The Black Queens of Ghana have left the shores of the country for their 2024 Olympic Games qualifier game against Guinea on Friday, July 14.

The team opened their training camp at the Accra Sports Stadium and held its final training session on Monday ahead of their departure with 21 players completing the full session.

The team is expected to be in Conakry later on Tuesday where they will continue their preparations ahead of the first-leg encounter on Friday.

Nora Hauptle, who is the head coach of the Black Queens has named 24 players travelling to Guinea for the fixture.

Here is the full squad called up by the head coach:

footballghana

Ghana’s Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif has entreated national team players to exhibit the spirit of nationalism and patriotism whenever they get the opportunity to represent the country.

The statement was made during the GFA 29th Ordinary Congress on Monday, July 10, 2023, at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Sciences and Technology (KNUST).

The various national teams have failed to deliver at major tournament in recent times. Both the Black Stars and Black Meteors were unable to progress from the group in their last tournament whiles the Black Satellites are on the verge of exiting the WAFU B Cup of Nations at group stage after picking just a point in two games.

Speaking at the Congress, the Sports Minister asserted he finds it difficult to comprehend why the national teams are unable to perform despite the state providing the necessary resources to the teams.

“The management of our national team is a solemn responsibility entrusted to the Ghana Football Association. This trust comes with obligation to account to the people of Ghana for our stewardship, transparency in all transaction, memorandum of understanding, sponsorship packages, agreement entered into both foreign and local is paramount.

“The National Teams will continue to receive support from the state, and it is our duty to ensure that all resources are fully accounted for, satisfying the expectations of Ghanaians and also, it is the responsibility of the players and the technical team to exhibit the spirit of nationalism and patriotism whenever they get the opportunity to represent our country," he said.

“In all the effort the FA is making to develop the grass root football, let me hasten to add that we should include in our development process the spirit of nationalism and patriotism among our players because I find it very difficult to comprehend that the state will make all the resources available and then, when these players gets to tournament, instead of focusing on the tournament, the focus is now on their bonuses, meanwhile they are being paid per diem. It is time for our national team players to value the flag that they represent, the flag of our country and the flag of our nation”

footballghana

Nigeria emerge Champions of 2023 African Zone 3 U21 Nations Championship

Nigeria defeated Ghana to lift the women’s trophy at the ongoing 2023 African U21 Nations Volleyball Championship Zone 3 in Niamey, Niger Republic on Sunday.

Team Nigeria went through the entire tournament without dropping a single set to be crowned champions while beating Ghana twice in the mix.

The girls eased past local rivals Ghana in their first match of the tournament with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-8) win. They continued their winning run in their second match against hosts Niger, winning 3-0 (25-4, 25-11, 25-4).

Coach Rakiya Mohammed’s team swept aside Benin Republic with a dominant display in their third match, claiming a 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-9) win to secure a rematch against Ghana in the final.

The final was one-sided like the previous meeting between both sides as Team Nigeria prevailed with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-10) win to secure the title in Niger. Nigeria’s Aliyat Usman was voted MVP of the Match.

Head coach of Nigeria U21 women’s team, Rakiya Mohammed expressed her happiness over the victory of the team.

“I am the happiest coach on earth today because this is the first time Nigeria is picking a trophy in the under aged championship so I feel so happy. The Ghanaians came all out to play the Nigerian team but the girls showed them that Khaki no be leather.

That’s how we played and defeated them and we’ve lifted the trophy and we are taking it back to Nigeria and also we’ve qualified for the world championship in Thailand”, an elated Mohammed expressed.

“I told them that Ghana played us first, and the second time that we are meeting, it’s going to be difficult. They’re going to push, so we should push more than the first time we played them, and that is exactly what the girls did.

Both in defence, in attack, in blocks and in service, Nigerian girls were wonderful” remarked Nigeria’s U21 volleyball coach.

Source Nigeria Volleyball

Ghana won a total of 24 medals in the track and field events at the recently held Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) II Senior Championship at the Stade de Kegue in Lome, Togo.

At the end of the championship, Ghana won 14 gold, eight silver, and two bronze medals.

They were among the top performers at the championship, which included countries like Liberia, Benin, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Niger, Ivory Coast, and many others.

Ghana’s female quartet ran a time of 46.08 to win gold in the 4×100 finals, while their male counterparts in the 4×100 metres won silver with a time of 39.71 seconds.

Team Ghana also dominated the 100-metre dash final after Barnabas Aggerh and Sarfo Ansah came 1st and 2nd, respectively, with times of 10.40s and 10.49s.

Ghana was very dominant in long distance after Ishmeal Arthur, Bassit Afful, and Aziz Mohammed won gold in the men’s 10,000m, 5000m, and 1500m races, respectively.

Noami Addo also won gold in the women’s 5000-metre race.

The field events saw Ghana chalk up some success as Benjamin Nimo placed second in the men’s javelin, while Aba Sam also won silver in the women’s long jump with a Personal Best (PB) of 5.88m.

Team Ghana’s success at the CAA Senior Championship would serve as a great morale booster ahead of the African Games to be held in Ghana next March.

Source NewsGhana

WBO Africa Lightweight Champion, Sheriff Quaye on Saturday night gave a good account of himself as he beat Bright Ayala by an eighth round TKO at the Golden Beach Resort to retain his belt.

The Swavy Blu Promotions package saw 15 exciting bouts that fans enjoyed.

Sheriff Quaye who is now 15th ranked by the WBO said he was happy to win and will work hard to get into the top ten.

Coach Carl Lokko of Bronx Gym was also elated for the stoppage. He thanked all who supported them.

In the undercards, Emmanuel Quartey defeated Bernard Adzewoda in a 143lbs weight class contest, while marvelous Moses Adjei Selvi won against Sampson Quaye in a 125lbs contest.

Isaac Taylor lost to David Nortey in a 126lbs fray, as Nana Tetteh could not stand Stephen Cofie in a 138lbs bout.

Nii Larbie Ashitey beat Jones Quarshie in a 178lbs encounter, while Nigerian Samson Solomon beat Kofi Raymond Ansah in a 149lbs fight and Moubi Sarouna also fell to Felix Ajom in a 133lbs clash.

Stanley Nyantekyi beat Albert Armah in a 129lbs contest, while Issifu Salifu won over Amadu Seidu and Enoch Lamptey beat Tackie Annan in a 143lbs fray.

Ishmael Tetteh lost to Prince Tetteh in a 163lbs contest, Isaac Aryee was too much for Henry Ashie in a 150lbs fray and West African Champion, Jacob Tetteh Laryea beat Bernad Tagoe in a 150lbs contest.

Ghana National Heavyweight Champion, Osmanu Haruna (278.30lbs) won against Aduko Nsor (192lbs) in their Cruiserweight contest.

The Boxing night was supported by Dezone Beach Resort, Dreams Inn Hotel, Friendly Mall and the Golden Beach Resort, with the main partner, Bronx Boxing Gym / Promotions.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

A team of Executives from the Ghana Adaptive Boxing Federation (Para‐Boxing, Ghana) led by  Mr. Collins Kofi Zoiku (Founder), Mr. Abubakar Samba (President) and Mr. Musah Toloba (2nd Vice President) paid a courtesy call to the President of National Paralympic Committee of Ghana (NPC‐Ghana) Mr. Samson Deen and his team on 6th July, 2023. The meeting was to formally request for Recognition and Affiliation to the NPC‐Ghana, the Supreme governing body of all sports concerning persons with disability in Ghana.

Ghana Adaptive Boxing Federation is a newly formed governing body for the sport of Para‐Boxing in Ghana. The Federation is committed to developing Para‐Boxing as a national sport, from the recreational to elite level, supporting establishment of regulation and best practices. The body serves as a democratic hub for national Para‐Boxing gyms, clubs and supports the growth of regulation and sport safety in the country by providing rules, regulations and governance, structured progression pathways, educational systems and licensing, which are developed democratically through the Federation’s elected board, expert committees and member platforms.

This process is a pathway towards promoting Adaptive Boxing into becoming a recognized Paralympic sport whose ultimate objective is the same as highest formal recognition possible for any sport. Recognition is even more critical for the safeguarding of Para‐Boxing’s participants worldwide. The challenges for Para‐Boxing are great, but so are the opportunities, and the sport should have no lesser ambition.

The ultimate goal for any disabled sportsperson is to represent their country in in international competitions of the Paralympics is not an exception. However, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) says wheelchair boxing can only be considered for Paralympic participation if it meets the right criteria. "I'm interested to see what it has to offer," said Craig Spence, Director of communications at the IPC.

WHAT IS PARA‐BOXING / WHEELCHAIR BOXING?

Adaptive sports provide a platform for athletes with disabilities to perform at the highest level. Out of this, the idea of Para and, or Wheelchair Boxing was nurtured. Para or Wheelchair boxing is an adaptation of BOXING for the physical challenged athletes. It is not merely for recreation but also added advantage of health benefits, harnessing of experiences through competitions and participations in elite platforms, financial gains through winnings and sponsorships, leading to a more competitive environment and athletes wanting to achieve the highest levels of performance and skills, as defined according to Physiopedia.

The main world governing body is the International Adaptive Boxing Federation (IABF); founded in Canada by Aaron Kinch (Canada), Collins Kofi Zoiku (Ghana), Kanika Chaudhary (India), Joost Van de Lee (Netherlands), Olando Farias Perez (Argentina), Abel Al Rahman Salameh (Jordan) and Ben Griffin (USA).

Para‐Boxing is the world’s fastest growing Parasport with an estimated 2.3 million followers across the globe. It has a modern classification system that recommends pairing of physical challenged athletes on an even playing field seated in special wheelchairs with wide range of wheelchair belts, lap belts, and support straps to enable versatile, abdominal support, and also securing the legs around the thighs or calves for more intense maneuvering in the ring.

The Rules of the game are similar to that of mainstream boxing. The competitors are classified according to the levels of their disabilities and can compete in 6 different weight categories. The system also adopts a point scoring system that measures the number of landed clean blows devoid of causing physical damage to competitors. Bouts consist of three rounds of two minutes in every round, and each with a one‐minute interval between rounds.

As adopted from the main stream AIBA Olympics rules, Competitors wear protective headgear and gloves with a white strip or circle across the knuckle. The white end is just a way to make it easier for judges to score clean hit or punch. A punch is considered a scoring punch only when the boxers connect with the white portion of the gloves. Each punch that lands cleanly on the head or the upper body (preferably, chest area) with sufficient force is awarded a point.

A referee monitors the fight to ensure that competitors use only legal blows. Referees also ensure that the boxers don't use holding tactics to prevent the opponent from swinging. If this occurs, the referee separates the opponents and orders them to continue boxing. Repeated holding can result in a boxer being penalized or ultimately disqualified. Referees will stop the bout if a boxer is seriously injured, if one boxer is significantly dominating the other or if the score is severely imbalanced.

REACTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF AFRICAN PARALYMPICS COMMITTEE (AFPC)

Mr. Samson Deen, President of National Paralympic Committee of Ghana (NPC-Ghana) and President of African Paralympics Committee (AFPC) expressed his pleasure at receiving delegation of the Ghana Adaptive Boxing Federation (Para‐Boxing) in his office.

“Beyond physical well‐being, sport can play an important role for a safer, more prosperous and more peaceful society through its educational values, sport can help bridge cultural and ethnic divides, create jobs and businesses, promote tolerance and non‐discrimination, reinforce social integration, and advocate healthy lifestyles. Through sports development, we can achieve wider human development goals. I want to assure you that, National Paralympic Committee of Ghana (NPC‐Ghana) and the African Paralympic Committee (AfPC) will give you any support you may need to develop the sport across Africa”, the President said his address

Source Ghana Adaptive Boxing Federation

Team Ghana at Paris 2023 WPA World Championship Opening ceremony

… encourages African Governments to partner with their National Football Associations to improve and develop football infrastructure in their countries

The CAF Executive Committee has visited and held its meeting in the newly built headquarters of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (“FRMF”) in Rabat.

CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe said: “We would like to congratulate the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football and our Brother Fouzi Lekjaa for their world class headquarters. We would also like to express our gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Government and people of Morocco. The excellent headquarters that we visited today and the world class stadiums and football infrastructure in Morocco are good examples of the success and accomplishments that can be achieved through partnerships between our African Governments and our National Football Associations.”

The Executive Committee appointed the following new members to the CAF Referees’ Committee:

-      The President is Mr Hugues Alain Adjoyi from Benin and the Vice-President is Mr Victor Gomes from South Africa.

-      The other members are:

o  Mrs Fatou Gaye from Senegal

o  Mr Dombouya Aboubacar from Guinea

o  Mr Ali Mohammed Ahmed from Somalia

o  Mrs Tesfanesh Woreta from Ethiopia

o  Mr Djamel Haimoudi from Algeria

o  Mr Hadqa Yahya from Morocco

o  Mr Olivier Safari Kabene from Democratic Republic of Congo

o  Mr Louzaya René Daniel from Congo

o  Mr Inacio Candido from Angola

o  Mrs Gladys Lengwe from Zambia

o  Mr Aminu Shantali Shuaibu from Nigeria

President Motsepe added: “The integrity, independence and credibility of referees, match commissioners and VAR operators is crucial for the respect and growth of African football and we are confident that the newly appointed CAF Referees’ Committee members will contribute towards the growth and global competitiveness of football in Africa.”

The Executive Committee also approved the cancellation of the additional second preliminary of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup.

This means that the 16 winning Clubs of the Second Preliminary round will qualify to the Group Stage of both the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup 2023-2024 season.

CAF

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) proudly revealed the long-awaited and charismatic ambassador for the upcoming African Cup of Nations 2023.

The stage is now set for an unforgettable tournament as Africa's premier football competition receives an enchanting companion, promising to ignite passion and unite fans from all corners of the continent.

The Ivorian people were first introduced to the event's official mascot, "AKWABA," at a premiere ceremony in Abidjan, which also marked the start of the event's 190-day countdown. On January 13, 2023, the competition's first game will take place.

AKWABA, which means welcome and is drawn from a native Ivorian language, embodies key ideals that make it a potent representation of the competition: hospitality, camaraderie, charity, and teamwork.

The Mascot connects with supporters, players, and nations and celebrates the spirit of teamwork by encouraging collaboration, respect for others, and fair play. It also delivers a true taste of Ivorian hospitality.

From Sammy Heywood Okine

Road accidents can impose significant financial burdens on insurance companies due to the costs associated with vehicle repairs, medical expenses, legal fees, and potential liability claims.

The Digital Marketer for Priority Insurance Company Limited, Samuel Kwame Boadu has revealed that even though insurance companies in Ghana take a premium for providing cover for vehicles in case of legitimate liabilities the increasing road fatalities is putting financial burden on insurance companies.

Increasing road accidents have a significant economic cost on the insurance industry in Ghana as insurers are paying huge amounts of monies in claims resulting from these accidents and the overall impact on families, which I am a strong believer of “life cannot be compensated for”.

Samuel Kwame Boadu, Founder of SamBoad Business Group Limited, the Digital Marketing Firm responsible for Priority Insurance Company’s Digitalization said this at a discussion on impact of Road Accidents in Ghana during the Priority Insurance’s Agents Awards.

The National Road Safety statistics indicated that between January and May 2022, the country has experienced 6,472 road crashes, resulting in 6,620 injuries and 1,140 deaths.

On the categories of vehicles involved, the data shows that 4,873 private cars representing 44.88 per cent; 3,669 commercial vehicles, representing 33.79 per cent; and 2,316 motorcycles, representing 21.33 per cent were involved in the road accidents.

The National Road Safety data also identified Greater Accra with 2,735, Ashanti with 1,496 and Eastern with 709 as the three top Regions with the highest number of road crashes between January and May in 2022

Samuel Kwame Boadu highlighted that the increasing road accidents can be reduced if Road Safety education can be more on media platforms and improved by both National Insurance Commission and Ministry of Roads and Highways.

He continued by stating that he is extremely happy that Priority Insurance Company Limited, led by Mr. Matthew Aidoo ( Managing Director) and Mr. Abubakar Salifu Godmar (Head of Marketing and Business Development) are taking a leadership role to reduce the cause of road safety through seminars and partnerships with Station Masters to educate their station members.

Samuel Kwame Boadu during the conversation also debunked the notion that some insurance companies unfairly rips off their clients, stating that most of these issues were based on a misunderstanding of the type of insurance policy cover provided by some field agents.

He added that it is very important for potential clients to understand clearly, the terms and conditions of the insurance cover they purchase so they would be compensated appropriately based on the cover.

He said Priority Insurance Company Limited is one insurance company that pays its claims in a timeous manner, explaining that the National Insurance Commission, which supervises, regulates and controls the business of insurance in the country, regulates insurance companies.

He, therefore, advised persons whose legitimate claims were repudiated by any insurance company to seek appropriate redress through the Commission.