Sports
Kudos, Referee Daniel Laryea
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Despite the absence of Ghana at the 2025 AFCON in Morocco, the country featured in conversations around the tournament from start to finish; or at least the semifinal stage.
Interestingly, not many of the countries that participated in the championship did enjoy that leverage.
Surfing either traditional, social or new media, Ghana’s name has featured prominently in several conversations, courtesy of an intense rivalry between Ghana and brothers, Nigeria.
This is because fans of the two countries have attempted to give reasons to support qualification or otherwise to AFCON.
Ghana’s failure to qualify for the AFCON was attributed to weakness, and the fact that the Black Stars have not been good enough.
Ghanaian fans, however, responded by placing bigger premium on the FIFA World Cup 2026 which Nigeria Super Eagles has failed to qualify.
So, for followers of the Black Stars, The World Cup is for the ‘big boys’, a category too strong for the Super Eagles.
This interesting ‘banter’ has dominated a few sports shows on both local and international networks with Ghanaians openly declaring support for opponents of the Super Eagles in the 2025 AFCON.
Personally, I asked a few for their reasons and the response was quite humorous. “If Nigeria wins the AFCON, Ghanaians would be dead on social media,” one said.
A Nigerian blogger also warned: “If Nigeria wins AFCON, Ghanaian soccer fans would run away from TikTok.”
At this point, one was forced to accept the social media war between soccer fans of Ghana and Naija.
A few Nigerian bloggers and content creators even reminded Ghanaian fans of their ‘brotherliness’ and the need to support each other as West Africans to keep the trophy in the face of the North African challenge.
Interestingly, the Ghana-Nigeria rivalry has transcended beyond sports and ventured into areas of hospitality where both countries are claiming to be better than the other as far as preparation of ‘jollof’ was concerned.
In an attempt to win over Ghanaian fans, a few bloggers posted videos admitting for the sake of peace, that Ghana ‘jollof’ was better.
But the protest by fans over the appointment of Ghana’s Daniel Laryea as the referee gave a new dimension to the relationship between the two sets of sporting rivals.
It started with concerns why a West African referee was appointed for such crucial tie between a West African nation and a North African opposition.
That subject changed to the assumption that since Ghanaian fans were against the Super Eagles, Referee Daniel Laryea could do their bidding by giving Nigeria a raw deal.
However, Daniel Laryea made the entire nation of Ghana proud with a solid performance in the match watched across the globe.
Many factors contributed to make the game a tensed one; host nation performing in front of thousands of home fans plus a hungry Nigerian side that was bent on causing the biggest upset of the competition.
Definitely, these circumstance could extend to affect the match officials. That notwithstanding, Daniel Laryea proved to the whole world he has what it takes to occupy the same office with some of the top referees in football.
He commanded discipline among the players; there was calm on both benches despite a few disagreement over decisions – but football is like that.
Every sincere fan that watched the game closely would admit that Daniel Laryea’s performance was one of the best in the competition and must be commended rather than condemned.
Clearly, Laryea settled the ‘jollof’ rivalry with a commanding display. What is left now is how the Black Stars keep the ‘jollof’ title delivered by Laryea in Ghana with a fine performance at the World Cup because the Nigerian fans would be following closer than they think.
By Andrew Nortey
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If there is a club Kumasi Asante Kotoko would want to avoid, definitely it would be Kpando Heart of Lions, and not Hearts of Oak.
Kotoko and Hearts have sold to soccer fans some of the electrifying football atmosphere to underline their age-long rivalry.
Despite their stature in Ghana football, however, the lions from Kpando have been the most difficult and toughest opponents for the Porcupine Warriors.
Clashes between Kotoko and Hearts have produced mixed outcomes. It remains one of the few games which outcomes can be very challenging to predict.
But the story with Heart of Lions is straightforward. It hands them the dominance card over Kotoko; making them favourites most of the time when they are paired together.
Tomorrow at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, the Porcupine Warriors would slug it out in their Matchday 2 encounter of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) with Heart of Lions.
Asante Kotoko and Heart of Lions have faced each other in 12 recorded official head-to-head matches, with Heart of Lions holding the upper hand.
They boast six wins, and two for Asante Kotoko, with the rest of the four ending in draws.
As recent as the last three years, Kotoko has been winless in their last six games, registering three draws with the Lions winning three.
This clearly suggests that the Porcupine Warriors would be engaged in another battle of their lives when they welcome Heart of Lions to the Baba Yara Stadium, a venue that has proven to be a comfortable hunting ground for the visitors.
Coming from a 1-1 draw against Debibi United on Matchday 1 and a Democracy Cup victory over Hearts of Oak, Kotoko must be ready to clip the claws of the deadly Lions if they hope to tame them to halt that trend.
The Bibiani Dun’s Park is also expected to be full of fireworks as GoldStars welcome Hearts of Oak.
It will be one that will draw the fans in the area as both sides prepare the game with different agenda. While Hearts emerged 4-0 conquerors of Berekum Chelsea in Accra, GoldStars suffered a 1-0 loss to Bechem United.
The quest to consolidate the week one gains or to bounce back from defeat would conspire to make the game a mouthwatering one.
Swedru All Blacks would also engage Debibi United at the Swedru Stadium while Berekum Chelsea lock horns with Dreams FC at the Golden City Park and Karela against Bechem United.
At the Aliu Mahama Stadium, Karela United will face Bechem United; Young Apostles versus Basake Holy Stars at the Wenchi Stadium while Aduana FC take on Sarmatex.
The round will commence today with a fierce tie between FC Ashantigold versus Vision FC.
By Andrew Nortey
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When the Greater Accra Region emerged winners of the 35th Inter-Regional Basic Schools Netball Competition at the University of Ghana, Legon, one name stood out above the celebrations: Miss Lilly Akutu Zotorvie, a young shooter from the rural community of Mangoase in the Ada West District.
The Junior High School student of Englishie-Kenya D/A Basic School was the tournament’s standout scorer, netting an astonishing 132 goals in five matches for Team Greater Accra.
That translates into an average of 26.4 goals per match, a remarkable scoring record that has attracted attention from spectators and netball enthusiasts at the competition.
For Miss Zotorvie, however, the impressive statistics tell only part of the story; behind the goals is the journey of a young girl from Mangoase, a community outside Ghana’s major sporting centres, whose talent was discovered at a local netball clinic and gradually nurtured into the regional school competition.
She was reportedly spotted by Mr Ebenezer Kisseh, a journalist and coach, who recognised her potential during a netball clinic.
What could have remained an ordinary community sporting activity instead became the beginning of a promising journey for the young player.
Her performance subsequently earned her an opportunity to compete in the Greater Accra Super Zonal Games, where she impressed enough to progress to the regional level.
At the 35th Inter-Regional Basic Schools Netball Competition, she converted that opportunity into an outstanding individual performance, combining precision, consistency and confidence in front of the post.
Her exploits have also brought renewed attention to the pool of sporting talent that exists in communities far from Ghana’s traditional sporting centres.
For a young player from Mangoase, the progression from a local netball clinic to representing Greater Accra at an inter-regional competition demonstrates the importance of early talent identification and sustained opportunities for development.
Miss Zutorvie’s emergence also presents a reminder that some of Ghana’s promising sporting talents might be found in schools and communities where access to structured training and competitive opportunities remains limited.
Now, after scoring 132 goals in five matches and helping Greater Accra claim the inter-regional title, the young shooter has given coaches, sports administrators and talent scouts another reason to look beyond the country’s major sporting centres.
As Greater Accra celebrates its victory, her performance is likely to remain one of the most memorable individual highlights of the competition – and perhaps the beginning of a much bigger sporting journey for the Ada youngster. -GNA
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