Sports
Ghana top Group at WAFU B U20 Championship after draw against Togo
Ghana have topped their Group at the WAFU B U20 Championship after a 1-1 draw with hosts Togo, as the Black Satellites secured qualification to the semi-finals on Wednesday October 23, 2024.
The result at the Stade Municipal was enough to send Desmond Ofei’s side through as winners of Group A, on Wednesday October 23, 2024.
The Black Satellites head into the knockouts in the strongest possible position after amassing five points from three games to top Group A.
Niger join Ghana in second place after they narrowly beat Benin 1-0 in the other Group A match at the Stade de Kégué, as Benin and hosts Togo are booted out of the Championship.
Ghana now awaits the final results of Group B on Thursday October 24, 2024, with Cote D’voire, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, who are all in the race to secure qualification to the last four in a tightly contested Group.
The semi-finals of the sub-regional Championship will take place on Sunday October 27, 2024.
The WAFU B U20 Championship serves as the qualification for the 2025 Africa U20 Cup of Nations, with only the finalists going through.
This 2025 U20 AFCON will also serve as the African qualifiers for the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, where the four semi-finalists will qualify automatically.
Ashantigold SC has terminated the contracts of three members of its technical team with immediate effect.
The affected officials are head coach and technical director Abdul Karim Zito, assistant coach Ernest Okyere, and goalkeepers’ trainer Robert Dabo.
The decision was announced in a statement signed by the club’s Chief Executive Officer, Edward Kwasi Akuoko.
According to the statement, the decision was taken following a consultative meeting by the Interim Management Committee on Monday, October 26, 2026.
The club says a caretaker coach has been appointed to steer the affairs of the team until a substantive coach/technical director is appointed.
Management expressed gratitude to the affected officials for their contribution and service to the team and wished them well in their future endeavours.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
England captain Harry Kane says it was extra special to be presented with the Ballon d’Or by one of his childhood idols.
Kane made the comment after receiving the prestigious award from former Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario.
“Ronaldo was one of my idols growing up,” Kane said.
The Bayern Munich striker described the moment as surreal, being honoured by a player he looked up to as a young footballer.
Kane was announced as the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner on Monday, October 26, at the London Palladium, marking the 70th anniversary of the award and the first time the ceremony was held outside France.
The 33-year-old beat stiff competition from second-placed Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal to win his first ever Ballon d’Or.
He becomes the first Englishman to win the coveted individual award in 25 years since Michael Owen in 2001, and only the fifth Englishman ever after Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen.
He is also the first Bayern Munich player to win the award since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.
Kane won the award after a remarkable season in which he scored 61 goals in 51 club matches, the most a Bayern player has ever scored in one campaign.
Including England matches, it was 73 goals plus eight assists in 65 matches. His 73 goals is the second-highest single-season total ever behind Lionel Messi’s 82 in 2011-12.
Despite the goal haul, Kane did not win the Champions League or World Cup, with Bayern losing 6-5 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals and England losing 2-1 to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final before finishing third.
The award was presented by Brazilian great Ronaldo Nazario, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner himself, adding what was described as a special dimension to Kane’s historic achievement.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
