Mikel Arteta expressed satisfaction in providing young Ghanaian Charles Sagoe Jr an unexpected first-team opportunity during Arsenal's Carabao Cup victory against Brentford on Wednesday evening.

The Gunners secured a 1-0 win, with Reiss Nelson scoring the decisive goal, earning them a fourth-round clash against West Ham.

Arteta opted for a significantly altered Arsenal lineup, resting key players such as Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, and William Saliba from the starting XI.

Sagoe Jr, a product of the academy, was thrust into the front three alongside Nelson and Eddie Nketiah. Arteta acknowledged this as a reward for the 19-year-old's consistent performances in the youth teams in recent times.

“Obviously the context of the situation with a lot of injured players helped that possibility. But every time we can we have to look in our academy and give chances,” Arteta told a post-match press conference.

“Chaz was probably one of the most consistent players we’ve had in the under-23s for a few months.

“He’s been training with us quite a lot and it’s about giving opportunities to people and if we don’t give it today, when are we going to give opportunities to our youngsters?

“I’m really happy that he had a good experience.”

FootballGhana

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall in the capital will be the venue and action spot on Saturday, September 30 for the grand finals of the Regional Championship of the HD+ Kids Armwrestling Championship.

The time to have the *#FeeliFeeli experience is happening live and students and parents can never miss.

The news that Ghana will host the World Armwrestling Championship in 2024 has escalated the feelings to different degrees and levels as this competition will also serve as a curtain raiser to bigger experiences in the coming season.

The Ghana Armwrestling Federation (GAF) has been very explosive in its activities in the schools and security services like Ghana Police and Ghana Immigration.

Thanks to SES HD Plus, Twellium Industries, GNTV Junior, T. T. Brothers, Joy Prime, Asempa FM, 442GH, Happy FM, Woezor TV, Ghana Education Service, GHOne TV, Wadada Ventures and the entire media who have supported the dynamic leadership of the Federation.

Mr. Charles Osei Asibey, President of the Ghana Armwrestling Federation who triples as African President and World Vice President wants to prove that it can be done, so he deserves to be supported and encouraged.

He is Vice President of the Ghana Athletics and Secretary General of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG).

The HD+ Kids competition hopes to attract a bigger crowd than last year, because the gospel of Armwrestling is spreading and Saturday’s proceedings at the GNAT Hall will be *Live on GTV Sports+ and Ghana Armwrestling Facebook Page*.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Former world champ, Isaac 'Royal Storm' Dogboe  has disclosed his next bout which will be in Manchester, UK on November 18 in a WBC featherweight title eliminator.

"My next fight is on November 18th 2023. The fight will take place in Manchester, United Kingdom for WBC featherweight eliminator. This will be my first professional fight on British soil," Dogboe shared on social media after meeting his sponsor in the USA.

From Sammy Heywood Okine

The playing body of the Ghana Table Tennis Association has called for an immediate retainment of their President Mawuko Afadzinu.

According to them they were not aware of any meeting whatsoever and do not even know majority of the concerned group.

How can people who have not step foot in table tennis event both here in Ghana come and dictate for us. Majority of the Concern groups, we the playing body, from Cadet, juniors and the senior division do not even know them or who they represent.

How can a Regional chairman who have been in power for twelve good years without a single tournament, with a zero support since they took over as regional chairman even before Mawuko attained his presidential seat decide for we the players who should be our president.

Some of the regional chairmen do not even have contacts of their own Regional players let alone knowing them. They cannot boast of a single table tennis centre in their region. Yet are holding a meeting to take over a national position.

We the playing body want those men to tell us what exactly they have done for the game. What transformation they have done in their various regions and they want to dictate for us.

Some have not even been able to manage their table tennis clubs as patrons for the past four years but want to be a national executive.

The Game is developing and we would not allow selfish greedy unknown persons to come and dictate for us.

President Mawuko is still our president. Anyone that wants to be president should come out and tell us what they have done for the growth of our lovely sport.

From the playing body (GTTA)

WISA Award winner, Bernice Borquaye of the Ghana Navy has appealed to the Table Tennis Association to allow them to take part in international games so that they can improve or keep TTY their form and also get high ranking or be seeded at tournaments.

She said her recent experience in Tunisia has taught her many things, when she hopes to use to improve her game.

According to Borquaye, Team Ghana was ranked 20th, but at the tough competition, they were able to place 9th, to prove that they are better than how they were ranked.

She expressed that more and frequency of participation of international tournaments can improve the standard of the game.

She commended her colleagues in the female squad of the Black Loopers and urged them to train hard to move to the top five ranking on the African continent.

On the Women In Sports Association WISA Award, she thanked the organisers for the recognition and hoped that it would motivate her to win more on the local and international scene.

She said Table Tennis has made her popular at home and her work place, and she is not turning back, after regaining her position in the national team.

"We have good players in Ghana, but we lack so many things, so it's good the African body wants to help some players" she said.

She thanked her husband and family for the support and motivation to keep on playing.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Judoka Evelyn Dzato Happy To Receive WISA Award

16 year old student of Accra Girls SHS, Evelyn Dzato was among the 32 recipients of the 2023 Women In Sports Association (WISA) Achievers Awards.

She was honored for winning the West African Judo Championship in Cote D Ivoire and Niger. She has taken part in other tournaments in Europe.

Her ambition is to participate at big competitions like the 2023 African Games and 2024 Olympic Games.

She loves medals and she will do everything to get to the medals zone in all competitions.

She has the full support of her parents and her school to do sports and she is excelling both academically and sports wise.

Evelyn encourages other girls to join her in sports as there are so many disciplines to choose from, like athletes, boxing, basketball, football, chess, volleyball, breaking, tennis, handball, weightlifting, table tennis, kickboxing and others.

She thanked the Ghana Judo Association, Ghana Olympic Committee Admin Manager, Mrs Farida Alhassan, WOSPAG, WISA and the President Madam Gloria Commodore and all her executive members for their good deeds.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

The Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”) has awarded the Africa Cup of Nations (“AFCON”) 2025 to Morocco and the AFCON 2027 to Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

In awarding the AFCON 2025 and the AFCON 2027, CAF took into account the extensive Reports of the Independent Assessment Committees which visited and assessed the Bidding Countries.

The Independent Assessment Committee for AFCON 2025 was Roland Berger and PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”) was the Independent Assessment Committee for AFCON 2027.

The President of CAF Dr Patrice Motsepe said: “The CAF Executive Committee ("EXCO”) was impressed by the quality of the presentations by the Bidding Countries and the Reports of Roland Berger and PWC. We want to congratulate Morocco and Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and we are confident that they will fulfil the very high standards that we have set for hosting a successful and world-class AFCON Competition. I am also pleased that our commitment to enable each of the 6 CAF Zonal Unions to host the AFCON Competition is being implemented by the AFCON 2027 being awarded to Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda which are part of the CECAFA Zone. This Zone last hosted the AFCON Competition in 1976 when it was awarded to Ethiopia.”

The CAF Secretariat led by Mr Véron Mosengo-Omba will be visiting Morocco and Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to discuss and ensure that the commitments and undertakings that were made by the AFCON hosting Countries are being adhered to.

CAF | Communication Department

Some Table Tennis fans, players and coaches have called for the retention of Mr. Mawuko Afadzinu as President of the Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTTA).

According to them the reign of Mr. Afadzinu has improved the level and standard of the game in Ghana, as the national was able to host an international tournament involving West African countries and it exposed most of the junior stars.

The players most of whom in the national team said Mr. Mawuko Afadzinu has been able to work his way for Ghana to be appointed at the international level, apart from his enviable position as First Vice President of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC).

They said those calling for his removal have not organized or taken part in any Table Tennis event for years, and are not recognized.

The founder of Asoba Table Tennis Foundation also told Yours Truly some people just want to tarnish the reputation of Mr. Afadzinu, but it will not work because the man is doing well as a sports administrator.

He expressed that Mr. Afadzinu linked some junior players to benefit from training programmes with the African Table Tennis Confederation and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

One sports journalist who was interview on the work of Mr. Mawuko Afadzinu said “I think he is trying, he is a good administration, and his PR is nice. Look at the number of sponsors who supported the West African Championship, we were even given coupons for food, I was priviledged”.

Another media practitioner said Ghanaians do not like good things, and felt Mr. Afadzinu has done well for the association, especially attracting sponsors to the game and has good media / public relations.

When Yours Truly met Mr. Afadzinu, he said he is not saying anything but there is a roadmap to the elections later in the year, and the good people in the game knows what he has done.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Wisdom Boxing Promotions, in collaboration with Maja Media, is proud to announce the launch of Nshona Rave - an exciting celebration of sports and entertainment that will rock the Bukom Boxing Arena on Friday, December 22nd, 2023. Get ready for a night of heart-pounding boxing action, thrilling music, dance performances, and delicious food.

Nshona Rave is poised to redefine the boxing industry in Ghana, setting new standards and captivating audiences like never before. With an impressive lineup of world-class fighters, this event promises to display the very best of professional boxing alongside a fusion of top Ghanaian creative talent.

While the headline artists and main event fighters for the boxing tournament are under wraps for now, expect nothing short of greatness! Mark your calendars and join us for an unforgettable experience at Nshona Rave. For more information and to catch the latest updates, follow Wisdom Boxing Promotions on social media.

Get ready to witness history in the making at Nshona Rave!

#NshonaRave #SportsAndEntertainment #WisdomBoxingPromotions #NshonaEnergy #MakeNoise #FightNight #GhanaDecember

For sponsorship and further inquiries:

Call:  0245152765

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Mr. Jeffrey Taylor, President of the Ghana Mixed Martial Arts Association says he wants Ghana to host a memorable and historic classic event at the 13th African Games, and called on all stakeholders, especially the Ghana Mixed Martial Arts Federation (GHAMMAF) to come together for a successful organisation.

According to him, the Association has been sanctioned by the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) to stage the African Games, however they want to involve all combat sports to create the large coverage and mileage.

Speaking at a Press Conference on Wednesday, Mr. Jeff Taylor said he wants everyone who is engaged in MMA to be part of the organization and the making of history as they prepare for an Olympic Games appearance.

Mr. Kwab Asamoah, the Vice President of the Association said they aspire to unite all the fronts of the combat sports like Boxing, Kickboxing, Karate Do, Judo and so that they know the best who can represent Ghana at the Games.

He noted that they are not a threat to any Federation or Association but offering opportunity for the youth to develop and promote the least financed and lesser known sports.

"We are planning on camping, sponsorship, cohesion, media attention and public appeal" he emphasized.

USA based Mr. Steven Richmond promised to support the organization of the Games with a cage which will soon land in Ghana.

"We need a professional settings and good amateur performance" he said.

Coach Ezekiel Dodoo assured that Ghana has very strong and talented fighters who can win gold.

Derek Macaire, an experienced official said the men on the ground are prepared to work.

National Boxing Coach Lartekwei Lartey, a trainer at the Fit Square Gym said the fighters are ready to face Africa.

"We have the men, we are only waiting for the bell to sound and the referee to say "fight".

The 13th African Games was supposed to be held this year, 2023 but has been shifted to March 2024.

By Sammy Heywood Okine