GRi Sports 20 - 01 - 2003

50 million cedis seed money for TOP Four teams

Cycling programme takes a jolt

Division One League gathers momentum

Sports council boss heads Five-man committee

 

 

50 million cedis seed money for TOP Four teams

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 20 January 2003 - The Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA) has stepped up plans to make this year's GHALCA TOP Four competition scheduled to kick-starts on February 23, more attractive and very competitive.

 

To begin with, the association is to give each of the four participating clubs -Hearts, Kotoko, Liberty and Olympics- 50 million cedis each as seed money, instead of the previously agreed 5 million cedis which would be deducted from the gate proceeds.

 

Kodjo Fianoo, Administrative Manager, said in Accra on Wednesday that the new decision was arrived at on Tuesday after an emergency meeting with the clubs. He said most clubs owe their players outstanding bonuses, which if not paid, could deprive the competition of quality players.

 

On the new date which has been pushed forward from 9 - 23 February to the Fianoo said it was to enable the clubs prepare adequately well to present a formidable squad.

 

According to the fixtures copied the GNA Sports, League Champions, Accra Hearts of Oak, play host to Liberty Professionals at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday February 23 while Asante Kotoko clash with Great Olympics at the Kumasi Sports Stadium.

 

On Saturday, March 1, Liberty would engage Kotoko in the second match while on Sunday, March 2; Olympics welcome Hearts- both matches at the Accra Sports Stadium.

 

The final first round matches expected to draw a partisan crowd, has been fixed for March 9. The two most glamorous clubs - Hearts and Kotoko would face each other in a duel of death at the Kumasi Sports Stadium while Liberty sought it out with Olympics.

 

The second round fixtures of the competition scheduled to commence on 15 March would be the reverse of the first round matches. The GHALCA Top Four competition was initiated to engage the best top four teams at the end of the league season on a "who-is-who" basis.

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Cycling programme takes a jolt

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 20 January 2003 - The Ghana Cycling Association's (GCA) first programme to usher in a busy year, has taken a serious jolt. The association has pulled out of the annual Euro-Africa Cycling showdown in Accra, which was tentatively fixed for the middle of this month.

 

Francis Kpesenu, General Secretary of the GCA, told the GNA Sports in Accra that the decision to pull out was taken at an executive meeting on Monday after frantic efforts at getting in touch with the organisers, SPORPUB International, to know the exact date for the competition failed.

 

The association gave up to last Tuesday as its deadline; unfortunately two days after that tough decision, an emissary sent a word to the general secretary that the competition has been fixed for this Sunday, January 19.

 

Kpesenu said the notice was short; taking into consideration the efforts that go into organising such an event. The one-day competition is put together for selected African countries notably Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Algeria in each year, is aimed at exposing the experiences of top European cyclists to their African counterparts.

 

It is also to tap the talents from the Europeans to enrich that of the Africans. This year's programme kick-started from Niger on January 15, moved to Burkina Faso three days later. The "bus" stops at Benin on the 25th and Togo a day later.

 

The six African-country Tour which features top cyclists from the Tour de France ends at Senegal on 1 February this year.

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Division One League gathers momentum

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 20 January 2003 - The Division One League which will promote two teams to the Premier Division in the coming season is gradually shaping up after third and fourth week matches were honoured.

 

In Sunyani Sampa Frontiers beat Kintampo United 1-0 in a mid-week Zone 1B Division One League (DOL) match played at the Sunyani Coronation park on Wednesday. Centre-Forward Dauda scored the lone goal in the first half.

 

The Kintampo boys who last Sunday drew 1-1 with Berekum Pro-Sports F/C at the same venue redoubled their efforts in the second half but the defenders of Sampa would not yield till the final whistle. At Berekum, Sunyani Topsmore drew one-all with Techiman Brong Kyempim F/C in another league encounter.

 

In Cape Coast, Iron fighters beat Bafana Bafana 3-2 in their first division league match played at Cape Coast stadium on Thursday. Fighters opened the scoring with a spot kick converted by centre forward Ebo Mends in the 20th minute.

 

Nana Amissah increased the tally to 2-0 in the 55th minute but Bafana Bafana managed to reduce the tally to 2-1 through substitute Richard Mensah in the 73rd minute. Ebo Mends was on hand again to make it 3-1 for the fighters while Mensah scored the second for Bafana Bafana on the stroke of full time.

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Sports council boss heads Five-man committee

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 20 January 2003 - Dr Emmanuel Owusu Ansah, Acting Chief Executive of the National Sports Council (NSC) has been appointed to head a five-man committee tasked with the job of implementing recommendations by a 15-member committee put in place by the Edward Osei Kwaku Minister of Youth and Sports last year to unearth the causes of the decline in Ghana sports.

 

The committee has Abdullai Yakubu, Director at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Magnus Rex Danquah Managing Consultant of RICS, Charles Aryeh, Public Relations Officer of the National Sports Council (NSC), and Kofi Aggrey, Public Relations Officer Ministry of Youth and Sports as the other members.

 

A statement issued in Accra and signed by Kofi Aggrey, said the committee has been tasked to fashion within one month a new sports bill that would reflect the vision, mission and the thrust of the report submitted by the previous committee.

 

It said the committee is also to conduct stakeholders meetings with the aim of sensitising the public and soliciting the support and participation of all stakeholders in sports.

 

The committee would also educate the public on proposed new structures including new modes of financing sports in the country and would suggest requisite incentive schemes for consideration of parliament to enhance greater corporate sponsorship of sports in Ghana.

 

It would be recalled that, Edward Osei-Kwaku Minister of Youth and Sport set up a 15- member committee headed by Joe Aggrey Deputy Minister of Youth last year to examine the causes of decline in the standard of sports in the country and to make appropriate recommendations to address them.

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