GRi Sports 16 – 07 – 2003

King Faisal football club launches website

SWAG calls for Bukhard's sack

GFA holds forum on Ghana football

Prez Kufuor to re-launch sports at Awards Night

Compensation for breach is not transfer fee...Hearts

 

 

King Faisal football club launches website

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2003 - King Faisal Football Club today annnounced the launch of the official website of the Club. The site can be viewed at www.kingfaisalgh.com.

 

According to Faisal's President, Herbert Mensah, a modern day football club without a website does not care about its supporters or players. "Through the web site important knowledge and opinions can be shared. Knowledge and opinions that will ensure a common sense of belonging and direction. With this latest addition to the Club's initiatives two-way communication between the Club and its members or supporters can be real time online through chat rooms and discussion forums."

 

The site hosts various sections including league results, match pre- and reviews, an Executive Column with regular updates by the President, Chairman, Managing Director and the Coach, a Fans' Corner where fan email and letters are posted and shared, a Let's Connect section with three ways in which fans and the community at large can connect with the Club (E-mail, Feedback Form and a Discussion Forum), a Who is Who section with pictures and profiles of the first team and of the Executive Management Team, and a Links section with links to other relevant web sites, including to the Soccer Express for updates on the latest soccer news in Ghana. Provision has also been made for links to the Club's sponsors - Nokia and Puma.

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SWAG calls for Bukhard's sack

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2003 - The Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) has called on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to terminate the appointment of Bukhard Ziese as the head coach of the Black Stars, the senior national football team on the basis of poor performance. 

 

"We are of the firm conviction that the coach does not deserve to continue to hang about after thwarting the nation's effort at qualifying to the Nations Cup to rub shoulders with the elites in the African game" the association stated. Ebow Quansah President of SWAG said at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday that the coach was contracted to take the nation to Tunisia 2004 but has failed to make this dream materialise.

 

He said from the way the coach handled his assignment in the 2004 Nations Cup qualifiers, SWAG is of the opinion that the German cannot be of any use in the more stringent world cup qualifying series. "Bukhard's attitude throughout the campaign and the unsavoury remarks about the local players was appalling and the time to send him home is now," Quansah stated.

 

The SWAG president said he was disappointed at the behaviour of the coach as information available to the Association reveal that the trainer has no respect for anyone, adding that, "the nations welfare should over ride that of any foreigner".

 

He regretted that the FA has not been very decisive as it could not lay down the ground rules for a coach they hired, adding that "the FA's inability to function properly in the absence Ben Koufi the chairman is a worrying situation. " The association would like to see a proper reorganisation in GFA after its life span has expires in October," Quansah noted.

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GFA holds forum on Ghana football

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2003 - The Ghana Football Association (GFA) in conjunction with the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports would on Wednesday 16 July hold an open forum to offer stakeholders the opportunity to suggest ways of moving the nation’s football forward.

 

The forum dubbed "Ghana football; The Way Forward" would be held at the Hospitality Centre of the Accra Sports Stadium from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on

 

Organisations expected to take part in the forum are, the Professional League Board (PLB), Ghana Football Association (GFA), Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA), Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), present and past players of the Black Stars and the National Sports Council (NSC).

 

Other are the Ghana Soccer Coaches Association (GHASOCA), Soccer Academies, Sports Departments of the various universities in the country and companies such as Guinness Ghana Limited, Ghana Brewery Limited, Kinapharma Company Limited and representatives of various media houses.

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Prez Kufuor to re-launch sports at Awards Night

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2003 - President John Kufuor will re-launch Ghana Sports at the 28th SWAG Awards Ceremony scheduled for the Banquet Hall of the State House on 2 August.

 

Ebo Quansah, president of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) said the president has decided "to use the occasion to give sports in the country a new focus, especially after the spectacular flop of the recent times."   

 

The SWAG president said the President's decision was sequel to his earlier declaration that there should be emphasis on the scientific development as opposed to the national tendency to rely on raw talents.

 

He said the re-launch of Ghana Sports would be the first since Dr Kwame Nkrumah the first president launched a similar crusade at the inauguration in 1960, of the erstwhile Central Organisation of Sports (COS) now National Sports Council (NSC)

 

Quansah said the president was disappointed that Ghana, which used to dominate sports, particularly football in Africa is now struggling to keep pace with minnows on the continent.

 

The SWAG president welcomed the president's acceptance to be Guest of Honour initiative and to outline his government's vision for sports development at the SWAG awards Night describing it as an added incentive this year's event.

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Compensation for breach is not transfer fee...Hearts

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2003 - Champion Club, Accra Hearts of Oak today said payment of compensation by Charles Taylor for breach of contract under article 22 of FIFA rules is without prejudice to the provision on training compensation and "hence not until the transfer fees and training compensation is paid the player is still our player."

 

This position of the club was communicated to the Ghana Football Association  (GFA) in a letter that was copied to the GNA Sports also drew the FA's attention to certain acts on the part of Kotoko, which infringed FIFA regulations on the transfer of players.

 

The letter referred to a story carried by Graphic Sports of July 11, which highlighted Kotoko's intention to pay the ’650m fine imposed on Taylor and the subsequent institution of a scheme to raise funds for that purpose.

 

It showed evidence of the existence of the scheme hatched by Kotoko by attaching a "Yibi Ma coupon" with the name, address and logo of Kotoko as well as the picture of Charles Taylor and names of donors and amounts donated in their letter of complaint to the GFA.

 

The Club's letter, signed by Ernest Thompson, Board Secretary, said this piece of evidence is, in itself, a further act of inducement and hence showed that Kotoko showed no remorse for its acts and is a gross disrespect for the authority of the GFA.

  

"Further, this acts of Kotoko also amounted to the use of the player at a time he is not a registered player of Kotoko for promotional purposes to generate revenue," it pointed out.

 

The club said it did not accept the apology sent by Kotoko, which was signed by Kodjo Nyarko who is not an IMC member of Kotoko for the inconvenience cause to Hearts "for the wrongful inducement of our player."

 

"We therefore request the GFA to reject the apology and sanction Kotoko for breach of the directives to issue an apology and also apply the provisions of Article 23 (20 (a) strictly." The football controlling body last week fined Kotoko ’200m for inducing Taylor and imposed a ’650m fine on the player for breach of the contract he signed with Accra Hearts of Oak. Kotoko were give seven days within which to render an unqualified apology to Hearts for their acts of inducement.   

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