Sports
Coach Ofei, one for present or future?
• Desmond Ofei
The 13th African Games Accra 2023 will go into Ghana’s rich sports history as the most successful games event for the number of medals won.
It was not a single-sport event like a football, athletics, boxing or cycling championships for one to boldly declare that Ghana hosted and won.
This is because Ghana’s 68 medal haul was the best by her standards but was not enough to even place her among the top five countries.
Those slots were occupied by Egypt with 101 gold medals, 46 silver and 42 bronze totaling 189 medals; followed by Nigeria with 47 gold, 33 silver and 20 bronze totaling 120 medals; South Africa with 32 gold, 32 silver and 42 bronze totaling 106 medals; Algeria with 29 gold, 38 silver and 47 bronze totaling 114 medals and Tunisia in fifth 21 gold, 27 silver and 39 bronze totaling 87 medals.
Ghana followed in a respectable sixth position with 19 gold, 29 silver and 20 bronze to bag a total of 68 medals.
The hosting was Ghana’s first and the construction of multi-purpose state-of-the-art sports facilities would surely leave a long lasting memories with fans.
Apart from the facilities, the performance of certain teams and individuals would
is the Head Coach of the victorious national U-20 football team, the Black Satellites, Desmond Sakyi Ofei.
Ofei had come to the limelight following his appointment as the Head Coach of the Black Satellites; a team that had struggled to emerge from the wilderness for some time, having failed to make any serious impact on the football scene after their giant-killing feat in 2003 when they conquered all to become world champions.
That appointment may have appeared unattractive to other coaches as a result of the Satellites poor run but perhaps, with little or no recognition for local coaches, Ofei, assisted by Ghana’s U-17 legend Nii Odartey Lamptey grabbed the opportunity.
Together with other technical hands, they made the most of it by guiding the Black Satellites to Ghana’s second African Games male football gold with a late Jerry Afriyie strike over Uganda.
Ofei has since been credited for the good work with the Satellites team which he inherited from his former boss, Samuel Boadu whose last assignment was the WAFU Zone B U-20 Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
Under his watch, the team underwent some rebuilding, a process that saw the scouting of talents like Remember Boateng, Frederick Kesse, Michael Ephson, Mohaison Mahmoud and others to beef the squad.
In a few months’ time, he managed to turn the side into a winning one and showed promise in the games he played both in the tournament and preparatory ones towards it.
Within that period, every close follower of the team realises what the 36-year old Ofei, a UEFA Licence A holder brings to the table for the young, dynamic and upcoming local coaches. He was on point with his tactics which he changes based on what the opposition throws at him.
His relationship and communication with his charges is excellent. His connection with people working around him is also superb.
Ofei’s performance would surely reignite the debate about the need to involve the local coaches in building the national teams because they have something the foreign breed lacks.
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.
