Sports
Crunch Berekum Chelsea test for Kotoko
Asante Kotoko will be eager to clinch a second straight victory at the Berekum Golden City Park this afternoon when they face Berekum Chelsea after sinking AshantiGold at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in four-goal thriller on match day 12.
Berekum Chelsea have gone two games without a win, playing goalless against Great Olympics and a 1-1 deadlock with Medeama.
Having tasted sweet victory over Aduana Stars at Dormaa for the first time and crashing poor performing Ashgold, the Porcupine Warriors will bring a lot of attention to themselves as they dash for a possible third consecutive win on match day 13.
The Blues of Berekum will have to prove to their fierce critics beyond every reasonable doubt that the departure of their former captain, Stephen Amankona to the Kotoko camp, would have no effect on them – by securing a famous massive victory today.
With 26 points from 11 games, Asante Kotoko and their gaffer, Dr Prosper Narteh Ogum, will look further to stretch the lead – even with a game at hand against their sworn rivals, Hearts.
At the Tarkwa Akoon Park on Sunday, Medeama will welcome Olympics to a fierce tie that would have a lot at stake because of the slender points difference between the two teams.
Hearts make a return to the Accra Sports Stadium tomorrow to wrangle it out with Eleven Wonders after their away fixture against Medeama at the Akoon Park.
The Phobians will attempt to go for the maximum points in order play catch-up with Kotoko ahead of their outstanding game on February 20.
Wounded Ashgold will face bottom-placed Elmina Sharks, who are yet to win a game after a seven-straight losing streak.
At Sogakope on Sunday, West African Football Academy (WAFA) will lock horns with eighth-placed Dreams FC. Dreams went away to pick a point at Tamale, which makes them the favourites going into this game.
Second-placed Aduana Stars will host Accra Lions at the Nana Agyeman Badu I Park in Dormaa. Technically, Aduana will start the game as favourites though Accra Lions can cause a surprise, looking at their previous two matches; drawing away with WAFA and winning on the road against Legon Cities.
The Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale will host newbies Real Tamale United (RTU) and Bibiani Gold Stars in top cracker. With RTU losing marksman, David Abagna to assignment with the Black Stars in Cameroon, the Tamale lads will have to prove their doubters that their team play is not built on one man.
Gold Stars are coming into this game hungrier after losing to Hearts at Bibiani in their previous fixture.
Action continues on Monday when Legon Cities host Bechem United at the Accra Sports Stadium.
As of press time yesterday at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Karela United were battling it out with King Faisal.
By Emmanuel Asante
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.
