Sports
‘Give experienced players chance in GPL’
Former Asante Kotoko and Ghana Internationals, Issah Ahmed and Yusif Chibsah have called on local clubs to encourage the inclusion of experience players in their teams as their knowledge and experience of the game would be a valuable asset for the young stars.
The two ex-stars lamented how constantly old players are shunned by clubs and fans and described as “old duod3” to wit old cassava discounting how their guidance and inspiration can help navigate the careers of the young ones.
Speaking from his base in the United States on GTV’s Time with the Legends on Sunday, ex-Kotoko strongman, Ahmed said Ghanaian clubs were quick to retire players once they were beyond their youthful days, a practice he said was a contributing factor to the decline in performance of Ghanaian clubs.
Ahmed, adored by Kotoko fans for his robust, tough-tackling play during his playing days, narrated an experience in Ghana when he was retired but still active with training.
“When I was in Ghana some years back , I had an encounter with Daniel Nii Adjei, then a young and promising star with Kotoko in Kumasi after a Monday Stars match. After the game he walked up to me and said “Senior watching you closely we could use your services back at Kotoko, we’ll have a lot to learn from you but I told him they had retired us.”
Ahmed, who was instrumental in Kotoko’s 2005 team and at a point captained the side, was also critical of the media for their role in discouraging old players to return to the game on the local scene.
“We can get a lot of them to return if the media stop being so critical and labeling them as old players who have passed their prime and can’t deliver. The media is always quick to forgive young players when they make mistakes during games but when an old player makes a mistake he is harshly and at times unjustifiably critiqued and not forgiven.”
On his part, Yusif Chibsah, also a former captain and respected figure in the Kotoko fraternity pointed out the dangers of alienating veterans from the game, saying that the practice deprived most young stars the opportunity of learning from the old stars.
“Most of these old stars I can confidently say have a lot of energy and football in their legs, yet we are quick to cast them aside and shut the door on them.”
Chibsah, said in his days what made them exceptional was the perfect blend of the old stars and the young stars, a model he said most clubs must consciously re-institute.
“I can’t begin to list the values we learnt from the old Stars on and off the field; playing with greats such as Emmanuel Ampiah, Joe Debrah and later Godwin Ablordey was valuable to our careers – their guidance, discipline and counsel is largely missing today and this is a matter of grave concern.”
He added that to build a formidable and competitive side, the right blend of experience and youth was required.
He recounted the experience of how former Asante Kotoko and Ghana International, Hamza Mohammed rescinded a decision to return to the GPL after an unpleasant experience when he was labeled an ‘old horse’ during a Heart vs. Olympics game , dissuading him from pursuing a return to the GPL as planned.
Currently in the GPL, top sides Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak have an average squad age between 18- 29 years with no known veterans currently attached to both sides.
Veterans currently active in the league include Berekum Chelsea’s duo Jordan Opoku (38 years) and Richard Kissi Boateng (32 years), Legon Cities goalkeeper Fatau Dauda (35 years), Liberty’s Ernest Papa Arko (36 years), Medeama midfielder Odoom Meshack (31 years) and Aduana forward Yahaya Mohammed (32 years).
Others such as Olympics pair, striker Emmanuel Clottey (32 years) and Goalkeeper Ernest Sowah (32 years) and King Faisal’s Daniel Nii Adjei (31 years) have recently been laid off by their respective sides.
In recent times, former Hearts players Wisdom Abbey and Eric Nyarko have declared a desire to return, but have cited disinterest from clubs and their labeling as old players as reasons for staying away.
Source: Ghanaian Times
Ghana Premier League leaders, Medeama SC, will welcome Karela United to the TnA Stadium in Tarkwa tomorrow, in a Matchday 20 game with the aim to stretch the lead.
Medeama SC, the 2022/23 champions, are aiming to win the title for the second time in their history and, rightly so, have opened a seven-point gap.
Coach Ibrahim Tanko and his charges have been at their marauding best both home and away, recording 40 points from 19 games.
They go into tomorrow’s game with high hopes of avenging the only defeat suffered this season, which came at the hands of Karela United.
For Karela, who are eighth on the table, a double over the leaders will help their push for a top-four finish this season.
Defending league champions and second-place team, Bibiani Gold Stars, will trek to the Berekum Golden City Park to play as guests of struggling Berekum Chelsea tomorrow, with sight set on closing the gap on the leaders.
The Baba Yara Sports Stadium will come alive as striker Albert Amoah leads his Asante Kotoko side to tackle Basake Holy Stars.
Asante Kotoko have lost three games this season including a painful 2-1 defeat to Holy Stars in the first-round tie.
In other games, the University of Ghana Stadium will today host the Eleven Wonders versus Accra Hearts of Oak match; the Swedru Stadium will host Swedru All Blacks FC and Aduana FC; the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem is venue for Bechem United and Heart of Lions; while the Hohoe Stadium play host to the Hohoe United and Vision FC clash; and the Nsenkyire Sports Arena hosting the Samartex FC versus Nations FC game.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
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It’s less than a week since the 2025 AFCON ended in Morocco.
For those that had the privilege to watch it via television, it may have gone into the competition’s annals as one of the best in terms of organisation.
But for the ‘yen bo biom’ (match abandonment) ‘excellently’ staged by the eventual winners, Senegal’s Terranga Lions, AFCON 2025 was beautifully staged and was incident free.
But in the social media age, it is extremely difficult to get every incident wrapped under a cover of darkness.
Videos showed a mix-up at the goal area of Senegal arising from a towel placed near the goal post by goalkeeper Mendy.
But almost a week after, two countries – eventual winners Senegal and Ghana, a non-participant, are still celebrating the gains from the championship.
Streets of Senegal have been filled with fans who wants to catch a glimpse of their heroes.
The victory marked the second time Senegal have been crowned AFCON champions, having won the competition for the first time in 2022.
Characteristic with teams’ success in Africa, they have been handsomely rewarded.
Senegal president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has announced that each member of the AFCON winning squad will be awarded a plot of land on the country’s coastline.
Additionally, each player will receive 75 million CFA francs ($134,000; £100,000).
In Ghana, FIFA Referee and Video Assistant Referee (VAR), Daniel Laryea, has become a cult hero with his encouraging performance, especially in the semifinal game between neighbours Nigeria and Morocco.
Last week, this column amply celebrated him and ordinarily, one would expect the focus to shift; and rightly so, the focus is actually not on him but referees of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) whose action, if not sanctioned, could ruin the gains and image credibility Laryea won for Ghana.
A number of clubs have been complaining recently about the state of officiating in the GPL as others threaten to boycott if the situation does not improve.
Kotoko was among the complainants after a decent goal in their game against Gold Stars was disallowed for a very funny reason.
An incident was also reported from Tema where a referee changed a decision to disallow a goal after watching a video of how the goal was scored on a Smart Phone of a fan.
Those reports, the success story of Daniel Laryea and a call by the Vice President of the Ghana Football Association, Mr Mark Addo on referees to aim higher has occasioned this opinion piece, to perhaps remind referees of their responsibilities in making the game attractive in Ghana and the duty of the FA to crack the whip on erring referees.
The FA Vice President, in presenting FIFA badges to 23 Ghanaian referees including Laryea for the 2026 football season, saying that, “I urge you (referees) to keep your heads high. There is a lot of expectation on you, and you must work hard to maintain the standards required”.
He continued: “Aspire for greatness and aim to become world-class referees. How you are perceived when your name comes up matters. Impartiality, fairness and top-class performance must always guide your work.”
In the face of what is happening, Addo’s call was appropriate and straight to the point.
Referees are vital cogs in the football ecosystem and their doing and undoing could make or unmake the efforts put in by a club. What can be more frustrating than a club scoring a genuine goal to be disallowed wrongly?
Many years ago when Asante Kotoko felt cheated and no one listen to them, they staged ‘ye bo biom’ which should not have a place in football. Senegal has just added an international dimension to it.
This is why the FA must sit up and check the names of referees which are becoming synonymous with undesirable officiating against some particular clubs.
By Andrew Nortey
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