Okwawu beat Olympics in a
friendly
Tommy seeks God's intervention for Togo match
Accra (Greater Accra)
22 April 2003 - The Embassy of the United States of America in Accra has denied
two Ghanaian boxers visas to enable them to honour their professional
contractual obligations in the United States.
Super lightweight
Stephen Okine is billed to fight Bernard Harris over 10 rounds while Ayittey
Powers is matched against Darren Woods in the 154 pound category also over 10
rounds on a card put together by Steven J. Canton a boxing promoter based in
Florida.
Speaking to the GNA
Sports in Accra on Saturday, Henry Manly-Spain, local representative of SJC
Professional Boxing Incorporation of Fort Myers, Florida said the Embassy asked
the boxers to reappear on July 28 for an interview even though they were on
contract to fight on Friday 25 April.
He said they had
forwarded their request through the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA), which
scrutinised the documents before giving their approval and subsequently
forwarded them to the National Sports Council.
Manly-Spain said the
request of the boxers went to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for
further scrutiny before they were sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
which made the request to the Embassy on behalf of the boxers and their coaches
and corner personnel.
The promoter said the
due protocol procedures were strictly adhered to and wondered why the US
Embassy officials would scuttle the opportunity for the boxers to announce
themselves on the big stage. He tendered a letter on the letterhead of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated 7 April to buttress his claim. The letter
also bore the stamp of the Protocol Section and 25 April was stated as the date
for the fights.
Manly-Spain said the
contracts for the fights had been signed and it would be an infringement on the
rules of professional boxing if the boxers failed to show up for the contest.
Copies of the contracts, which bore the stamp and insignia of the Florida State
Boxing Commission, revealed that each boxer would receive $7,500 as purse.
Giving his opinion on
the issue, Dr Albert Arthur, manager of Stephen Okine said he was greatly
disappointed at the turn of events because the boxers had prepared adequately
for their engagements, adding that it required a lot of money to get a boxer
ready for a fight and it was unfair to deny him the opportunity to earn a
decent living.
He said the denial is
an affront to the Ghana government on whose behalf the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs filed the applications. The sports loving medical officer said
"the American Embassy's stance on the issue is appalling and if it is not
checked, it would kill the interest in boxing because the US remains the Mecca
of boxing and every good boxer wants an opportunity to appear in their rings."
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra)
22 April 2003 - Wonder Club Accra Great Olympics would on Monday 21 April mark
the 49th anniversary of the founding of the club in 1954. A
statement issued by the council of patrons in Accra to mark the day said
"On this occasion we salute the memory of the departed founding fathers
who bequeathed this great inheritance to us"
The statement signed
by Harry Mousalas, Member-Secretary to the council said the occasion also marks
the dawning of the golden age of Olympics. It said "as we move into the
Golden Jubilee celebration of the club, the Patrons, Board, Executives, Playing
Body and the entire supporters pledge to keep faith with the challenge by the
founding fathers to make Accra Great Olympics one of the best clubs not only in
Ghana but in Africa".
The statement said
however that it is disheartening that the club has had a very chequered period
over the last 20 years marked by misfortunes, internal bickering and failure to
achieve any respectable honours. It said this situation was further compounded
in the last few years by the sale of all our top players to either foreign or
local clubs, which defused the clubs ability to offer any reasonable opposition
to its main opponents.
"But this time
round Accra Great Olympics is on the rise and marching forward to victory in
unity and there is no stopping it to gain honour to celebrate our golden
Jubilee in 2004" It charged all the supporters and the players to stand
firm with conviction and confidence to achieve this objective.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra)
22 April 2003 - Orphanages International Ministry (OIM) at the weekend held a
fund-raising rally in aid of the First West African Orphanages Olympic Games to
be held from 26 August 2003 in Kumasi.
Addressing the rally,
the President of OIM, the Reverend Samuel Ludwig Aferi said it would cost about
¢60m to organise the games in which about 1,000 orphans were expected to
participate. Rev. Aferi, therefore, appealed to churches; sympathizers and
corporate bodies to assist them achieve their target and added that they could
collect pledge forms from the OIM Secretariat at the Kokomlemle.
The Director of Human
Resources for CAL Merchant Bank, Robert Quaye, who chaired the function,
attended by orphanages from Tema, Frafraha, Osu and Kumasi, donated a cheque of
two million cedis towards the games. An appeal for fund yielded ¢6.1m. The
Teshie Central Gospel Band provided music.
GRi…/
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Kumasi (Ashanti
Region) 22 April 2003 - A goal scored by Dan Yeboah, formerly of Liberty
Professionals in injury time enabled Kumasi Asante Kotoko to beat Liberty 1-0
in their first leg of the H.P. Nyemetei SWAG cup match played in Kumasi on
Sunday.
The lone goal of the
match was as a result of a corner-kick taken by Aziz Ansah and headed home
beautifully by Yeboah when everything was heading towards a drawn game.
Kotoko, after
inspection of the two teams by SWAG officials and Peter Osei-Duah, Managing
director of the State Insurance Company (SIC), kicked-off under instructions of
FIFA referee Alex Quartey, sprang into action and nearly found the net in the
first minute but Frank Osei's header was saved by Cudjoe Addo in goal for the
visitors.
Kotoko piled on
pressure and had a free-kick in the 25th minute which was taken by
Kwame Adzagba but this was parried over the bar by the goalkeeper Addo and the
resultant corner-kick was wasted. Ten minutes later, Liberty had a corner-kick
but also wasted it. They continued to make serious incursions into Kotoko vital
area but lacked bite upfront.
On resumption, it was
Liberty who was on top and found the defence of Kotoko panicking as Joe
Hendricks was forced to save dangerous moves in the 47th and 50th
minutes as goalkeeper Louis Quainoo was found wanting. Kotoko, however,
counter-attacked and missed a chance as goalkeeper Addo was called upon to save
the situation.
Frank Osei was
substituted by Joe Okyere in the 60th minute but Kotoko allowed the
visitors to dictate the pace of the game on several occasions with
inter-positional display as Yusif Chibsah of Kotoko wasted a chance in the 69th
minute.
Adzagba gave way to
Joe Louis of Kotoko in the 70th minute. He announced his presence
when he dribbled two defenders on a row and planted the ball for Edmund
Owusu-Ansah to shoot into the waiting hands of Addo. In the 71st
minute, Liberty brought in Michael Ocansey for Ablade Morgan as Kotoko's
Michael Osei's shot was parried to corner but was wasted.
Kotoko then piled
pressure to find the leader and fortunately had it during the injury time when
their fan had been sitting on thorns to see their idol club win the match at all
cost to make the second leg match in Accra next Sunday a formality.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra)
22 April 2003 - Kumasi King Faisal on Sunday defeated this CAF Champions league
campaigners, Hearts of Oak, in a special friendly encounter played at the
nations Wembley, Accra.
The match dubbed
"The Herbert Mensah challenge match" an initiative of the former
Kotoko Chief Executive saw the Alhaji Karim Grusah's boys playing a more fluent
and cohesive game in most of the 90 minutes game.
Though the Phobians
had dominated play in the first quarter of the game it was Faisal Abubaker
Yahuzu who taught them how to take chances when he scored what might perhaps be
viewed as their clearest chance in the 17th minute.
Abubaker who had
picked a lose and harmless ball as a result of poor defending by the Hearts
defence slot home the opener with Hearts third choice goalkeeper Muhammed Saani
completely helpless in post. The game, which became ragged and rough resumed
the second half with a similar pattern.
Both teams struggled
to change the score line of the game but to no avail. Not even when Emmanuel
Osei-Kuffour came on for unimpressive Ibrahim Kluvi could tilt the clock in
Hearts favour. As if destiny wanted the rainbows to lose the game, goal bound
shots by both Bortey and Kuffour were cleared off the line by Faisal defenders
in the last five minutes of the game.
GRi…/
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Mpraeso (Eastern
Region) 22 April 2003 - Okwawu United defeated Accra Great Olympics by a lone
goal in a friendly match played at the Mpraeso Park on Sunday. The only goal of
the match was scored by Kwabena Boating in the 60th minute.
Olympics kicked off
and dictated the pace of the game but failed to utilise three good scoring
chances that came their way in the 22nd, 28th and 35th
minutes when their attackers led by skipper Amui Quaye and John Cudjoe
squandered all the chances.
Okwawu came into the
second half and played a determine game, pressurising the Olympics defence and
had the game's only goal in the 60th minute when Boateng shot from
Osei Bonsu's pass to beat Olympic's John Adjetey in post. Both teams made four
substitutions but that could not change the trend of the game until class John
Atike from Koforidua whistled for the end of the game.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
22 - Tommy Okine, chief executive of Accra Hearts of Oak said on Friday that
the winner of the second leg match between his team and AS Douanes of Togo
slated for the Lome Sports Stadium on 27 April would be the side which enjoys
greater favour from God.
In a chat with the
GNA Sports, the chief executive said going by what he saw of the first match
where Hearts failed to convert countless begging opportunities, he would ask
for God's intervention to swap the team's luck in the away match. "It is
only God who can decide the winner, it cannot be done by the power of any human
being and I pray God to decide in our favour, he said.
He said the boys were
adequately motivated for the match in Accra and would therefore disagree with
those who attributed the result to lack of motivation.
Okine said the slim
margin could not be blamed on coach Hebert Addo either because it would be
unfair to do that after his team had dominated the visitors, creating many sure
chances but failing to convert them. He said, "We cannot blame the coach.
The coach cannot go and put the ball into the net. It is his duty to teach the
boys to play well and create chances and if after creating them they fail to
score it will be wrong to blame the coach."
On preparations for
the match in Lome the chief executive said the technical team had stepped up
preparations and management would meet during the week to address other areas
of preparations to ensure that the team enjoys good support during the match.
He called on supporters of the club and indeed all Ghanaians to pray for Hearts
in the tricky away encounter.
Hearts recorded a
catalogue of misses in their first leg match with the Togolese champions on
April 13 and managed only a one nil win, making the second leg match in Lome a
very difficult one.
GRi…/
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