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Blame them all! PlainTalk with John Vigah
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It may have been six years now, but the pain and embarrassment of Ghana’s piteously miserable World Cup campaign in Brazil has still not dissipated.
The Black Stars were flushed out in the opening round in a campaign they had been tipped to progress even beyond the quarters.
In the absence of any domestic football activity, many sports presenters have been trying to analyse what really went wrong – with callers pouring out with divergent opinions on the issue.
Truth is that the Stars’ disastrously white-white performance could be attributed to poor team management, governmental naivety and player discipline.
Indeed, government underestimated the situation and failed to respond early enough to the request of the players as regards their $100,000 appearance fee as FIFA also delayed with their obligations.
Sadly, things got out of hand even before the government flew into Brazil $4m dollars to the players ahead of their final Group G game against Portugal.
For the Team Management, they failed dolefully to manage the tension that had engulfed the team’s camp in Brazil, culminating in the physical exchanges between Sulley Muntari and Moses Armah Parker (Management member) as well as the spat between Kevin Prince Boateng and Coach Kwesi Appiah.
At the end of it all, Sulley and Kevin were flushed out of camp with the Stars going ahead to lose 1-2 against Portugal in a game in which skipper Asamoah Gyan scored the equaliser that turned out to be momentous as it crowned him as Africa’s highest scorer in World Cup history.
Now, when you come to the players proper, one would say they just blew up a smart-as-whip opportunity to dazzle the world again.
Fact is, they lost focus and allowed the inordinate thirst for money to blow them into shreds.
Of course, it may not be the way to go; but in both Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010, their appearance fees were paid, albeit late. So, there was nothing to suggest that they were not going to have their money.
It appeared as if the players took their eyes off the ultimate prize. What mattered to them was money, money, money! Nothing more!
Having said that, Coach Appiah, too, cannot be absolved from blame after leading the Stars to that ego-battering 1-2 loss against USA.
In a post-game reaction, he told the media he had deliberately kept some of his best players (including Michael Essien and Kevin-Prince Boateng) on the bench, with the intention of introducing them when the Americans had ran out of steam. Incredible, not so?
You do not do this, especially when the Americans had sworn to “come at you,” having lost to Ghana in previous tournaments (2006, 2010).
It was pathetic to see how a lofty dream could come crashing all because of state botch-up, teammanagement and to a large extent, player discipline.
Lamentably, it was not only the story of Ghana – but that of other West Africa’s biggest hopes at the tournament – Cameroon, Nigeriaand Cote d’Ivoire.
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
