Sports
CAF saved us from shame!
Many Ghanaians cart-wheeled for joy the other day when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) settled on the Baba Yara Sports Stadium for the panicky Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifier between the Black Stars and the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
CAF had rejected the Cape Coast Sports Stadium for its poor nature, the edifice having been used for the nation’s 65th Independence Day Anniversary – leaving the pitch woefully diminished in quality, in the process.
Having earlier confirmed the Cape Coast stadium as venue for the game – which was turned down, CAF had threatened to take the game to our sub-regional neighbours Benin or far north in Morocco. And, Ghanaian football fans dreaded the thought of having to travel hundreds of miles away for the game.
It had to take some exceptional diplomatic gymnastics for CAF to accept the Kumasi venue, and save the nation from shame – albeit with a myriad of conditions to meet.
Interestingly, we are told the Baba Yara stadium, which was renovated less than a year ago, was not even in fine fettle – and it had to take the magnanimity and high-mindedness of CAF, to ‘temporarily’ accept the venue. What!
What happened to our culture of maintenance?
It is increasingly becoming clearer and clearer everyday that the maintenance culture is very alien to us as a people. Successive governments and key stakeholders have spoken to this very topic, but it always remains mere talk with little or no action at all. Painfully, we do not seem to have any level of maintenance consciousness. It is shameful!
That the Baba Yara Stadium has been granted only a one-match approval for yesterday’s first leg qualifier is a huge dent on our image as a football nation!
Read the CAF letter to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) in part: “… upon conclusion of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 play-off round match, the stadium is automatically removed from the list of CAF approved stadiums and will only be approved for any subsequent CAF/FIFA international senior national teams matches and CAF men’s inter-clubs competitions, following the implementation of all the CAF remarks.”
Again, this is discreditable!
Come to think about this, among the things that CAF ordered to be fixed is the water system to provide both cold and hot water in the teams and officials’ dressing room; general refurbishment of the CAF office, installation of modern desks and seats, including the necessary electronic and working equipment; complete refurbishment of the media tribune, press conference room and media centre and installing new and modern equipment.
Questions that many have asked is whether we did not have these in place as the standard demanded or they have just gone awful?
The National Sports Authority (NSA) is the body mandated to manage and maintain the national edifice, and must be alive to its responsibilities and not to allow itself to be turned into a fire brigade.
Ghana, we were told, spent close to $250,000 to rehabilitate the Accra Sports Stadium before the 2018 Total Women’s AFCON was held at the venue. It is nearly four years since that event was hosted. Today, take a trip to the stadium and see whether we have done justice to ourselves. We can do better than what the Accra stadium looks at the moment.
As we express our appreciation to CAF for its magnanimity in accepting the Kumasi stadium, let us wake up from our slumber – be on the qui vive, so that we do not find ourselves in such tight corner again.
We are bigger than that – and we do not have to allow ourselves to be subjected to such embarrassment and global ridicule. Never again!
PlainTalk With John Vigah
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
