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
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
