and a few others.
FC AshantiGold 04 topped Zone Two to book their place in the top flight.
But due to peculiar challenges in Zone One, the group has been divided into two with the respective winners facing each other in a play-off final to determine which side snatches the sole ticket for qualification.
Without doubt, the three clubs have done extremely well by qualifying from a stage of Ghana football which is often described as the wilderness of Ghana football.
It should surely be a reward for their hard work and not as a result of some of the funny stories about club collusions and maneuvers.
Although the DOL has undergone a lot of transformations to make it very competitive, the ‘wilderness of Ghana football’ tag is still associated with it as reports about poor officiating leading to questionable calls still fly around.
With little or no evidence to substantiate some of these, one has no reason to doubt their quality and readiness for life at the elite stage of Ghana football.
However, there is a trend in the past few years where clubs that gain promotion freshly suffer the fate of going back in the next season.
That trend is one that must influence their preparation for the GPL to avoid that path of history.
Thirty-four weeks of competition is no joke and the expectation and demands differ from what they are used to in DOL. Survival would mean consistency with results and ability to face the challenges that comes with life at the top.
By Andrew Nortey
The four-day international tennis championship between the Accra Lawn Tennis Club of Ghana and Ikoyi Sports Club of Nigeria is set to reach its climax tomorrow at the Accra Lawn Tennis Courts (ALTC) in Accra.
According to the organisers, tomorrow would witness high profile matches with a lot at stake as both clubs aim to unsettle each other to enhance the rivalry between the two nations.
The event is an annual arrangement between the two clubs that sees the championship rotated among them.
The team representing Ghana includes Thomas Amoako Boafo, Issek Antwi-Agyei, Dr Abraham Oppong Adjei and Palm Nii Okine for the 40+ years’ division.
The trio of Dr Bankah, Abeiku Bentsi and Ekow Arthur will be in contention for the 50 years plus group while the pairs of Dr Maxwell Adjei and Edmund Nii Botchway, Frederick Van De Vyer and David Carreras and Nicholas Kumadey and Palm Nii Okine feature against the Nigerians in the Doubles championship.
In the Men’s division, the onus would be on Chris Hammond, Kweku Amakye, Nana Dr Kofi Boakye, Chris Tagoe, Dr Henry Holdbrook-Smith, Nick Akpebu, Brian Benneh and Michele Nemesi to make the ALTC proud.
The women for the Ladies competition are Kate Coleman, Fatiha Menzel, Naa Ofoli, Wendy Quartey, Wanda Quartey and Kuukua Bartels-Kodwo.
Veteran player, Peter Annan, will be the Acting Captain of Team Ghana and would be ably assisted by Lawrence Lartey.
Expected to lead the ALTC is Dr Maxwell Adjei, who is the newly elected Chairman of the club. He is also the Head of Dental at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital).
Mr Peter Annan, the Acting Captain of ALTC, told The Spectator that as part of the arrangement for the international friendly, a special tour was organised for members of Team Ikoyi.
He was confident that as the host club, ALTC will prevail as winners of this year’s edition which ends tomorrow.
BY ANDREW NORTEY
The Street Academy’s annual health walk has been postponed.
The event, the 26th edition, was initially slated for today but was postponed due to the two-day cleaning exercise instituted by President John Dramani Mahama.
This year’s edition is on the theme: ‘Feet on the Street, Hope in Motion.’
According to the organisers, the event would be held on August 1 with all protocols intact.
Dr Ataa Lartey, the Founder and Executive Director of the Academy, told The Spectator that the walk which was expected to be joined by a few dignitaries will start at the Accra Art Centre.
From there, it would proceed through the principal streets of Accra to James Town and return to the starting point.
The event aims to raise awareness about the plight of needy and underprivileged children, promote healthy living, and advocate the importance of basic education.
According to Dr Lartey, the walk will feature a range of activities, including a brisk group walk, mass aerobics, free health screening, and entertainment for children.
By Spectator Sports Reporter
