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Dr. Tony Aubyn to Lead Planning Committee for 2025 Champion of Champions Clash
Dr. Tony Aubyn has been named as the head of a five-member committee tasked with planning the 2025 Champion of Champions match between Bibiani GoldStars and Asante Kotoko.
The Champion of Champions fixture traditionally kicks off the new football season by pitting the Ghana Premier League champions against the MTN FA Cup winners in a high-profile showdown.
Bibiani GoldStars clinched their maiden Premier League title at the end of the 2024/25 season, following a remarkable campaign that saw them rise above Ghanaian football giants.
Asante Kotoko, on the other hand, secured the 2025 MTN FA Cup title, adding another feather to their rich history and setting up a tantalizing clash with the newly crowned league champions.
Dr. Aubyn, a former GFA Executive Council member and seasoned football administrator, will oversee a team that is expected to determine the date, venue, and overall organization of the much-anticipated encounter. His leadership is expected to ensure a professional and exciting event that will set the tone for the 2025/26 football season.
The planning committee’s responsibilities will go beyond logistics, encompassing security, media coverage, ticketing, hospitality, and fan engagement.
The GFA is keen on turning the Champion of Champions into a marquee fixture that celebrates Ghana’s football excellence while providing a festive atmosphere for fans across the country.
Wilson Arthur will serve as the Vice Chairman of the committee. Arthur is currently the Chairman of the MTN FA Cup Committee and has been greatly applauded by many for how his team staged the 2025 MTN FA Cup final.
Other members of the committee include Frank Nelson Nwokolo, a member of the MTN FA Cup Committee, Akwasi Adu, CEO of Bibiani Goldstars and Richard Akoto, Accounts Manager of Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
This year’s edition holds extra significance as it features a debutant league winner in Bibiani GoldStars, going up against one of the most decorated clubs in Ghanaian football. The fixture promises both drama and quality, as both teams aim to assert their dominance ahead of the new season.
Details on the match date and venue are expected to be announced soon. The GFA is confident that the committee, under Dr. Aubyn’s guidance, will deliver a successful event that lives up to its billing as the true curtain-raiser for Ghana football.
MR Samuel Yao Atidzah, the Executive Director of GOSANET Foundation, has stated that HIV does not define a person, but “dignity, respect and love do.”
He reminded Ghanaians that no one should face discrimination because of his or her HIV status.
Mr Atidzah said this in a statement in Ho of the Volta Region to commemorate World Zero Discrimination Day.
The Day was initiated by UNAIDS in 2014 and celebrated annually on March 1 by the UN and other Organisations to promote equality, inclusion, and peace for everyone regardless of age, gender, race, or sexual orientation.
It highlights the need to end discrimination laws and actions, particularly regarding HIV/AIDS stigma.
This year’s day is on the theme: ‘People first: Standing united for dignity, equality and inclusion.’
Mr Atidzah urged all to stand together to end stigma and discrimination and promote inclusion, support People Living with AIDS in their communities.
“We have often been quick in judging people just because he or she has contracted the HIV virus; we’re in a haste to brand them as people lacking dignity.”
“We must also not lose sight of the fact that it is not every patient that attract the disease from sexual inter-course. There are those that were born with it and those who were cut by affected by objects,” he explained.
He advised all to know their status through HIV Self-testing kits, adding “it is private, confidential, safe and empowering.”
The Executive Director urged both young and old that taking charge of their health was a sign of strength and not shame.
“I urge all and sundry to get tested now, know your status, protect yourself and protect others,” he noted. –GNA
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THREE inter-related books chronicling the political history of Ghana’s Heads of State are set to be launched this month.
The books offers readers an in-depth account of the country’s constitutional and military leadership from independence to the Fourth Republic.
Authored by former Presidential Reporter of The Ghanaian Times, F. Baffour Opoku, the books explore the ideologies, leadership styles, achievements, challenges and international engagements of Ghana’s past leaders.
The first book, Constitutional Rule in Ghana’s First, Second and Third Republics, examines the administrations of Kwame Nkrumah, Edward Akufo-Addo, Kofi Abrefa Busia and Hilla Limann, highlighting key political and socio-economic developments during the First, Second and Third Republics.
The second publication, Constitutional Rule in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, provides insight into leadership under the Fourth Republic, covering the era of Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor, John Evans Atta Mills, John Dramani Mahama, and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The third book, Military Rule in Ghana between 1966 and 1993, documents significant political events during periods of military governance.
It discusses the leadership of Joseph Arthur Ankrah, first Chairman of the National Liberation Council (NLC); Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa, second Chairman of the NLC; Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, Chairman of the National Redemption Council (NRC) and later the Supreme Military Council (SMC); Frederick William Kwasi Akufo, Chairman of the reconstituted SMC; and Jerry John Rawlings, who led both the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).
According to the author, the books provide detailed, one-stop information on the activities and governance records of each Head of State during their respective tenures.
In addition to political analysis, the books feature biographical accounts of the Heads of State, as well as colourful photo albums capturing significant national events during their tenure.
Mr Opoku notes that as Chief Executives of the nation, the leaders profiled in the books served with dedication and commitment, and their contributions to nation-building deserve recognition and documentation for present and future generations.
The launch is expected to attract political figures, academics, members of the media and the general public.
By Spectator Reporter
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