Sports
Ayekoo, Police Ladies
Participation of Ghana’s security services in sports is seen more as a recreation or a creation for officers to be actively involved in play or physical exercise.
This reflects their absence on the honours boards of some of the major sports events, especially football.
But it is not so with other sports like athletics, boxing, handball, volleyball, basketball, mass sports and many others.
In these sports, they are dominated by players or athletes from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), comprising the Army, Air Force and Navy, the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Revenue Authority, previously referred to as the Customs Excise and Preventive Service, Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS).
Fact is, they have been credited with some of the major honours achieved in sports as a nation.
For instance, the Prisons service’s role in the career of the boxing professor, Azumah Nelson, has always been recognised as he started his career affiliated to the service.
GRA was considered a household name in the active days of basketball with years of dominance by the Brave’s team that stretched their dominance across Africa.
In volleyball and handball, Police, Fire and Prisons have created tensed and thrilling atmospheres that attracted hundreds of fans to the Prisons Sports Courts in Cantonment.
The Armed Forces have been strong in boxing and the marathons.
What is, however, making the services shy away from the honours list in football may perhaps be the belief that they may be in a disadvantaged position to keep pace with the professional clubs.
For the professionals, they eat and drink the game, but athletes or players with the services would have other duties to perform the moment they leave the field or their respective training venues.
Secondly, their conditions of service would not allow them to ‘poach’ or sign on players at exorbitant amounts. This means the services would find it difficult to attract good footballers to compete with the likes of Hearts’, Kotokos, Great Olympics and others.
However, the Police Ladies football team rendered this analogy gibberish over the weekend with a historic triumph in the Southern Zone of the Women’s Premier League (WPL).
After an 18-week run, the Police Ladies team that has campaigned under the shadows of top women club sides in the competition emerged from those dark shades, setting an enviable record other sister agencies would target to emulate.
The women in blue-and-white were crowned Southern Zone of the Malta Guinness Women’s Premier League champions, unseating the regular winners, Hasaacas Ladies.
It was a hard-fought victory for the police women and the joy that greeted the final whistle was incredible as they cartwheeled in unending joy to mark a feat never achieved in their history.
That was understandable because it came over Hasaacas Ladies, an experienced side that made marks in their maiden participation in the CAF Women’s Champions League competition.
However, going into the final game with 36 points, same as their opponents Hasaacas Ladies, the scale tilted in favour of Hasaacas Ladies.
But while the police women managed a 2-0 victory over FC Epiphany Warriors at the Adjiriganor Astro Turf in Accra, Hasaacas Ladies dropped two vital points after being held to a 1-1 draw encounter against Jonina Ladies.
Police Ladies, thus, finished the season with 11 wins, six draws, and one defeat, accruing 39 points would now face Northern Zonal Champions, Ampem Darkoa, in the playoff finale in May.
In congratulating Police Ladies, one would wish to present the feat as a challenge to the other security agencies to begin to focus on the business aspect of sports.
In some part of Africa, police teams feature regularly in their male elite leagues just as it remain a common feature in the francophone regions where Douanes (Customs teams) feature in their elite competition.
Sadly in Ghana, no team, as of now, from any of the security agencies have come close to even the national Division One League (DOL), indicating a very low desire to recruit very good players to make them competitive.
But reaching the very top in sports is not something beyond them. The feat by Police Ladies clearly shows that when the recruits are groomed well, they can become top professionals and compete at the highest level.
Maybe in their future recruitment, they can place special emphasis on signing people with special talents to give them competitive advantage. That will also put their players who are not staff of the service the chance to be considered.
As we wait to hear when any of the security agencies would sell their first player, we say a big ‘ayekoo’ to the Police Ladies team for doing a yeoman’s job.
By Andrew Nortey
Ghana international forward, Felix Afena-Gyan was the victim of a burglary at his residence in Italy over the weekend while he was away on national team duty with the Black Stars.
In a statement released Monday, May 25, Afena-Gyan’s team said the incident occurred while the player was in camp for Ghana’s match against Mexico.
Upon returning to Italy, it was discovered that his apartment had been unlawfully accessed and several personal belongings were taken.
The statement reassured fans and the public that the 23-year-old forward is safe, physically unharmed, and “maintaining a positive mindset despite this unfortunate incident.”
The matter has been formally reported to Italian law enforcement authorities, who are actively investigating the case. No further details about the stolen items will be released at this time to avoid interfering with the investigation.
Afena-Gyan’s representatives also addressed footage circulating on social media, urging members of the media and the public to respect the player’s privacy and refrain from sharing invasive images of his personal residence.
“Felix remains deeply grateful for the overwhelming support, concern, and solidarity shown by fans in Ghana, Italy, and across the world,” the statement read.
The forward is now refocusing on his club duties and upcoming football commitments.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul Afoko, has urged the party’s Minority Caucus in Parliament to lead the charge in returning the NPP to electoral victory.
Speaking at a closed-door meeting with the MPs in Accra on Saturday, May 23, 2026, Mr.Afoko unveiled a new political strategy dubbed the ‘3R Agenda’ focused on Reuniting, Rebuilding, and Recapturing power for the party.
He described the initiative as a roadmap to restore unity, strengthen grassroots support, and position the NPP for future electoral success.
“For years I chose to work quietly behind the scenes, supporting the NPP in private,” Afoko said. “But recent developments have compelled me to step forward. We need to get our party back into winning ways, and that starts with unity and purpose.”Afoko stressed that the Minority MPs have a critical role to play, both as lawmakers and as unifying figures within the party.
He warned that without a concerted effort to rebuild internal cohesion, the goal of returning to power would remain a mirage. Drawing on his tenure as National Chairman, Afoko highlighted the NPP’s 2014 presidential primaries as a model of internal discipline and unity.
“We conducted primaries where every candidate accepted the outcome, and no one broke away to run independently,” he said.
“Leaders like Sammy Awuku can attest to the level of organization and trust we had at the time.”He noted that the party’s electoral base has eroded over the years, particularly during periods in government when internal competition for positions often breeds division.
“Historically, even in opposition, the NPP has outperformed the NDC in vote percentages,” Afoko said.
He noted “That tells us our base is strong, but it has weakened. The question now is: how do we win it back?.”
According to Mr. Afoko, “the answer lies in the 3R Agenda: Reunite; Heal internal divisions and restore trust across factions. Rebuild; Strengthen party structures from the polling station to the national level and Recapture; Re-engage the base and present a credible, united front to Ghanaians.”
Afoko appealed to party members to rally behind the vision, citing his track record as evidence of his ability to deliver results.
“My record speaks for itself. I am result-oriented, and with the collective support of the party, we can achieve this,” he said.
He concluded by calling on the NPP to move past internal rivalries and focus on the bigger goal: winning the trust of Ghanaians and returning to government to deliver development.
By: Jacob Aggrey
