Golden Rackets shaping up to face Armenia
Sports Council, Education Ministry to cooperate in sports development
Ghana Football Association withdraws case on Mighty Jets
Okwawu United launches ‘Yente Gyae’ cassette
Referees association organise refresher courses
Sports ministry to budget for golf
Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2002 - Ghana's national tennis team, the Golden Rackets, have stepped up their preparations for the impending Davis Cup Euro-African Zone Two match against Armenia scheduled for the Accra Sports Stadium from Friday 12 July to Sunday 14 July.
Speaking to the GNA Sports, Mr Charles Ayeh, out-going General Secretary of the Ghana Tennis Association, said Gunther Darkey, the country's top seed is already in the country and based in Winneba where the team is currently camped. He said Henry Adjei-Darko, the number two seed and veteran Frank Ofori who would be playing the doubled are expected to join the team by the end of this week from their bases in Kenya and USA respectively.
Mr Ayeh said it is likely that Kwasi Ahinkra would partner Ofori in the doubles encounter to replace injured Isaac Fumi. Meanwhile, the Armenian team would arrive in the country on Tuesday 9 July.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2002 - The National Sports Council (NSC) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) are to cooperate to ensure that the national sports developmental needs are met by creating a reservoir of talents for all sporting disciplines.
Dr Emmanuel Owusu Ansah, Acting Chief Executive of the National Sports Council told the GNA Sports in an exclusive interview that it was only an alliance between the two organisations that would save the country as the NSC lacks the resources to employ sports development officers in all the district capitals.
The chief executive said the alliance would involve the hiring of Physical Education Teachers on honourary basis and they would be paid stipends to groom and tap talents for the national teams. He said though the NSC realises the need to have developmental officers at all district capitals, they are constrained by an employment ceiling, which pegs their employees at 408.
Dr Owusu Ansah said the only way to employ new hands is "to wait for people to die or retire" as the council cannot circumvent the law on employment and does not have the resources to hire full time personnel on their own. He said Ghana would go farther in sports development if all district assemblies would commit a percentage of their revenue in that direction.
The Chief Executive said the districts would have direct benefits from such ventures as their youth would get off the streets and crime and concentrate on sports, "which in most cases, has become a profession." Dr Owusu Ansah said by so doing, the youth would become healthier and their productivity would rise in whatever endeavours they might enter and the health budget of the nation would be reduced to supplement other sectors.
The chief executive said district assemblies could also construct and manage facilities, thereby lessening the burden on the NSC whose primary duty would be to provide technical assistance in the form of courses and refresher courses for developmental officers to make them abreast with the rules and regulations of international sports federations.
He said the NSC and the Ministry of Youth and Sports would assist any district that initiates a developmental programme and urged all district assemblies to give sports a pivotal attention in the disbursement of their common funds.
Dr Owusu Ansah lauded the Tepa and Konongo districts in the Ashanti Region and the Kpando district in the Volta Region for committing part of their resources to the provision of sports infrastructure and implored other districts to emulate them. Tepa and Konongo district assemblies are constructing sports stadiums while the Kpando district assembly is building handball courts preparatory to the hosting of the national championship.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2002 - The legal tussle between the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and Tudu Mighty Jets, a division one football club, took a different turn on Tuesday as counsel for the GFA, Mr Bram Larbi, withdrew an earlier motion following a technical hitch.
Mr Larbi withdrew the motion because of a typographical mistake on the date of the first judgement, which was delivered on 23 May. However, in filing the motion of appeal, 22 May was quoted instead of 23rd, which counsel for Mighty Jets, Amadu Tanko thought was "grievous and unacceptable."
Mr Bram Larbi was subsequently, compelled to withdraw the motion while he promised to re-file it later in the week. The GFA handed a three-year ban on Tudu Mighty Jets when they ruled that Jets' management intentionally withdrew from last season's middle league to favour a particular club and not because of financial difficulties as they had publicised.
The club took the GFA to court, alleging that its side of the story was not heard before the imposition of the ban. At its first judgement, the court ruled in favour of Mighty Jets but the GFA filed an appeal, which unfortunately could not be heard because of the typographical mistake.
Mr Bram Larbi later told the GNA Sports in an interview that he thought the issue about the date was so trivial that counsel for Jets should have allowed the case to continue.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2002 - The management of Okwawu United Sporting Club last Monday launched a cassette dubbed “Yente Gyae” at a short ceremony in Accra.
The chairman of the club, Dr Felix Frimpong, thanked those who worked tirelessly to make their dream a reality. He pointed out that the success story of any team, to a large extent, depends on how effective its supporters are organised. “The launching of the cassette, will therefore, bring all Okwawu supporters together as one people to move the club forward,” he said.
Mr S. Oduro Nyarko, Board Secretary of the club, who launched the album appealed to all past and present directors of the club and supporters to patronise their cassette to meet their set objective of raising funds for the club.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2002 - The Referees Association of Ghana (RAG) is organising series of refresher courses for all active referees and assistant referees to sharpen their skills before the commencement of the second round of the premier league scheduled to kick-start on July 27.
RAG has come under a barrage of criticism for dismal performances in recent times. And as a way of preventing any future recurrences, the association will from July 19, to September eight, organise the courses in all the 10 regions of the countries.
The courses, according to a source at the RAG secretariat, would be used to select referees for both the premier and division one League. The source told the GNA Sports in Accra on Tuesday that the course will continue while the second round is in progress. According to the programme, the Greater Accra would run from 19 - 21 July while Ashanti and Western regions would have theirs between 2 - 4 August.
The Brong Ahafo and Volta region's programme have been fixed for 16 - 18 August, Central and Eastern - 30 August to 1 September while the Upper East and West will have theirs on 6 - 8 September.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra)
03 July 2002 - The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Edward Osei Kwaku, says
from next year his ministry will make budgetary provision for golf for the
first time in order to accelerate the growth of the sport.
He disclosed further
that the Ghana Golf Association has already presented their budget which would
be included in the ministry's estimates for next year. Mr Osei Kwaku made the
pledge as the guest of honour on the final day of this year's Peugeot Challenge
Cup played at the Achimota Golf Course at the weekend.
The two-day
competition, sponsored by Prestige Motor Company Limited, local agents for
Peugeot automobiles and Lufthansa Airlines, attracted over 150 participants in
an 18-hole play.
Unlike last year's
event played in a day, this year's competition appeared more challenging for
the golfers. In the end, Suzzie Abaloo and Kamil Noshie emerged champions in
the women's and men's events respectively and thus earned the right to
represent Ghana at the Peugeot Challenge Cup international final in France.
Abaloo, the pride of
Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited, returned a net score of 142 to claim a
back-to-back title, leaving Elizabeth Essel Koomson and Adelaide Owusu-Agyepong
settling for the silver and bronze trophies respectively.
Kamil was, however,
the surprise winner this year, after coercion from his friends to participate.
He gave it his best shot and displaced other competitors, notably the defending
champion Leonard Kwaku Okyere and Albert Brock. – Daily Graphic
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