Hot!
Hughton’s AFCON mission squad
• Hughton – Big task on hand
Last week, newly-appointed coach of the Black Stars, Christopher William Gerard Hughton, unveiled his squad for a Nations Cup double-header next week – leaving many generally satisfied.
Imperatively, the Hughton assembled about 90 per cent of the team that played in the Qatar 2022 World Cup tournament in line with the nation’s vision of consistency.
It is what the Ghanaian long-suffering disciple expected. It is in the right direction.
And, indeed, for the first time in a while, the thunders of disapproval that usually echoes such national team announcements, palpably appear reticent or hushed.
Whenever that happens, the coach would be having a feeling of satisfaction running through his veins.
Of course, many were thrilled seeing the likes of Majeed Ashimeru and Joseph Paintsil handed return call-ups.
The duo were stupendously rich in form last term, but despite their imposing outing with their club side, were side-lined from the World Cup, where Ghana failed to progress beyond the opening stages.
There was anger directed at the Ghana Football Association (GFA) after the disconcerting early exit, and Hughton – who was then serving as Technical Director of the team, may have weighed his options pretty well before storming out with his list.
The team, that includes player-of-the-moment – Mohammed Kudus, as well as Kamaldeen Sulemana, Salis Samed, Osman Bukari among other technically-gifted young talents, would have the first task of taking on the Black Antelopes of Angola at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Thursday, in the first leg encounter of the 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Four days later, the Stars would storm Luanda for the reverse fixture as the four-time champions furiously look to secure a place at next year’s AFCON – to be hosted by Cote d’Ivoire.
Though a formidable collection, many would have wished Hughton called up – one or two home-based players – at least for strategic reasons. Failing to invite a ‘local’ player as we called them, has some negative repercussion on the domestic front. It tells the world that our domestic league is so bereft of quality to the extent that we cannot have a single player good enough to don the national colours. Bad advertisement for the local game!
Indeed, it would be difficult to convince many that our league is so poor to produce just one player to contest for a position. Well, let us give the benefit of the doubt to Chris Hughton. After all, we reprimanded him to be his own man – not so?
Having said that, the 64-year-old experienced coach – who has handled respected English teams like Newcastle, Tottenham, Brighton & Hove Albion, is presently thinking about putting up a compelling performance over two legs – and eventually sealing off a place in Cote d’Ivoire, it would also not be out of place, to keep his eyes on the Holy Grail.
Ghana has been without the AFCON trophy for 41 years (the last one was clinched in Libya ‘82); this is the painful misery Hughton must continue to trumpet into the ears of his charges.
Come 2024, that stygian-silence-jinx must be broken – and this would come with meticulous planning, commitment, dedication and hardwork. And, it must take a concerted effort, too, from all stakeholders, to achieve that golden goal.
By John Vigah
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
