Sports
Faint hopes for Paris 2024 medals
Joseph Paul Amoah – Captain of Team Ghana
The United States of America last weekend announced a 592-member Olympic Team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games scheduled to start from July 26.
The team includes more than 250 Olympians who will be competing in the Games for the second time. It also has three five-time Olympians, four four-time Olympians, 16 three-time Olympians and more than 50 two-time Olympians.
The veteran group includes 122 Olympic medalists, including 66 Olympic champions who have won a total of 110 gold medals. Forty-five athletes have won multiple Olympic medals, while 23 have won multiple Olympic gold medals.
Other powerful sporting nations including the France, Germany, Netherlands, Ethiopia, Kenya and others have all announced impressive squads for the showpiece with not less than 10 medal prospects.
For Ghana with a squad number of nine athletes to be captained by Joseph Paul Amoah (Athletics) with virtually no Olympics credentials, it would be a time to embrace the assuring Olympic motto that motivates countries with less pedigree to keep participating.
But for that principle which reads that, “The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well,” Team Ghana would have no business being at the Games.
Far from sounding skeptical, one can comfortably urge Ghanaians not to be highly expectant as far as winning medals was concerned.
Thankfully, the team’s preparation and discussions on winning medals have been on low key, perhaps due to this reality.
For the Team Ghana captain, Amoah, it will be his second appearance at the Olympics and would ride on the back of that previous experience to lead the team.
The nine-member team would also have Fuseini Ibrahim (4×100), Isaac Botsio (4×100), Benjamin Azamati (4×100, 100m), Edwin Gadayi (4×100), and Abdul Rasheed Saminu (100, 200m).
Others include Joselle Mensah (swimming), Harry Stacey (swimming), and Rose Yeboah (high jump).
But they lack the promise of a side capable of adding to Ghana’s five medals from the Olympics Games made up of one silver and four bronze.
Amoah was unable to qualify for the 200m race for failing to meet the competition’s 48-athlete quota with his 62nd world ranking.
He would, however, compete in the 4x100m after leading the relay team to qualification at the World Athletics Relay in the Bahamas.
He would compete in the 4x100m relay alongside Benjamin Azamati, Edwin Gadayi, and Solomon Hammond.
Abdul-Rasheed Saminu only gained qualification to run in the 100m race via the World Athletics ranking system and not by a competitive time.
Of the 56 top athletes expected for the event, he is ranked 54th.
Azamati also secured qualification through the ranking system after placing 39th.
The statistics present a gloomy picture and put Team Ghana in the category of firm believers of this Olympics principle, aiming at participation and not necessarily to win.
By Andrew Nortey
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.
