Editorial
Ayekoo, Hasaacas Ladies!
Ghana is a football nation and no matter how one looks at it, the country has the potential to organise itself into a formidable force in both men and women football tournaments.
The splendid performance of Hasaacas Ladies in the just-ended 2021 CAF Women’s Champions League in Cairo, Egypt, is a case in point.
Even though many people trusted Hasaacas Ladies in the CAF competition, this hope became generally higher, though not as high as it is today, after the competition and also their second-place position in the tournament.
In spite of this, Hasaacas Ladies proved that they were a force to reckon with. After the impressive performance at the group stages, confidence in them soared and after going through the semi-final stage, people now believed that the team was capable of bringing the maiden trophy home.
Unfortunately, this was not so as their South African counterparts, proving to be a better side, won the trophy and showed that they were worthy champions.
This should be understandable since no matter how good or ambitious any competitor might be only one champion will emerge. Thus, even though many Ghanaian lovers of women football were disappointed, they took it in good faith and hoped for better luck next time.
The lessons here are that, first of all, women football has come of age in Ghana and ought to be supported by everyone in terms of sponsorship. This means that corporate bodies, individuals and government should be prepared to support women football in this regard.
It is equally important for Ghana Football Association to pay great attention not only to the organisation of male football league in the country, but also to the female versions in any part of the country irrespective of the level or status of the women football, whether in the premier league, first, second or third division or at any other level.
At the same time, people in Ghana should also go to the football fields to cheer up and watch our female players or ladies as a way of encouraging them in their choice of game. If we all help and give our support in this way the sky will be the limit as far as women football is concerned.
The aim of the nation should be to lift women football to the highest level, whether at the continental level or in the world as a whole. Achieving this is possible but we need to organise ourselves better than we are doing now.
If we do this many of our football ladies can get opportunities to play football and earn foreign exchange to support their families and the nation as a whole. If players in our male clubs are able to do this, then players in the female teams can do same, so the time to move in this direction is now.
Again, winning bonuses paid to the female teams should be respectably pegged at high levels and made reasonable to make our women feel appropriately valued by the entire nation.
The insurance companies in the country can also come on board to support both men and women football in the country. The good thing about insurance here is that in times of injuries and other casualties funds can be provided to cover them, thereby encouraging them to give of their best during football competitions.
In addition, individuals can also be organised on regional basis to generate the raising of funds to support women football in the country. This can be done on competitive basis to stimulate more people and rope them into such competitive fund-raising ventures.
Ghana today has come of age so its women football ought to be fully supported by everyone and made complete and highly successful at all fronts and also at all levels.
Football is the passion of the nation, so every effort must be made to unite the people of Ghana, bring down tensions where necessary, make everyone happy and urge us on for the attainment of national goals and development.
The point to note in all this is that women football in Ghana has come of age and need to be supported by all and sundry to make women football in the country more result-oriented at the African and global levels.
This is a positive and remarkable agenda that cannot be allowed to slip but be fully supported to succeed at all cost and help place Ghana in the world map of football.
Congratulations, Hasaacas Ladies. Ghanaians are proud of you.
Dear Editor,
I write to appeal to the Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMTL) to put some of their buses on the Kasoa–Circle route to ease the challenges passengers face every day.
It might interest you to know that going to and from Kasoa is no child’s play. Sadly, it appears we have been left to our fate and at the mercy of greedy ‘trotro’ drivers who employ various tactics to extort money from passengers.
One of the means they usually employ is that at the station, they’ll tell passengers they are not going to Kasoa. However, when you join these vehicles, they take passengers to a point and start calling for new passengers to a different destination. It continues like that until they reach Kasoa. At all the new stops, they collect fresh fares from passengers.
So, it is not true that they are not going to Kasoa — the only reason they do that is to take more money from passengers.
By this behaviour, one ends up spending about GH¢20 for a journey that should cost around GH¢11, and the same amount on the return trip.
This behaviour also results in long queues at the stations at night, giving robbers and pickpockets a field day as they mingle with passengers struggling for transport and end up stealing from them.
I want to plead with the Metro Mass management to put buses on this route to reduce the inconvenience we go through after a day’s work.
The management could also devise ways to make their operations more convenient and reliable, and must consider setting specific times so that passengers would know when buses arrive and when they depart.
Kwesi Pino
Kasoa
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Dear Editor,
I write with deep concern about a safety hazard and the dangers commuters are exposed to, especially those who walk in the area at night.
Along one of the busy roads in the capital — the Neoplan Station stretch of the ‘Accra Dubai’ road — lie several culverts with their metal coverings removed, leaving behind gaping holes that endanger everyone who uses the stretch.
It is a danger to commuters who walk around the area. As a regular visitor to that area, I find it very disturbing. In fact, a gaze into the drain can make one feel dizzy — it is very deep.
These are very common sights from the Railway Crossing area to the Awudome Cemetery area, bringing to the fore the activities of scrap dealers who are mostly blamed for the disappearance of the coverings.
They are dangerous and easy to miss. Children walking to school, the elderly, and even motorists risk serious injury if nothing is done.
This is not just a matter of inconvenience; it is a matter of life. We have seen too many cases where a simple oversight leads to irreversible harm.
A child could fall in. A motorcyclist could swerve and crash. A pedestrian could be injured in the dark. These are preventable tragedies, and we must treat them as urgent.
We cannot wait for disaster before we act. I urge the relevant authorities to inspect such areas, replace missing covers, and prioritise public safety. A simple fix today could save a life tomorrow. Let’s not look away — let’s fix what’s broken before it breaks someone.
Kelvin Acheampong
Dansoman
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