Sports Council to introduce traditional wrestling
Bamako (Mali) 05 February 2002 - Mr Samuel Barrington Wilcox, a Journalist covering the 23rd African Cup of Nations has been arrested and placed in prison custody at the Bamako Central Prisons for his inability to pay his hotel bills totalling 443,700 FCFA, which translates into about five million cedis.
Mr Wilcox, who GNA investigations revealed is a Nigerian resident in Ghana, was accredited for the championship as Samuel Ankomah, a Ghanaian name. He arrived in Mali on January 21 and checked into Hotel Coulibris and assured the management of the hotel that he would pay his bills after a few days stay.
Mr Kone Mamoudu, manager of the hotel said the journalist made them believe that he was a rich man and they therefore allowed him to use their communication facilities, feed at the restaurant and drink at the bar on credit in addition to lodging.
He said as the days rolled by and Mr Wilcox did not make any attempt to pay his bills, he was approached and asked to do so. The hotel manager said by February 3, when the Black Stars were billed to play their quarterfinal match against Nigeria, they felt the result could go either way and chances were that he could depart with the
Ghanaian team if they lost.
Mr Mamoudou said based on this assumption Mr Wilcox was prevailed upon to settle his bills but once again he failed to do so and the hotel had no other option than to report the matter to the police.
Consequently the “Ghanaian” journalist was arrested and placed in police cells while efforts were being made to contact his friends to settle the bill. At the Divisional Police Headquarters, a sergeant who refused to give his name said Mr Wilcox has been transferred to the Central Prison at Koura on the orders of Mr Djime Nourou Doumbia, Director General of the National Police. He said the journalist would only be released if he paid his bills.
Mr Wilcox is said to be a contributor to Africa Sports, a bi-weekly sports paper published in Accra and sometimes appears on Metro TV for Sports discussions.
An attempt to see the journalist at the Central Prison yielded no dividends as the GNA was told he could only be seen with authority from the police headquarters.
Most Nigerian journalists contacted to go to his aid declined and blamed his predicament on his flamboyant lifestyle. During investigations, it was revealed that Mr Wilcox had presented himself to his countrymen from Nigeria as a TV presenter.
It is however not known if the Nigerian journalist is holding a Ghanaian passport or one from his native country.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 February 2002 - Black Stars deputy skipper, Samuel Osei Kuffour, who was expelled from the team after only a single match at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Mali, has urged the soccer authorities to employ the services of a foreign coach to salvage the country's derailing soccer image.
He said the current dismal performance by the four time Africa Champions should not be blame on caretaker coach Osam Duodu alone, but must be shared together with "the three wise men"- Ben Koufie, GFA Chairman, Abedi Ayew Pele, GFA Member and Kojo Quarshie, Black Stars Co-ordinator.
The player who spoke on telephone from his Germany base on GTV's "Bounjour Soccer" and monitored by the GNA Sports noted that Osam had never been his own man and had been heavily controlled by the "wise men".
Kuffour was sacked for alleged indiscipline, after he had vehemently criticized the quality of the Adidas jerseys won by the team and for inciting his colleagues against the handlers.
He said to reverse the current trend, a foreign coach would help because, their employers rarely control them. Touching on the jerseys’ quality, the player still maintained that they were of inferior quality and cited an instance in Germany during the Ghana- Nigeria quarterfinal match when his Bayern Munich coach asked why Osam was in different apparel from that of the players.
Kuffour said he could hardly answer the question and became even embarrassed when he further asked why the number on Ghana's goalie Sammy Adjei's jersey was written with a pen.
On his impression about the quarterfinal match with Nigeria, the player said the young Black Stars did very well but unfortunately lost 0-1. He said the Super Eagles were not that impressive adding that if the Stars had paraded a few experience players they could have carried the day.
On whether he would be willing to feature for the Stars when invited, the player said, "I haven't decided yet I think I need a year to do that."
The Black Stars were kicked out in the quarterfinals after scrapping through the preliminary stage when they pulled a surprise 2-1 win over neighbours Burkina Faso.
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Ashiaman (Greater Accra) 04 February 2002 - The Ministry of Youth and Sports in conjunction with the National Youth Council has initiated a nationwide programme to acquire and develop community playing fields to enhance talent-hunt throughout the country.
Mr Edward Osei-Kwaku, the sector minister who said this on Monday at Ashiaman, near Accra, explained that the idea is to give the youth decent places to converge for them to stay out of activities that would put them into conflict with the law.
He was inspecting the Ashiaman Roman Catholic School Park, which the youth are seeking the minister's assistance for its acquisition and development for their use.
The minister said he would ensure that community fields are protected from encroachment by developers because such activities rob the youth of any space to engage in sporting activities.
"When we have at least three or four of such fields in all the ten regions it would help in unearthing young talents which the nation can fall upon later," Mr Osei Kwaku said. He said in order to avoid litigations, all lands acquired would be fenced and registered adding that the Municipal and District Assemblies in the areas of acquisition would be involved.
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Bolgatanga (Upper East Region) 05 February 2002 -The Acting Chief Executive of the National Sports Council, Dr Emmanuel Owusu Ansah, has said plans are advanced to, introduce traditional wrestling as a major sporting discipline.
He said the decision to introduce wrestling is because it has the potential to develop faster than other sports in the country. Dr Owusu Ansah said this in Bolgatanga when he accompanied the Minister for Youth and Sports, Mr Edward Osei Kwaku on a day's working visit to the region.
He said Ghana had already participated in a friendly international wrestling competition in Burkina Faso, where the team performed impressively. He said after the Burkina Faso trip the Ministry organised similar competitions in Mamobi and Nima all in Accra.
He said people turned up in their numbers to watch the event while majority of them expressed showed enthusiasm to fully participating in it. He said several competitions would be organized nationwide to select a team for an ECOWAS Traditional Wrestling Championship later in the year.
Dr Ansah, said research conducted revealed that traditional wrestling was popular in the coastal areas of the country, notably Central Region and Northern Ghana
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