A heavyweight quartet of Africa’s biggest current and former football superstars, Didier Drogba, Mikel Obi, Sadio Mane and Achraf Hakimi, will support the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as Draw Assistants for the Final Draw of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023.

The Final Draw will take place at the breathtaking, brand-new Parc des Expositions venue in Abidjan on Thursday 12 October, as the build-up to the 34th edition of the biggest event on African soil reaches fever pitch.

The draw will start at 19h00 local time/GMT (21h00 CAT, 22h00 Cairo) and will be live on CAF TV (YouTube).

The Final Draw will be beamed in over 50 countries, with millions of viewers expected to tune in to the event on CAF’s Official YouTube channel, as well as across CAF’s Global TV partners. 

Ivorian icon Drogba, Cote d’Ivoire’s all-time top goal scorer with 65 goals in 105 internationals - including the country’s first-ever goal in the FIFA World Cup in 2006 - is the popular hometown hero amongst the stellar Draw Assistants. Drogba scored 11 goals in 24 AFCON games for the Elephants and helped Cote d’Ivoire to two AFCON cup finals in 2006 and 2012.

His former Chelsea teammate Mikel, a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winner with Nigeria and also a three-time AFCON bronze medallist with the Super Eagles, is another big name who will grace the occasion.

The irrepressible Sadio Mane, who scored the winning penalty as Senegal won their first TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations title in Cameroon in 2021, is a revered two-time CAF African Player of the Year who will grace the Final Draw stage in Abidjan. Mane is Senegal’s all-time leading scorer with 38 international goals and has scored eight goals in 18 AFCON games for the Teranga Lions.

Paris Saint Germain right back Hakimi, who was part of the Morocco team that made a historic run to the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final, adds North African star quality to the list of Draw Assistants.

Delegations and the coaches from each of the 24 participating nations, CAF legends, international media, CAF commercial partners, showbiz celebrities and African leaders will be in attendance for the much-anticipated Final Draw, which will well and truly kick-start the final stretch to what is shaping up to the best AFCON ever.

The Qualified Nations for the Final Draw:

Cote d’Ivoire (hosts), Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo DR, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia

CAF | Communication Department

In preparation for the upcoming friendly matches against Mexico and the United States of America, star boy Mohammed Kudus has joined the Black Stars camp.

Mohammed Kudus of West Ham United reported for duty on Wednesday morning and later participated in the evening training session alongside the rest of the squad.

Jerome Opoku, based in Turkey and playing for Süper Lig side İstanbul Başakşehir, also linked up with the team. Their arrivals bring the total number of players in camp to 21.

Ghana is gearing up to face the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Champions, Mexico, at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday, October 14, 2023. Subsequently, the Black Stars will go head-to-head with the United States of America on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tennessee.

The players engaged in their second training session at the Charlotte FC facility, demonstrating their commitment and readiness for the challenge.

Coach Chris Hughton is set to utilize these two matches as a vital assessment opportunity for his team, laying the groundwork for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers scheduled for the following.

footballghana

Former Ghana defender Samuel Inkoom will launch his football agency dubbed ‘S-Inkoom Football Management Agency’ on October 28, 2023 in Accra.

The former Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak star on Wednesday, October 11 called on the Youth and Sports Minister, Ussif Mustapha to officially invite him to the official launch of his agency this month.

Having accepted the invitation, Minister Mustapha Ussif praised Samuel Inkoom on his new career path.

“Former Black Stars, Asante Kotoko, and Accra Hearts of Oak defender, Samuel Inkoom, called on me at the office yesterday to officially invite me to the S-Inkoom Football Management Agency's official launch on the 28th of this month in Accra.

“I commended and urged him on for the good path he has chosen, which, without doubt, will bring his experience to bear, towards the development and promotion of football in our country,” the Sports Minister shared in a post on Facebook after the visit” he wrote on social media.

The defender parted ways with Hearts of Oak before the start of the 2023/24 season after barely one and half year spell with the giants.

Inkoom left Ghana for greener pastures in 2009 after assisting Asante Kotoko to a league title win.

The pacey right-back returned to Ghana in early 2022 after 13 years spell in abroad. He played for 11 clubs, including Swiss heavyweights Basel and FC Dnipro of Ukraine.

He was a member of Ghana's squad that won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt in 2009 before becoming a regular for the Black Stars.

The right-back was a member of the Black Stars squads for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, which were held in South Africa and Brazil, respectively.

footballghana

Mrs. Farida Alhassan Advises Young Swimmers

Mrs. Farida Alhassan, Treasurer of the Ghana Swimming Association (GSA) and a board member of Africa and World Aquatics has advised young Ghanaian swimmers to take their sport very serious as there are many opportunities coming up.

Speaking at the presentation of air tickets to Christian Nii Nortey Duah who is in Thailand under a scholarship of World Aquatics, she noted that with or without government or National Sports Authority (NSA) support, the Federation is doing its best to support young swimmers.

She urged them not to give up when the going gets tough, and be determined always to achieve greatness.

Mrs. Alhassan who is also Administrative Manager at the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) appealed to corporate Ghana to support the least financed sports disciplines like Swimming.

She said the trip of Duah would be very beneficial to him, his club Legon Sharks and the nation as he will get the best conditions to train and drop his times.

She advised Duah to train hard and obey instructions from coaches, as well as be a good Ambassador for Ghana, like Abeiku Jackson who is enjoying a similar opportunity.

Ghana was represented in Swimming at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Ghana coach Chris Hughton has invited Kingsley Schindler, Jerome Opoku, and Stephan Ambrosius to replace the injured players in the team ahead of the international friendlies.

Ghana is gearing up to face Mexico and the USA in the coming week as part of their preparations for the commencement of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Unfortunately, injuries have sidelined four of the 23 initially selected players, creating a need for swift adjustments to the team's composition. The affected players, Tariq Lamptey, Daniel Amartey, Alexander Djiku, and Osman Bukari, will not be able to participate in the upcoming friendlies against Mexico and the USA due to their injuries.

In response to these setbacks, Coach Chris Hughton has acted swiftly and summoned three additional players to replace the injured squad members. The call-ups have been extended to Kingsley Schindler, Jerome Opoku, and Stephan Ambrosius, who are expected to reinforce the team for the upcoming fixtures.

The first friendly match, featuring the Ghana national team against Mexico, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 14, 2023, marking a pivotal moment in their preparations for future competitions.

Players in camp

Goalkeepers

Richard Ofori, Abdul Manaf Nurudeen, Lawrence Ati-Zigi,

Defenders

Alidu Seidu, Kingsley Schindler, Nicholas Opoku, Stephan Ambrosius, Gideon Mensah, Joseph Aidoo

Midfielders

Edmund Addo, Thomas Partey, Elisha Owusu, Salis Abdul Samed

Wingers

Ernest Nuamah, Ransford Konigsdorffer, Jordan Ayew, Joseph Painstil,

Forward

Antoine Semenyo,   Inaki Williams, ,

The Black Stars of Ghana are training at the Charlotte FC training ground ahead of the international friendly game against Mexico on Saturday October 14, 2023.

Ghana is set to face Mexico  at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Following this match, they will compete against the United States of America on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Black Stars, four-time African champions, are using these two friendly encounters as part of their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

Head coach Chris Hughton, alongside his technical team, oversaw the team's first training session on Tuesday, which saw 19 players in attendance.

The training took place at the Charlotte FC training facility on Tuesday evening, laying the foundation for the team's preparations leading up to their first game against Mexico.

ghanasoccernet

SWAG Elections 2023 to be exciting and dicey

The 2023 Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Elections to vote and elect new officers into the leadership, management and administration of one the oldest sports associations in the world looks interesting and risky.

Polls Date

The date for the elections is October 21, 2023.

The Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) is a professional body in Ghana that includes as sports journalist, analysts, commentators and recognized sports associations in Ghana. The current numbers of affiliates are about 900, with about 550 active members in the Northern, Ashanti, Volta, Western, Brong Ahafo.  Eastern and Greater Accra Regions.

History of SWAG

SWAG was founded in 1968 with Joe Lartey as the first president and chalked many successes and faced many challenges, however they have the record of not breaking the annuals Awards ceremony to honour outstanding sportsmen and women for over 47 years.

SWAG has also organize educational programmes for members and more needs to be done especially in this era of social and new media.

The SWAG brand is big and very important for Ghana and African Sports, and the nation carries pride and respect as a member of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS).

So who ever wins must develop, transform and promote the values and ethics of sports journalism and prove loyalty to the august body.

Experience And Loyalty

Leading SWAG is all about service and sacrifice of energy and time.

As a former Deputy General Secretary with some experience to share, I quite remember carrying bottles at Ghana Guinness for our Awards Night.

Some executives put in their own financial support to ensure that a project or programme is done.

As we prepare for the elections we must salute those who dreamt and realized the Association and those who have held the fort and made sure SWAG lives on, because some Associations have come and collapsed like ASBOG,

Contests For 2023

At Elections 2023, three positions that are to be contested and have interesting persons contesting are the Vice President, Deputy General Secretary and two executive members.

Already President Kwabena Yeboah, General Secretary Charles Osei Asibey, Treasurer Owuraku Nsiah and Women’s Commissioner Mavis Amanor are going unopposed and should be congratulated in advance.

The Vice President’s position is very strategic and needs someone dynamic who can step in for the President at any time.

Experienced Maurice Quansah, Editor of Graphic Sports is very confident of retaining his position against female contender, Evelyn Nsiah Asare a football analyst and former board member of Asante Kotoko and Hasaacas Ladies.

The contest for the Deputy Secretary General position between Keneth Odeng Adade of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) and Joseph Mensah Oti-Asirifi, a management and administration expert is another dicey one as both candidates have the enthusiasm and passion to work for SWAG.

For the Executive Members, four people including female sports journalist Tilda Elinam Acolor who is Ghana Broadcasting Corporation sports journalist based in the Volta Region against Franklin Anane Gyimah, passionate Kyei Manu a freelance football writer who was once upon a time a member of Ashgold media team and ETV / Happy FM’s Augustine Kwabena Ohene-Bampoe Brenya, a member of the previous executive.

Zeal And Responsibility

For the zeal to come forward to seek for the responsibility to serve SWAG, these individuals have it and must be congratulated for coming forward.

The Elections Committee made up of Chairman Mr. Mawuko Afadzinu, Madam Gloria Commodore and Mr. Matthias Tiny also needs to be commended for work done so far.

We pray for a free fair and transparent election. Long live SWAG at 55 years.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Global music star, AKON, will host the Final Draw of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 on Thursday, 12 October 2023.

The Final Draw will start at 19h00 local time/GMT (21h00 CAT, 22h00 Cairo) at the breath-taking, brand-new Parc Des Expositions venue in Abidjan and be beamed live on CAF TV (YouTube).

The Senegalese hitmaker is a huge football fan and social activist whose ‘Akon Lighting Africa’ project seeks to use solar electricity to help African countries meet their basic electricity needs.

AKON’s hosting of the Final Draw, alongside Touré, adds even more star power to what is set to be a glitzy, glamorous, eagerly anticipated occasion, as the 24 qualified nations discover their group stage opponents.

The Final Draw will be beamed in over 50 countries, with millions of viewers expected to tune in to the event on CAF’s Official YouTube channel, as well as across CAF’s Global TV partners. 

The 34th edition of the biggest event on African soil takes place in Cote d’Ivoire from 13 January to 11 February 2024.

The Qualified Nations for the Final Draw:

Cote d’Ivoire (hosts), Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo DR, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia

CAF | Communication Department

Naa Ayele, a beautiful lady who has been regularly visiting the Bukom Boxing Arena to watch the Ghana Boxing League says there is no entertainment or any place to go have have fun that is why she loves to go to the Arena to while away time on Saturday evenings.

She said the place is not safe as it is free and people come from different places carrying dangerous gadgets and weapons which are not checked.

“In fact we are never safe at the Arena, but because we want to have fun and entertainment we go to watch the musicians who perform” she said.

“Please I want the Boxing Authorities to tighten the security, but I even surprised that the security men at times get angry and want to beat innocent people who have come just to have fun” she added.

Naa Ayele, a trader at Makola who lives at Korle Gonno noted that the Boxing League is a nice concept which must be well produced well programmed and well organised because she is a fan of Max TV and watch there Tenovela Series.

“We enjoy the programmes on Max TV because at times they show us on the TV, but we are not happy with the security arrangement and especially when we see that a boxer has lost and the next day the GBA President wants to change the results because his boxer lost. We all know boxing is sports and the results are win, lose or draw. I think the GBA President should not interfere with the verdicts and should allow the referees and judges to work” she expressed.

The Ghana Professional Boxing League has been attracting fans to the Bukom Boxing Arena every fortnight, and it is good for Sports Tourism.

By Sammy Heywood Okine 

WAKO President Roy Baker believes kickboxing is "destined" to appear at the Olympics ©Getty Images

World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) President Roy Baker said he believes the sport is "destined" to appear at the Olympic Games after missing out on a place at Los Angeles 2028.

The sport was one of nine in the frame to be proposed for the LA programme but baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash have been chosen by local organisers.

These sports are all set to be confirmed at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Mumbai which begins on Sunday (October 15).

As well as kickboxing, breaking, karate and motorsport have all missed out.

Kickboxing has never featured at the Olympics or Youth Olympics and Baker said that just being in the frame for Los Angeles was a reason to be positive.

WAKO was given full recognition by the IOC in 2021 and featured at the European Games in Poland this year.

"We were naturally disappointed not to be selected for LA28," he told insidethegames.

"However, we take immense pride and positive energy in the fact that kickboxing, being a relatively young Olympic sport, was shortlisted so quickly.

"This serves as a testament to the sport's evolution over the past 20 years, thanks to its growing participation levels and increased media presence on a global scale, alongside the growth of our national federations in every continent.

"They and my Board are always focused on delivering opportunities for our athletes who we exist for.

Kickboxing missed out on LA 2028 with breaking, karate and motorsport ©Getty Images

"In fact, the two-year process was a valuable learning experience for us, which will undoubtedly better prepare us for future opportunities."

Baker congratulated the successful sports and offered sympathies to the others which missed out.

"My team and I firmly believe that kickboxing is one of the most dynamic, exciting and modern combat sports in the world, destined to rightfully take its place at the Summer Games in the future," he added.

"In the meantime, our focus remains on the upcoming World Combat Games and the 2023 Kickboxing World Championships in Portugal this November, where over 1,600 kickboxers will converge in this biannual event.

"As a sport, we embody a positive mindset and an unwavering commitment to progress, always moving forward with enthusiasm and dedication.

"This is the true essence and spirit of kickboxing."

After choosing its five sports, LA 2028 chief executive Kathy Carter said they had put forward a "bold and balanced proposal that will energise the Games with culturally relevant competition and boundless possibility".

By Dan Palmer