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Chris Hughton will make Black Stars great again – Daniel Koranteng
Right. Where do we begin the? First of, apologies if you’re vegan; this introduction isn’t for you.
Now imagine sitting before a burger, stacked with a well-cooked juicy patty, smeared with delicious sauce made by Chef Gordon Ramsay himself, and some tasty cheese.
Delectable, isn’t it? The burger you’re looking at, despite the inviting and appetizing interior, is encompassed by two very moldy buns – and you have to eat the entire thing! Yes, you’re right, it’s disgusting!
Unfortunately, this picture is what perfectly captures the performance of the Black Stars in 2022, and the rollercoaster of emotions the team sent fans on. A poor beginning, promising in the middle and a disappointing end.
However, 2023 doesn’t only spell the start of a new year, but also, a new era for the team. After going through two head coaches in 2022, – Milovan Rajevac and Otto Addo – the Black Stars have a new man at the helm of affairs – Chris Hughton.
The former Newcastle and Brighton and Holve Albion boss, served as Technical Advisor under Otto Addo, and succeeds the Borrusia Dortmund trainer with the task of ending the team’s 41-year trophy drought at the next Africa Cup of Nations in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire.
The task is daunting; but with that comes possibilities. The team made positive strides last year, and with the right context applied to the results, that’s an apparent conclusion.
The need for a rebuild was clearly evident after the AFCON 2022 disaster (worst performance in the team’s history). Since then, the team has seen the introduction of some new faces, who fit the bill for a sustainable rebuild.
The advantage is that, most of these new faces provide solutions to some of the obvious weaknesses the team has faced in the past few years. The likes of Mohammed Salisu, Tariq Lamptey, Antoine Semenyo and Salis Abdul Samed, can provide the bedrock of long term success, with their youth and talent. Inaki Williams and Denis Odoi, who have already have established careers in club football, can provide some short term fixes in their various positions.
The aforementioned Addo was insightful in his final press conference as Black Stars head coach, saying, “I’m very sure this squad has a bright future and the potential to do great things.”
The rebuild has seen familiar faces over the past 10 years being slowly phased out and new exciting talent introduced. A good number of the current setup plays in some of the best leagues in Europe, with their ages representing a fine blend of youth and experience.
Continuity is an extremely important factor in a rebuilding process, and Chris Hughton who has already had somewhat of a year’s internship with the group, serving as Technical Advisor, already knows the squad to the core. A major advantage is his closeness to the team over the past year, which has enabled him diagnose its strengths and weaknesses, like any smart gaffer with intentions of assuming the main head coaching role would do.
Continuity with regards to the make-up of the squad is also equally important. The Black Stars paraded the youngest squad at the 2022 World Cup, which boasted some of the most exciting talents in world football. Hughton’s latest 25-man squad for the AFCON qualifying double header against Angola includes 75% of the players from the World Cup squad and proves the manager is intent on maintaining continuity. The group is still largely inexperienced on the national scene, with a good chunk of the current playing body having not registered up to ten caps. A team is an assembly of individuals who share a similar philosophy and vision – and building one capable of winning championships can only be achieved with time and consistency.
Take the Senegal project under Alliou Cisse for example. It took seven years of work, consistency and steady progress before they eventually won the AFCON trophy in 2022. Cisse’s first World Cup with the team (2018) – in his third year in charge, saw Senegal eliminated in the group stages, but he qualified them for the Round 16 in their very next appearance. Progress.
Senegal’s first two AFCON campaigns with Cisse saw them eliminated in the Quarterfinals (2017), but finish as runners up (2019). Again, obvious progress.
After the events of last year, Ghanaian football fans must be patient. Quick fixes, never yield sustainable results. The new Black Stars head coach has the required experience in management and is capable. The squad is capable. But time is of utmost essence.
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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Intercity STC Coaches Limited has interdicted a driver captured in a viral video allegedly hitting a Sprinter bus during an overtaking manoeuvre at Pokuase before driving away from the scene.
In a public notice, the company described the driver’s conduct as unacceptable, stressing that it did not reflect the safety standards and professionalism it upholds.
Management said it had commenced an immediate investigation into the incident and identified the driver, who has been interdicted pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.
The company added that it was awaiting an official report from the Pokuase Police Command to help establish the facts surrounding the incident.
STC reaffirmed its commitment to passenger safety and responsible road use, while thanking members of the public for bringing the incident to its attention.
Management assured the public that appropriate action would be taken following the investigation.
By: Jacob Aggrey
