Work begins on Kadjebi Stadium
Winneba (Central Region) 13 December 2001 - Mr. Fred Osam Doudu, head coach of the senior national team, the Black Stars, has stated that he will be compelled to drop any invited foreign based player who fails to report to camp after arriving in the country.
Speaking to GNA sports at the Stars camp in Winneba on Wednesday, he said there is the need for the players to report in camp so that they can be assessed and blended with the locals.
He stressed that all invited foreign based stars must report to camp immediately they arrive because that is the purpose for which they are in the country. Mr Doudu said the team will no longer go on any break till the beginning of the tournament since both the National premier league and the FA Cup competitions are over.
He disclosed that the international friendly match arranged for the team on December 19 has been cancelled because "we do not have the full complement of the foreign members of our national team available."
Mr Doudu said he did not think playing friendly matches with the locals all the time will be good for effective team building adding that the latest information indicated that majority of the stars will be arriving after December 19.
The coach said Charles Amoah reported to camp but he is treating a slight foot injury at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra while Peter Ofori -Quaye has just reported to camp.
He said he received information that Razak Ibrahim, Baffuor Gyan and Alex Tachie Mensah are in town but they are yet to report at the camp.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 13 December 2001 - The Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Ghana Breweries Limited (GBL) are to hold an awards night to honour personalities and institutions that distinguished themselves during the outgoing soccer season.
The ceremony dubbed the "Star Awards Gala Nite 2001" will take place at the Accra International Conference Centre on Saturday, December 15 at 7: 00 pm.
A statement signed by Mr Kofi Nsiah, General Secretary of the GFA said the awardees have been selected for "their immense contribution to the promotion and development of football."
Those short-listed for the awards include goalkeeper Sumaila Abdulai of Dawu Youngsters who got a FIFA mention recently for fair-play for resuscitating Hearts' Charles Taylor when he went unconscious after a collision in a league match against Dawu.
Also on the list are Mr Kofi Badu a veteran sports journalist and Mr Sam Jonah, Chief Executive of Ashanti Goldfields Limited. Ms Sophia Okulley, Mr Oteng Aboagye and Mr Derek Blackmore are listed for the female football category. Three referees, Ibrahim Idrisu, Nicholas Djomoah and Joshua Mensah are in line for the award in their division.
Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, head coach of champion club, Accra Hearts of Oak and two others, J E Sarpong of Accra Great Olympics and Emmanuel Quarshie of Brekum Arsenals have been mentioned in their section.
For the club chairmen, Harry Zakkour of Accra Hearts of Oak, Alhaji Karim Grunsah of King Faisal and Seth Yeboah of Dawu Youngsters are on the short list while eight players have been nominated.
The players are goalkeeper Osei Boateng and Stephen Oduro of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, and the Hearts trio of Sammy Adjei, Charles Taylor and goal-king Ishmael
Addo.
Others are goalkeeper Abubakari Kankani of Tema Ghapoha, Nana Arhin Duah of Goldfields and Awudu Adama of Dawu Youngsters who placed second on the goal-king's chart.
Eight institutions have also been short-listed for awards. They are Nestle Ghana Limited, Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA) King Faisal F/C and Liberty Professionals.
The rest are The Ghana Red Cross Society, Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Accra Hearts of Oak who won the league for the fifth time on the trot, Knockout champions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Dawu Youngsters.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 13 December 2001 - Mr Rashid Bawa, Deputy Minister of Education has cut the sod for work to begin on the renovation of the Kadjebi Sports Stadium in the Volta Region.
The project will be financed by part of the Deputy Minister's share of the Members of Parliament's (MP) Common Fund.
Speaking to the GNA Sports on Wednesday, Mr Bawa who is an independent MP for the area said he has allocated ¢45 million for the first phase of the project. He said the first phase would involve the construction of volleyball and basketball courts and the levelling and regressing of the soccer pitch.
The Deputy Minister said he would also provide equipment for volleyball and basketball in order to encourage the youth to participate in them. The MP for the Akan Constituency said the second phase of the project would involve the construction of a fence wall round the stadium and stands to sit spectators.
He said he is giving the project priority because he believes sports would get the youth out of the streets and away from crime and disease. The Deputy Minister said he has started moves to merge the two football clubs in the town, Great Akans and Desailly Stars into a formidable club to fight for a premiership spot in the future.
Mr Bawa said sports talents abound in the area and he is determined to encourage them to develop their potentials to the fullest for the country to benefit from them.
He said he would liase with the local health authorities to visit the stadium periodically to educate the youth on HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases since the youth are the most vulnerable to such ailments.
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