Sports
Let’s end the joke with sports
Identifying and writing about the problems bedeviling Ghana sports has become one hell of a task for a number of industry workers.
Talking or writing about them creates a feeling of laziness because one sounds monotonous or repetitive; this is because the problems or concerns expressed for the past years are same as those hunting us now.
And it looks as if no one cares about addressing these concerns and because they are seasonal, it is assumed that the noise will stop with time.
With writers and commentators, theytend to give up at the risk of being labeled political dogs hunting officials or a government in power; forgetting that those problems transcends respective governments.
This season of the Olympic Games has exposed us once again, bringing to the fore teething problems that must be addressed once and for all, and since it is about athletics, it has generated all the debate.
It is true Ghana presented one of the smallest teams at the festival because of qualification struggles, affecting psyche and morale of Ghanaians ahead of the competition.
However, there is every reason to be disappointed about the way our campaign ended, knowing that with the right preparations, the team could have done better.
The two swimmers exited after their respective first heats but Benjamin Azamati and Abdul-Rasheed Saminu momentarily made Ghanaians happy after placing second and third respectively in their heats.
In the subsequent heats, Azamati placed last (ninth) with Saminu ending in seventh position to end their campaigns in the Men 100m event.
The biggest heartbreak was the performance of Rose Amoaniwaa Yeboah in female high jump.
Talking of an athlete who joined the University of Illinois for the 2023/24 collegiate season and won the American National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) outdoor high jump national title with a 1.97m jump, her poor performance at the meet beats the imagination of many.
No wonder, report from the team’s camp suggested she was left broken.
That raises question marks about the kind of preparation athletes gets before participating in such championships.
This is an athlete that can easily be compared to the current kid on the block, Julien Alfred, from St Lucia who silenced the supposed ‘owners’ of female sprints.
From a country without athletics tracks and other equipment, she travelled to Jamaica on scholarship and continued to the States under similar circumstances as Amoaniwaa got the same platform and showed their skills.
What separates the two is the support for Julien from the state of St. Lucia and the non-existent support from Ghana for Amoaniwaa.
Julien travels around with a diplomatic passport and enjoys regular budgetary support from the tiny Saint Lucia island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean.
With this support, Julien is able to participate in some of the major championships around the world that allows her to compete with top athletes.
With this exposure, she will not crumble under the pressure of performing in front of the mammoth crowd that watched the athletics event at the Olympics.
The problem of Azamati and others who have performed under the flag of Ghana is not so different from Amoaniwaa’sfunding.
One thing has become limpidly clear is that these Ghanaian athletes that travel on scholarships perform at their optimum best when they are in school because they get the chance to participate in the NCAA championships.
They also get the chance to train with the best facilities and under some of the finest coaches around.
But all those privileges would cease the moment they graduate and have to keep their careers going on their own. In such instances, these athletes would have to start work to fend for themselves and in so doing, it begins to affect their performances.
At this crucial stages, what they need to stay competitive is a kind of support from the government, if indeedit considers sports as one of its priorities.
Politicians have spoken on sports as a tool for unity and a job creation avenue but over the years, it has proven to be a mere gimmick because they are just not committed to it.
Otherwise why would such pertinent problems rear the head at every international competition but nothing is done about it.
It beats one’s imagination when athletes even wait for longer periods to receive per diems for competitions. They don’t also get support as training allowances and are left on their own regarding participation in major championships.
In spite of this, Sports Ministers and government officialsmuster the moral right to urge them to win medals to raise the flag of Ghana.
How can these athletes perform to raise Ghana’s flaghigh on the world stage when some have to drive Uber and train in the afternoon or sell Ice Cream and hit the gym in the afternoon? It is time to sit up as a country and seek a better understanding of sports administration if indeed we want to reap the full benefits of it.
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.
