Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko will seek to bounce back from last week’s defeats when they take on their respective opponents in week 18 of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) games this weekend.

Hearts will trek to the Hohoe Sports Stadium to play as guests of new boys, Hohoe United, today, while Asante Kotoko stay at the Baba Yara Stadium to welcome relegation-threatened Berekum Chelsea.

After a goalless game in their first-round fixture, the Hearts and Hohoe United clash presents a fine opportunity for either side to earn the bragging rights over the other.

For Kotoko, their game against Berekum Chelsea on paper looks relatively easier, with the latter struggling to find their feet in the league this season.

Fourth-placed Aduana FC will look to appease their fans with a win when they take on seventh-placed Karela United at the Nana Agyeman Badu I Park in Dormaa.

The Ogya boys suffered a shocking 1-0 home defeat to Vision FC last week, one that plunged the town of Dormaa in silence.

Romanian tactician, Cioaba Aristica, believes his Aduana side has no excuse not to secure the three points tomorrow, as any other result will jeopardise their title aspirations. 

After brushing aside Asante Kotoko at home last Sunday, Swedru All Blacks will look to add visiting Nations FC to their growing list of casualties when they cross swords at the Swedru Stadium tomorrow.

In other games, defending league champions, Bibiani Gold Stars SC, will travel to the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park to face troubled Bechem United in a must-win game for the latter.

Fresh from their 1-0 victory over Hearts of Oak last week, league leaders, Medeama SC, will hope to keep the winning momentum when they welcome Young Apostles to the TnA Stadium.

Bechem sits a point above the relegation zone, having lost eight games, drawn four, and won five, while the visitors are coming into the game with 10 wins, two draws, and five losses.

The Nsenkyire Sports Arena in Samreboi will come alive when home side Samartex FC welcomes Vision FC while Kpando Heart of Lions engage Dreams FC at the Tuba Astro Turf.

BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY

But for the qualification of the Black Stars to the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, the year 2025 would have passed as an incredible one for the least-financed group of sports federations.

It demonstrates why football is considered the biggest sport globally. It attracts the attention of all, including active players or followers of the rivaled disciplines.

So, even when some of these least-financed disciplines were battling hard at several platforms to win medals to boost Ghana’s image on the international sports map, the greater focus was on the qualifiers for the football showpiece.

It may be considered unfair in certain quarters but such is the weight of the sport that potentially gather 100,000 followers together at one place if there is a facility to accommodate them.

That, notwithstanding the achievement of the other disciplines cannot also be swept under the carpet. They must be given the recognition they deserve.

Apart from the World Cup qualification, sports disciplines like armwrestling, badminton, taekwondo, athletics, table tennis and amateur boxing also distinguished themselves in the year under review.

Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) President, Richard Akpokavie, described it in the committee’s end-of-year statement as “a period marked by significant strides and memorable achievements across the breadth of our national sports landscape.”

Under the period, Ghanaian athletes excelled in various championships including the first Africa School Games and the African Youth Games, WAFU Zone B championships for the various age groupings, badminton championships, and others.

Perhaps, the Ghana Olympic Committee’s (GOC) planned launch of a new four-year strategic plan designed to professionalise structures and enhance governance that will build on the success achieved this year.

For the sport of professional boxing, the year 2025 represents one of the most difficult ones with tough challenges that left them with a long journey to navigate.

Few months after a Nigerian boxer died in a Ghanaian ring, another shocking death was recorded.

Ernest Akushey passed on barely two weeks after a fight, throwing the entire boxing fraternity into confusion over the cause of death.

That obviously provided the grounds for which a legitimate management board of the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) was put aside, giving way to an interim body that was to end its work in December.

All that said and done, the focus in the New Year must be on what to do to write the wrongs of the past year to make sports better.

Obviously, the Black Stars preparation and participation at the World Cup would be high on the sector’s agenda, knowing the goodies we stand to gain as a nation.

The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Senior Athletics Championships is another major championship that would attract athletes from the entire continent of Africa.

The Black Queens would also be engaged in the next AFCON in Morocco.

As usual, it would be another busy year for sports but the approach must switch from mere participation to winning laurels to make Ghana great again.

By Andrew Nortey