Sports
Fare thee well, Nana Pooley
Suggestions to name the current season of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) after the murdered Asante Kotoko fan, Nana Pooley, has been treated in some quarters as a joke.
But after considering the damage the incident had on the competition’s image and the forced initiatives that followed the infamous event, naming the 2024/25 season after him should be the easiest thing to do.
On a bright match day 19 at Nsoatre, football lovers had thronged the venue to have fun watching Nsoatreman, a young and forceful club rubbing shoulders with previous continental giants, Asante Kotoko.
Until the unfortunate incident, the atmosphere had been serene and charged football-wise despite earlier skirmishes by fans as both teams arrived.
There was security presence but as to why they failed to bring the situation under control remains answers to come out following investigations into the matter.
Kotoko then started flexing their muscles, opting against the continuation of the league. Interestingly, in death, they courted the support of their biggest rivals, Hearts of Oak.
And of course when you have this two together taking such a decision, then definitely, the FA, organisers of the competition must move from its plush office at Ridge and hit the roads to Oseikrom to sympathise with the Asanteman warriors.
Yesterday, Nana Pooley was laid to rest after a funeral ceremony held at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. For some, he died as a hero and would forever be remembered.
That, perhaps, explains the call to name the season after him. That is quite subjective.
But come to think of it; if Hearts and Kotoko rode on the back of the Nana Pooley incident to remind Ghanaians of their ‘heavyweight’ status, then it would not be a bad idea to name the season after the fallen porcupine.
Again, as a result, preparation and documentation to get an autonomous body to run the league was dusted after finding comfortable rest in lockers at the FA.
The big clubs tested the waters but a swift response from the FA, regarding it readiness to hand over the process to the body (Autonomous Premier League) it claimed had already registered, waiting the Premier League clubs to show up, calmed the nerves of all.
Then the biggest of all was the introduction of the Enhanced Matchday Security Protocol and a review of match venues, some of which have been rejected.
All manner of stakeholders have been caught up in the implementation of this protocol – Match Commissioners, Clubs representatives, Venue Media Officers and many others have all been offered training in order to ensure that safety remains the watch word at venues.
The fans have not been spared. Their leadership were also trained to educate their members on staying away from hooliganism.
After a month of work, the GPL is returning this season but with a tough sacrifice.
And one of the ways to not make the death of Nana Pooley be in vain is to nib hooliganism in the bud. That would obviously be supported by the protocols introduced by the FA.
Investigation would, however, continue until the culprit is arrested for justice to be served. That would surely make it known to fans that hooligans are not entertained at match venues.
The football family would miss your antics that infuriates some while others see the amusing parts to make the day an interesting one. Fare thee well, Nana Pooley.
By Andrew Nortey
Sports
Heed to Saminu’s appeal
BEYOND Abdul Rasheed Saminu’s sensational triumph in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) East Preliminary Round lies a call every athletics enthusiast must heed to.
Saminu is Ghana’s latest athletics kid on the block after breaking Benjamin Azamati’s national record in 100m set in 2022.
Azamati set the previous record with a time of 9.87seconds (wind assisted) but Saminu showed class when he dropped it to 9.86 seconds to draw comparisons with South Africa’s leading athlete, Akani Simbine, who clocked 9.90 seconds this year.
The feat earned Saminu a place at the World Athletics Championship to be held in the city of Tokyo in Japan in September.
In that moment of joy, he stormed X (formerly Twitter), where he made a passionate appeal to managers of the sport back home in Ghana.
“Hopefully more to come and I want the world to know we got talents in Ghana. It’s an honour to be the new national record holder…local based athletes deserve more attention as well” he wrote on X.
Previously a typical local athlete that hails from the village of Nanumba in Ghana where he switched to athletics after failing to make a mark in football, Saminu has seen it all at that level of sports in Ghana; the reason why his call cannot and must not be ignored.
In Ghana, football at the lower tiers is often described as ‘wilderness’, a situation that suggest the harsh and difficult circumstances under which clubs navigate their way to the top.
The story with athletics is not different, if not more difficult than football which offers so many platform for players in every corner of the country to showcase their skills.
The now University of South Florida (USF) athlete understands the challenges his peers face in Ghana, trying to rise to the very top level.
The biggest obstacle for athletics in Ghana is the unavailability of infrastructure. Currently, the Legon Sports Stadium remains the only recognised athletics facility in the whole country, courtesy of Ghana’s hosting of the Africa Games Accra 2023 event.
Other facilities around the country are in terrible shapes, and readily coming to mind is the Elwak Sports Stadium which became an alternative venue after the running tracks at the Accra Sports Stadium was scrapped to enable Ghana increase the capacity of the structure to host AFCON 2008.
From 2008 to 2023 when the Africa Games was hosted, nothing was done to develop and promote athletics in Ghana.
Apart from infrastructure, lack of regular competitions have been the biggest bane of the sport as young and promising athletes turn their running spikes into boots to play community football after their second cycle education.
One may ask why but the reason is simple. After completing Senior High School, the next hope for competition lies in their ability to make it to a tertiary institution where they either participate in University games or what was known as Polytechnic (now technical universities) games.
For those that fail to progress, it means the end of a burgeoning career in sports, notably athletics.
That, however, appear to have been dealt with in a way as universities now consider brilliant sports athletes for admission but that’s quite limited.
Unlike football which has clubs scattered all around, athletics have few clubs to accommodate the unlucky ones.
Now in the case where few competitions were organised, prizes presented at some of these competitions were nothing to write home about.
I have witnessed the organisation of such events in the past where winners of some disciplines received pressing irons, fans, heaters, cameras and other products.
From such products, one wonders how such athletes without proper management teams are able to survive and also prepare for other events.
For an athlete with such humble beginnings to his current status to make such call, it truly mean there are a lot of things fundamentally wrong with the athletics system in Ghana.
The current managers of the sport led by the dynamic Bawa Fuseini appear to be doing very well to improve their fortunes but while focusing on getting athletes to qualify for the big events, they must find ways to address concerns such as the one coming from Saminu.
By Andrew Nortey
Sports
Kotoko, Goldstars, Nations FC in contention for league honours tomorrow
The curtain will officially be lowered on the 2024-25 Ghana Premier League (GPL) season tomorrow with all final round fixtures set to kick off simultaneously at 3pm.
With the title race, top-four finish, and final standings on the line, fans can expect a dramatic and action-packed conclusion to what has been a compelling campaign.
In Accra, Hearts of Oak will be aiming to secure a top-four finish as they welcome FC Samartex 1996 to the Accra Sports Stadium. The Phobians, buoyed by recent form, are eager to end the season on a high in front of their home fans.
Accra Lions face a daunting away trip to Bibiani, where they will take on title-chasing, Gold Stars FC, in a crucial fixture with Premier League implications. Gold Stars, locked in a tight title race, know that only a win will keep their hopes alive.
Dreams FC, safe in mid-table, will host relegated Legon Cities in what is expected to be a low-stakes encounter.
In another intriguing matchup, Bechem United square off with Young Apostles at the Nana Gyeabour Park, while Aduana FC will look to finish strong as they host Basake Holy Stars at the Nana Agyemang Badu I Park.
The spotlight, however, will be firmly on Nations FC, who remain firmly in the title picture. They host Heart of Lions in a must-win fixture that could decide the destiny of the league crown.
Elsewhere, Medeama SC welcome Berekum Chelsea to the TnA Stadium in Tarkwa.
Vision FC, who have impressively retained their top-flight status in their debut season, will host Asante Kotoko at the Nii Adjei Kraku II Sports Complex. –Ghanafa.org
