Sports
A tragedy worth discussing
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A boxer collapsing in the ring and eventually passing on is nothing new to followers of the sport of boxing.
It is the reason why commentaries on the collapse and death of a Nigerian boxer, Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju, in a Ghanaian ring are flying from all angles on both traditional and social media.
In fact, such occurrences are part of the many dangers that are associated with boxing. Some of the boxers that survived the brutal sport even end up suffering major health complications as a result.
That, perhaps explains why some people wonder why boxing is accepted or considered a sport.
Every stakeholders of boxing – from the boxers to the coaches, Matchmakers and Managers are fully aware of what they sign on to the moment they join the sport.
The boxers – the biggest sufferers – are aware of these dangers but strangely, they find fighting a passion and worth pursuing with the hunger required to succeed.
At the beginning, their sight and affection is fixed on the beautiful stories they read or hear about boxers that ended their careers successfully and becomes wealthy millionaires.
The mention of Oscar de la Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Caesar Chavez, Saul Alvarez Canelo, Gennady Golovkin, Ike Bazooka Quartey, and Azumah Nelson, among others fuels that passion.
So, at the start, issues about the dangers associated with it is not a concern at all.
Intriguingly, in Africa where logistics and required protocols are often not satisfactory, such incidents are not common.
For Nigerians, the first recorded case of a boxing tragedy occurred on June 14, 1982 when a young Ali collapsed in the ring, fell into coma, and died from blood clot two days later as he fought Ireland’s Barry McGuigan.
The list of victims of such incidents is so long.
Robert Wangila was a promising young fighter in Kenya but that burgeoning career was curtailed on July 22, 1994 when he died from an operation to remove a blood clot from his brain after a fight with USA’s David Gonzalez.
United Kingdom’s James Murray collapsed in the final round and died two days later after suffering brain injuries when he fought countryman, Drew Docherty.
On December 13, Zambia had their first experience with the sport’s darkest side.
Felix Bwalya emerged as a talented Zambian boxer and won a gold medal at the 1991 All-Africa Games and competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
As a professional, he became African champion and went 12–1 (9 KO) on his way to winning the Commonwealth belt.
Nicknamed ‘The Hammer’, he captured the African Boxing Union light welterweight and Commonwealth super lightweight titles in 1995 and 1997 respectively, the latter after a controversial victory over Briton Paul Burke in Lusaka but subsequently died from head injuries sustained in the fight.
Bwalya was knocked down three times in the final rounds and died nine days later.
While in a coma, he was found to have had malaria in his bloodstream. The autopsy report stated that the cause of death was cardiorespiratory failure, severe blunt force trauma to the head, and bronchopneumonia in his right lung.
For Ghanaians, Gabriel Olanrewaju tragedy may be the first in a local ring but not so for Ghanaian boxer, Steve Dotse, whose opponent, Bobby Tomasello, of the USA collapsed in his dressing room after a 10-round draw on October 10, 2000.
He fell into coma from which he never wake up, dying five days later.
From this, one could clearly find out that boxing and some of these health dangers are bedfellows but that of these dangers can be controlled when the right protocols are put in place.
All these unfortunate boxers had medical clearances before their respective fights but that did not absolve them from such incidents, hence the need to be serious with their medical checkups.
Gladly, the calls for a thorough investigation into the Bukom Boxing Arena incident are directed at ensuring that the right protocols are enforced on fight nights to minimise such dangers.
One would only hope that the outcome of investigation would not find either the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) or their counterparts, the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control (NBBC) culpable, despite the conflicting comments in their respective statements on the incident.
Going forward, this should serve as a wake-up call for the GBA to always ensure that the various structures in the federation works without unwarranted interference.
Again, dangers associated with the sport can also be stretched to the fans if recent occurrences at the Arena are anything to go by. That adds a lot of weight to the responsibilities on the GBA to make the sport very safe for all
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Queens kick off their 2026 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations journey on Wednesday, July 29, when they take on Cape Verde in their Group C opener in Morocco.
Coach Kim Lars Björkegren and his team go into the match full of confidence after weeks of intensive preparations.
The Queens held a successful pre-tournament training camp and played friendly matches to fine-tune ahead of the competition.
With morale high, Ghana’s senior women’s team will be targeting maximum points to get their campaign off to the perfect start.
The match is set for 5:00 PM GMT at the Moulay Rachid Stadium.
Football fans across Ghana will be watching closely, hoping the Queens can secure a positive result and lay the foundation for a memorable WAFCON 2026 run.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
With the World Cup fever gradually dying down, attention would switch to other equally important competitions from now to the latter parts of the year.
Barely a week after the global football showpiece that saw Spain upstaged Argentina as World Champions, over 70 countries gathered in Glasgow, Scotland for the Commonwealth Games that is attracting hundreds of athletes from the Commonwealth community.
Equally, 16 top female national teams in Africa would commence competition for the bragging rights as African champions when the delayed Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 kicks off in Morocco tomorrow.
The Super Falcons of Nigeria are usually considered favourites for this showpiece, having shown the strength and character to dominate the game on the continent.
As defending champions, they come in strongly again, expected to face a more difficult sides like the Black Queens of Ghana, Zambia and Morocco who have been touted as possible teams to cause an upset.
Of the 16 qualified teams, nine featured at the previous edition held in 2024.
Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tunisia, who qualified in 2024, missed out this time, while Cape Verde and Malawi will make their first appearance in the tournament.
Today, The Spectator Sports takes a look at some of the teams expected to rub shoulders with the big guns in the female game.
Cameroon
After missing the previous edition, Cameroon returns to the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 determined to re-establish themselves among Africa’s elite.
The Indomitable Lionesses, one of the continent’s most successful women’s national teams, secured a place at the expanded 16-team tournament after receiving a second chance through CAF’s revised qualification system.
Now, under newly appointed head coach Valentine Nguele and inspired by emerging midfield star Naomi Eto, Cameroon will be aiming not only to reclaim their place among Africa’s leading nations but also to secure qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Cameroon boasts one of the richest histories in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The Indomitable Lionesses have reached the final on three occasions—in 2004, 2014 and 2016—but are still searching for their first continental title.
Their consistency has also been reflected in three third-place finishes in 2002, 2012 and 2018, giving Cameroon six podium finishes overall.
Only Nigeria and South Africa have accumulated more top-three finishes in the history of the competition, underlining Cameroon’s long-standing status among Africa’s leading women’s football nations.
Zambia
After finishing third in 2022 and falling short of expectations at the 2024 edition, Zambia head to the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 determined to establish themselves among Africa’s elite.
With one of the continent’s most feared attacking units and new head coach Nora Häuptle at the helm, the Copper Queens will be aiming to lift the Women’s AFCON trophy for the first time.
Barbra Banda remains one of the biggest names in African women’s football.
The Orlando Pride striker has established herself among the leading forwards in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and returns to international competition after recovering from a hip injury suffered late last year.
Powerful, direct and clinical in front of goal, Banda will once again spearhead Zambia’s attack as the Copper Queens pursue their first continental title.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (Stallions Ladies) return to the competition determined to make history after missing the 2024 edition. Encouraged by an impressive qualifying campaign, the Stallions Ladies head to Morocco aiming to progress beyond the group stage for the first time.
Burkina Faso secured qualification with convincing victories over Burundi and Togo.
The Stallions Ladies defeated Burundi 5-1 on aggregate, following a commanding 4-1 first-leg victory before completing the job with a 1-0 win in the return fixture.
They carried that momentum into the final qualifying round against Togo, winning 2-0 in the first leg before sealing qualification with another 1-0 victory to complete a 3-0 aggregate success.
Nigeria
Reigning champions Nigerias head to Morocco 2026 looking to extend their remarkable record in the competition. With 10 continental titles to their name, the Super Falcons remain the most successful team in the tournament’s history..
Led by Captain Rasheedat Ajibade and head coach Justine Madugu, Nigeria once again begin the competition among the favourites.
Nigeria secured qualification to Morocco 2026 by defeating Benin 3-1 on aggregate in the second round of qualifying.
Having received a bye in the opening round, the Super Falcons took control of the tie with a 2-0 away victory in Cotonou.
They completed the job in Abeokuta, drawing 1-1 in the second leg after Ashleigh Plumptre opened the scoring before Benin equalised through Yasmine Djibril.
The result ensured another successful qualification campaign for the reigning African champions.
Cote d’Ivoire
After a 12-year absence from Africa’s biggest women’s football competition, Côte d’Ivoire returns to the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations aiming to re-establish themselves among the continent’s leading nations.
The Elephants secured an unexpected route back to the finals following the expansion of the tournament from 12 to 16 teams.
Now guided by experienced French coach Reynald Pedros and inspired by prolific striker Habibou Ouedraogo, Côte d’Ivoire believe they have the talent to challenge Africa’s established powers once again.
The Elephants were knocked out in the final qualifying round after a fiercely contested tie against Senegal. Neither side managed to score across the two legs, with Senegal eventually prevailing 5-4 on penalties to deny the Ivorians automatic qualification.
Following the expansion of the Women’s AFCON from 12 to 16 participating teams, CAF allocated the additional places based on the FIFA Women’s World Ranking.
⚽ Group A: Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Kenya,
⚽ Group B: South Africa, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Tanzania
⚽ Group C: Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt, Malawi
⚽ Group D: Ghana, Cameroon, Mali, Cape Verde
By Andrew Nortey
