Category: Sports

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has appointed Dr. Henry Kwaku Nyantey Larbi and Kenya’s Tennis Association President James Kenani, as members of its sub-committees.

Dr. Larbi who double as the Board Member of the Ghana Tennis Federation (GTF) and Ghana Wheelchair Tennis (GWT) Coordinator became the first Ghanaian to serve on the ITF Committee.

Earlier this year, Mr. Isaac Aboagye Duah, President of the GTF submitted two nominees for consideration as members of Gender and Ethics Committee, and Wheelchair Tennis Committee to the ITF.

ITF, after its elaborate process appointed Dr. Larbi to serve as the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee member.

President Duah congratulated Dr. Larbi for this significant milestone victory in the Tennis fraternity.

He said, ‘these achievements are evident of the strides that have been nurtured and sustained in the past five years of which GTF has strengthen its relationship with ITF, CAT, the Grand Slam federations and the other top ranked Federations of Europe and th
e Americas.’

Dr. Larbi and President Kenani were the only two Africans to earned opportunity to serve in the International Committee level.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The qualifiers for the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) tournament has come to a halt as 12 teams have secured their slots in the continental showpiece.

The qualified teams were Ghana, Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Algeria, Tunisia, Zambia, DR Congo, Botswana, Mali, and Senegal.

Ghana would make a return to the continent’s biggest tournament after giving Namibia a showdown on Tuesday.

The West African giants last participated in the competition in 2018 where they were eliminated in the group stages.

Elsewhere in Northern Africa, Tunisia fought an easy battle against Congo which ended 5-2 on aggregate, in favour of the Tunisians.

Tagged as the ‘clash of titans game’, Senegal travelled as visitors to take on a struggling Egyptian side who were of high hopes of turning things around after a 4-0 first leg defeat.

Despite enjoying much possession, the Egyptians failed to fulfill their mission as they said goodbye after 90 minutes.

Following an exciting campaign at the 2023 Women’s Wo
rld Cup, the Copper Queens of Zambia proved to be one of the continent’s best sides as they thrashed Angola 12-0 on aggregate whereas Botswana also secured a place with a 2-1 win over Kenya.

The Super Falcons of Nigeria were not left out of the party, having overpowered Cape Verde to register their name in the history books.

Tanzania also settled on a 1-0 defeat in the camp of Togo to book a ticket to the 2024 WAFCON after their 3-0 victory in the first leg encounter.

DR. Congo pulled off a brilliant performance against two-time champions, Equatorial Guinea to qualify for the continental party after securing 2-1 win on Tuesday.

Defending champions, South Africa could not wait for their own celebration after securing a 2-0 home win over Burkina Faso in the second leg of their second qualifying round tie whiles Algeria also defeated Burundi 6-1 to sail through.

Mail sealed the qualifiers with a 10-2 aggregate win over Guinea whereas Morocco secured an automatic qualification as hosts of the 15th edition of
the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The 21st edition of the Accra Senior Open Tennis Championship ended at the Accra Lawn Court over the weekend as various tennis players battled for victory in the finals.

The two weeks tournament produced some shocking and exciting results right from the preliminary stage to the final round of the competition.

In the men’s 25/34 Singles final, Nicholas Nartey defeated Godwin Dankwa 6-3 6-4 to carry the day while James Wiafe also emerged victor in the 35/44 Singles final after beating Dr. Abraham Oppong 6-4 7-5.

Elsewhere in the Men’s 45/54 Singles final, Alex Kobina Mensah overpowered Jesse Desbordes with a 2-6 6-4 10-6 win to earn the bragging rights.

In the female 39 Singles category, Precious Nunana gave Kate Coleman a tough competition with a 6-3 6-1 victory whereas Jesiwaa Quansah also succumbed to a 7-5 6-2 defeat to Faustina Tagoe in the Ladies 50plus singles finals.

The competition got more exciting in the Doubles category as George Heckson and Richard Odum Mensah teamed up to beat Frederick Kend
erick Atsu and Oheneba Amoako 7-6(4) 6-2 in the Men 35/44 Doubles final.

William Amoo and Frederick Okpoti Konney could not live up to expectations as they failed to stand the test of Godwin Ayindua and Amoako Atta who won with a 6-0 6-0 score line in the Men 45/54 Doubles final.

Faustina Tagoe and Yaa Jesiwaa Quansah also found a way of picking up a convincing win against Faustina Wellington Komey and Emily Stoiber in the Ladies 40plus Doubles final whereas Prince Ablorh and Kate Coleman defeated Richmond Kotey and Shemimah Cobblah in the Mixed Doubles final.

Winners took home prizes including trophies, goody bags and souvenirs from sponsors.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Nora Häuptle – Head Coach of the Black Queens has said, her side will not be complacent despite taking 3-1 lead in the first leg game in Accra against Namibia.

The Black Queens would take on their counterparts from Namibia on Tuesday, December 5, in Pretoria, South Africa, for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) final round 2nd leg qualifier.

Speaking ahead of the match, Coach Hauptle said ‘we won the first game in Ghana at home with a big crowd and it’s good to come with this result in the second leg.

‘But we are very focused, humble and very determined. We work a lot on our values and determination is one, so we had a good start now.

‘We trained today in the stadium here with an amazing pitch. We are a team who likes to play, and the ball is rolling fast here, and so for us everything is ready, and we are ready.

‘This is our attitude and also to develop ourselves to our routines. We like to stay calm and the final training was absolutely amazing,’ she added.

Coach Hauptle said they have enough
experienced players now and they know what it is about staying humble in camp adding that, ‘we also had a good video analysis session with some details to adjust to from the last game and we practice those elements on the pitch today.

According to Coach Hauptle though they had gone 10 games unbeaten, and it makes them proud, they would not be excited by the records but would remain focused to see their mission through.

‘We have developed our performance and our style of play and also the kind of values we live in our team. We have a very good cohesion and very clear basis on which we act on. After the game I never think about anything else. I take this as the next game, we prepare like always so we are quite calm, relax towards the game.

Ghana would take on Namibia in the second game at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Black Queens of Ghana have qualified for the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) after beating Namibia 3-2 on aggregate.

The Ghanaian side triumphed over the Brave Gladiators 3-1 in the first leg and needed a positive result in the second leg to sail through to the continental party after five years of missing out.

A 1-0 defeat at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Tuesday earned Coach Nora Hauptel’s side a place in the tournament next year.

The Black Queens of Ghana took charge of the game immediately the centre referee blew her whistle to kickstart the game.

Doris Boaduwaa, who was the lead striker in the Ghanaian team kept the defence of the Namibians on their toes with her impressive runs through the defence.

The Brave Gladiators got into the game after the first 20 minutes, breaking the defense of the Black Queens through the wings.

The homers faced not struggles as they managed to grab the opener in the 22nd minute to announce their presence in the game.

All efforts for that all important e
qualizer failed, with the first half ending in favour of Namibia.

After recess, the introduction of Evelyn Badu and Gifty Assifuah sharpened the attack of Black Queens as they kept on sharing passes like it was nobody’s business.

The final minutes of the game produced some goal scoring chances for the Ghanaians but the Namibians were difficult to break.

An exciting 90 minutes of play at the Lucas Moripe Stadium could not change the story as Ghana have now secured a place in the 2024 WAFCON.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A rejuvenated Asante Kotoko added Berekum Chelsea to their list of casualties after defeating them 1:0 in their match week 13 encounter of the Ghana Premier League at the Baba Yara Stadium.

Steve Dese Mukwala put up a man-of-the-match performance to inspire the Porcupines to their third consecutive win after a winless run which left them in the relegation zone.

The Ugandan import who appears to have found his scoring boots was a delight to watch as the home fans sang his name throughout the match.

Kotoko could have scored an avalanche of goals if they had taken their chances in the first half which saw many opportunities being squandered.

Asante Kotoko served early notice of going all out for the three maximum points by raiding the goal area of Berekum Chelsea right from the blast of the whistle.

They forced the visitors to block three goal-bound shots from entering the net in the third minute with goalkeeper Gregory Obeng Sekyere scoring full marks on that occasion.

The Porcupine Warriors continued to
keep their opponents in their half as they displayed possessive football which left players of Berekum Chelsea chasing the ball fruitlessly.

It took the visitors 15 minutes to warm themselves into the game after surviving sustained attacks from all angles.

They started making inroads in the Kotoko half with Stephen Amankona and Mezack Afriyie leading the onslaught. Their involvement was however short-lived as Kotoko broke the deadlock through Steve Dese Mukwala after a counterattack.

The Ugandan’s first effort from close range was prevented from entering the net but the goal poacher made a follow-up to tap it in for the opener. His goal proved to be the difference between the two teams as they went into the break. With a goal deficit, Berekum Chelsea resumed the second half a better side compared to the opening 45 minutes.

They hit the ground running with attacking intent unlike how they started the first half, but were profligate in front of goal, allowing Kotoko to find their rhythm as the game progress
ed.

With 20 minutes to end proceedings, both teams vigorously pushed for the next goal which could either seal victory for Kotoko or bring the visitors into the game.

The last 10 minutes saw an end-to-end action characterised by hard tackling from both sides with Chelsea being the worst culprits. This resulted in several temporary breaks to the advantage of Kotoko who went on to secure their third consecutive victories after a torrid start to the season.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Cultural Games Association (CGA) of Ghana has scheduled the commencement of the maiden Ghana Africa (GHAF) Skyball League in June 2024.

According to the CGA, the upcoming league forms part of their efforts to popularise the sport, with every region in Ghana having at least two skyball clubs.

Nana Boateng Gyimah II, Krontihene of Senchi Asokore and National President of the CGA-Ghana, said they have lined up a series of activities ahead of the start of the league. He also urged regional, municipal, district, and zonal sports managers and agencies to accept registering two Skyball clubs to participate in the national league. ‘The management of the Cultural Games Association would go to all regions to sensitise prospective Skyball League players’ about the rules, officiating, benefits, etc. of the Skyball.

‘The Skyball is a flagship sport designed by the CGA to open avenues for talented footballers who are struggling to make an impact in football.’

Nana Boateng Gyimah II, who is known in private life as
Dr. Ernest Boateng Gyimah, also stated that the management of the CGA is exploring partnership opportunities with the Ghana Football Association and other football regulatory authorities across Africa and the world.

He also revealed that they had plans to offer free skyball training to students in partnership with the Ghana Education Service (Cultural Education Unit).

The Cultural Games Association is an entity registered with the National Sports Authority that are responsible for local traditional sports including chaskele, ampe, pushboxing, and amanball, among others.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dreams FC got their CAF Confederation Cup campaign back on track after defeating Rivers United of Nigeria 2-1 in their second group match at the Baba Yara Stadium.

Having lost their first match 0:2 to Club Africain, the ‘Still Believe’ boys went into the match determined to pick all three points to keep their hopes of progressing from the group alive. ??Two second half goals from skipper John Antwi and

Abdul Aziz Issah was all they needed to triumph over the Nigerians who won their first match at home against Angolan side, Academica.

Both teams got off to a quiet start as they failed to create any decent chance in the opening ten minutes.

Dreams FC who were expected to dominate as the home team could hardly string together 10 passes without giving away possession, leaving the Nigerians to surge forward with confidence.

It was not until the 17th minute that Dreams FC made their first attempt at goal, but John Antwi’s effort deflected off the body of an opponent for their first corner of the match.

The u
ninspiring performance by the two teams left both goalkeepers idle as they watched their colleagues up field struggled to play any meaningful football.

As the fans continued to endure a boring match, Abdul Aziz Issah delivered a curling effort from 35 yards, missing target by inches.

It was perhaps the only exciting display from any of the 22 men on the field after 30 minutes of action.

Four minutes later, skipper John Antwi showed leadership by heading home a cross from the left to put his side in the lead.

The goal brought no changes in the play of both sides as Dreams FC held on to their solitary lead into the break.

The sloppy nature of the two teams continued after the break as they struggled to create goal scoring opportunities at either end of the field.

It was rather the visitors who started to show promise after 10 minutes into the half as they made series of incursions into the half of Dreams FC with Alex Oyowah being the tormentor in chief.

As they pushed for the equaliser, Dreams FC deflate
d any ambition for a comeback with a second goal through Issah.

It was a beautiful build-up from the middle of the park which saw Agyenim Boateng sending a defence-splitting pass to Issah who placed it beyond the onrushing goalkeeper.

With victory in sight, Dreams FC decided to dictate the pace of the game by holding onto the ball as a way of managing the remaining minutes to their advantage.

The visitors would however pull one back four minutes into the six minutes additional time through Oyowah who directed a pass in the box to the far post.

The win takes Dreams to the second spot on the table behind Club Africain who defeated Academica on the road.

Source: Ghana News Agency