Sports
Numekevor’s dismissal …more questions than answers
Dodzie Numekevor
Sacking a person for obvious non-performance is an action that can be applauded by majority of people, maybe except members of the victim’s immediate family, dependents, beneficiaries and other close allies.
If it is obvious that the person is non-performing, why keep him/her there?
An example is when every opposition party in this country called for the immediate sack of then Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori Atta. So intense was this call that every negative thing was associated to him. Ghanaians were made to believe that his dismissal will return the country to the right path.
Government was lambasted on a daily basis until he was removed from office. But if one should ask what has changed, those that clamoured for his removal would not tell you much; his removal has come as some relief for them.
It however, becomes a bitter pill to swallow when circumstances around the sack is unclear like the case of the new Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Dr Dodzie Numekevor, whose dismissal on Tuesday came with more questions than answers.
His termination letter from the Office of the President left the sports publics confused because it was silent on reasons for the decision.
Well, in cases when reasons for dismissals are obvious, letters terminating such appointments often assign those reasons as personal.
However, that scheme also leaves doors and windows open for all manner of beliefs or assertions for such an action.
Within a period when the state of football infrastructure in Ghana has dominated the media space following comments by visiting coaches that played in Ghana recently, plus anger by CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, over the absence of at least one football facility to host international football, alluding the decision to the above mentioned problems, becomes an easy thing.
It can be right or otherwise.
Having occupied this office for just six months but becomes a sacrificial lamb for some years of decay supervised by his predecessors is just unfortunate for Dr Numekevor.
Even if he was expected to fix the major infrastructural challenges facing Ghana, he could not have done that within the stipulated time he had.
He inherited Accra, Cape Coast, Tamale and to some extent the Kumasi facility which were in terrible shapes and could do nothing much about them without funding.
It presupposes that the reasons for his sack may be more than Ghana not having one good facility to host a CAF Category 3 matches under his tenure.
Views like his supervision of the hiring of the Baba Yara Stadium – then the only ground with a CAF approval to host matches – for 10 days or so for a church programme have also been expressed and believed to be one of the reasons for his dismissal.
If it was so, then it was a grievous fault and grievously did Numekevor answered it, as captured in Mark Antony’s speech in the book Julius Caesar.
Sadly, Numekevor has suffered this fate for the inefficiencies of his predecessors who stayed in office for longer periods but did nothing worthy of note to avoid the problem we face as a nation.
And as a country, this should be the time to make a policy about the direction to go regarding playing surfaces which always become topical issues when the Black Stars are assembled and pushed back after that assignment.
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.
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