Sports
What Nana Yaw Amponsah did to get Kotoko job
It has been revealed that former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Vice President, George Afriyie was considered for the Asante Kotoko Chief Executive Officer job.
However, the position went to Nana Yaw Amponsah because he impressed the Board of Directors during his interview. According to the spokesman of the Kotoko board, Kwadwo Boateng Genfi, the club shortlisted George Afriyie and Nana Yaw Amponsah for the position.Nana Yaw Amponsah was first to appear before the board and he was so impressive that they took a decision to cancel Afriyie’s interview.The 12-member board was convinced Nana Yaw Amponsah was the right man for the job, hence decided to hand him a three-year contract.”What happened was that we met a few people and shortlisted two people. But later, one of them didn’t show much interest but we had given them an appointment for an interview to be conducted on the same day: one in the morning, one in the afternoon.”Nana Yaw came in the morning and he was so impressive that even though Manhyia had tasked us to do more head-hunting, we felt that he was the one we were looking for,” he pointed out.”We fell in love with him at the interview; he was seriously and highly impressive. Even the presentation he did during the interview was such that we decided not to bother ourselves to call any more people for interviews in order not to waste our time and that of those individuals.”According to Mr Genfi the board voted unanimously in Mr Amponsah’s favour.”It was unanimous – 12-0 – everyone on the board voted for him. It was only the voting for the timing of the announcement that was 11-1 because one person voted against it,” he noted.”When we decided on Nana Yaw, I personally called the other person (George Afriyie) to inform him about it.”I spoke with him personally, and honestly I was so amazed at his level of confidence. He is a fantastic gentleman.””He knows the inside-out of the game and I think he would also have been good but when we interviewed Nana Yaw we were satisfied with his performance,” Mr Genfi stated.”So it wasn’t a matter of rejection. No. We needed only one person and after Nana Yaw’s interview we decided not to go any further,” he emphasised.-Ghanaweb
Ashantigold SC has terminated the contracts of three members of its technical team with immediate effect.
The affected officials are head coach and technical director Abdul Karim Zito, assistant coach Ernest Okyere, and goalkeepers’ trainer Robert Dabo.
The decision was announced in a statement signed by the club’s Chief Executive Officer, Edward Kwasi Akuoko.
According to the statement, the decision was taken following a consultative meeting by the Interim Management Committee on Monday, October 26, 2026.
The club says a caretaker coach has been appointed to steer the affairs of the team until a substantive coach/technical director is appointed.
Management expressed gratitude to the affected officials for their contribution and service to the team and wished them well in their future endeavours.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
England captain Harry Kane says it was extra special to be presented with the Ballon d’Or by one of his childhood idols.
Kane made the comment after receiving the prestigious award from former Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario.
“Ronaldo was one of my idols growing up,” Kane said.
The Bayern Munich striker described the moment as surreal, being honoured by a player he looked up to as a young footballer.
Kane was announced as the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner on Monday, October 26, at the London Palladium, marking the 70th anniversary of the award and the first time the ceremony was held outside France.
The 33-year-old beat stiff competition from second-placed Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal to win his first ever Ballon d’Or.
He becomes the first Englishman to win the coveted individual award in 25 years since Michael Owen in 2001, and only the fifth Englishman ever after Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen.
He is also the first Bayern Munich player to win the award since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.
Kane won the award after a remarkable season in which he scored 61 goals in 51 club matches, the most a Bayern player has ever scored in one campaign.
Including England matches, it was 73 goals plus eight assists in 65 matches. His 73 goals is the second-highest single-season total ever behind Lionel Messi’s 82 in 2011-12.
Despite the goal haul, Kane did not win the Champions League or World Cup, with Bayern losing 6-5 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals and England losing 2-1 to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final before finishing third.
The award was presented by Brazilian great Ronaldo Nazario, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner himself, adding what was described as a special dimension to Kane’s historic achievement.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
