Sports
Kudos, Akpokavie, Okraku
Exactly a week today, the hard work of two sports personalities paid off in grand style as both begun new journeys in higher offices in their respective careers.
Mr Richard Kofi Akpokavie was voted into office as the new President of the Ghana Olympic Committee after a landslide victory over Michael Odum Aggrey at the Committee’s Elective Congress last Saturday.
It marked a return to mainstream administration of the GOC, having served as General Secretary in the last term of Prof. Francis Dodoo’s administration and the first term of Ben Nunoo Mensah’s tenure.
Few metres away from the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) where the Congress was held was the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City where Ghana Football Association (GFA) capo, Kurt Simeon-Okraku was appointed as 2nd Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Indeed, it was a reward for hard work having championed developmental projects in his homeland Ghana and the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Zone B.
Without doubt, this must be a period for every Ghanaian sports fanatic to be happy.
Going by the popular adage that, a prophet is not recognized in his own home, Okraku is on record to be one of the fiercely criticized FA presidents, being taken on failures with national teams, alleged corrupt practices and many others.
But as stated in an earlier piece, the position of the critics have clouded the little gains he has chalked like the development of academies, the improvement in women’s football and projects at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence (GSCE).
It can certainly not be true that the Ghana FA President is not doing anything right yet kept gaining international recognition. At least, the ‘Catch Them Young’ refereeing policy is one a lot of countries have eyed.
There may be something hidden the critics must find; but that is not to suggest he is a saint or a perfectionist.
Mr Akpokavie’s election will also breathe new life into the GOC, according to some of the delegates that were part of the process.
That optimism, perhaps may be coming from his strong resolve to empower women in the sector to rise up and occupy leadership positions, give athletes a voice on the GOC executive and Congress.
His biggest ambition has been the call for an introduction of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism in the administration of sports in the country to curb or reduce the number of sports cases at the traditional courts.
When this is made mandatory, it would force litigants to exhaust the dispute resolution options at the federations and the GOC, making the court option unattractive and the last option.
This is no doubt a way to go to make sports administration free of associated troubles that hinders its growth and development.
Akpokavie and Okraku have no doubt made Ghana proud but must also know that when the cheers die down, every step they take would be carefully scrutinised.
The new roles would come with new challenges but their ability to weather those storms is what would define their readiness to lead the new sports revolution
By Andrew Nortey
Sports
‘Black Stars not there yet’
After seeing Mali undone by Alexander Djiku’s second half strike to give Ghana a 1-0 victory over Mali on Monday in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Accra, Otto Addo gave his thoughts in the post-match press conference.
Below are excerpts.
On the game against Mali
You could see that we have a young squad and players who haven’t been playing often for the national team so far; that made them nervous. I think we got a good game.
We increased the pressure early in the second half, and managed to score out of a set piece. And then it was pure fight afterwards, especially the period after the goal.
On decision-making in the final third
I think if you have played before, you know that sometimes there’s a little bounce from the ball or the position is close and you think too much, I told them actually, but as a footballer, it’s normal that you try to look for a perfect solution.
Semenyo’s performance
He did really well, you know, it’s difficult to compare games from the Premier League with games in Africa and Ghana. It’s very, very difficult and then all games have their own nature and surely you can say that he stands more out in the Premier League, but for me today he was excellent, he fought until he couldn’t run anymore.
On Gideon Mensah
Well, I think sometimes he’s a little bit too confident and we had, especially after the Chad game, had some talks and for everyone who has played football on a higher level.
If he does it in La Liga, it’s fine because in La Liga, if you lose the ball to your opponent, he will counter-press you. He needs to simplify his game sometimes. Didn’t look too complicated, but it’s difficult sometimes if you’re coming from a different environment to switch your thinking.
On Kwasi Sibo’s performance
First of all, big congrats for him. I think he really did well. It’s not easy to come from a different environment to fit into the squad, but yeah, he knows a lot of players already in the team and he connected well. He’s very, very confident and I think he did extremely well, especially when you see that this was his first match. .
On Ghanaians being overly expectant
No, I think the expectations are normal. We are Ghana. For me, if everybody is talking before the Chad game that we already won and we are already taking the three points, it’s dangerous because if this gets to the heads of the fans, it’s a problem for me.
I’m warning everybody who think we have already gone to the World Cup to take things easy. It’s not like that. We have to give the same effort as today to beat Central African Republic. If we don’t do this, it’s a big problem. We have a lot of work to do. A lot of work. It’s going to be very, very difficult.
On goal scoring
You know, the last window, we scored eight goals. I think it was ok, but we can’t expect it all the time. So I hope that the players who missed the chances would score the next time. But it’s all about learning, improving and adapting always to the circumstances.
And I think in each situation, they could have taken one, two, three steps more or more time to look for the partner to have a better overview to give the right pass.
Sports
Black Queens Set to Face England Lionesses in International Friendly
The Black Queens will face the Lionesses of England in a high-profile international friendly on December 2,2025 per agreement between the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the England Football Association.
After reaching the semi-finals at the 2024 WAFCON, the Black Queens are determined to build on that performance and establish themselves among the elite teams on the continent.
This match comes off as part of Ghana’s preparations for all international assignments, including the 2026 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
The fixture against England, one of the world’s top-ranked sides and reigning European champions, is expected to provide the Queens with a tough test that will sharpen the squad.
Head coach Kim Lars Björkegren will also seize the golden opportunity to measure the team’s progress, expose the players to world-class opposition, and correct areas that need improvement.
The Black Queens will head into the encounter motivated to put up a strong performance, not only to test their readiness but also to showcase the strides Ghana continues to make in women’s football on the international stage.
