Accra (Greater Accra) 26 June 2002 - President John Kufuor on Tuesday sent a message of congratulation to his counterpart, President Abdulai Wade of Senegal on the participation of the Senegalese National Team in the 58th edition of the World
Cup.
The message said, "It gives me profound pride to convey to Your Excellency and people of Senegal sincere and warmest congratulations from the people and Government of Ghana on the landmark success achieved by the Lions of Teranga."
It said Ghanaians rejoiced in the success achieved by the Lions, "an achievement which will serve as a source of pride, inspiration an encouragement to African football."
"Though short of achieving the ultimate, the performance of the Lions throughout the games constitute for us in Ghana and indeed for the whole of Africa, a source of great motivation and hope for our future participation in world football as a continent," it added.
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Bekwai (Ashanti Region) 26 June 2002 - An ardent supporter of Accra Hearts of Oak at Asante Bekwai died from shock over the controversial penalty awarded to Asante Kotoko in the titanic premier league math played between the two glamorous clubs at the Kumasi Sports stadium last Sunday.
The deceased, Kwame Nsuah, was the Chairman of the Hearts Supporters Union at Bekwai. He was said to have instantly collapsed when the penalty was given to Asante Kotoko and was rushed to the Bekwai Government Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
According to the wife, Madam Mary Aboraah, the husband who was listening to radio commentary on the match with a group of Hearts fans was all jubilation when his idol club took the lead in the 70th minute of the gruelling match. But his jubilation and ecstatic mood was terminated on a sad note a little over 20 minutes later when Kotoko earned the controversial spot kick.
The body had since been deposited at the mortuary of the Bekwai Government Hospital. The deceased aged 56, was purchasing clerk of Adwumapa, a private licensed cocoa buying company.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 June 2002 - The Head Coach of Accra Hearts of Oak, Mr Herbert Addo has expressed his unhappiness over the performance of FIFA referee Emmanuel Bissi of Sunyani in their league match against Kumasi Asante Kotoko at the Kumasi Sports Stadium last Sunday.
He said, as a FIFA referee, Bissi should have stamped his authority on the game right from the beginning but he woefully failed to do so. Coach Addo said officiating was poor and one-sided, adding that the referee favoured the home team culminating in the penalty he awarded to Kotoko as the player had earlier on attempted diving but was ignored and wondered why the referee awarded a penalty after the second dive.
He said the referee performed below expectation in the game, adding that the harm had already been done. On the goal scored by Bernard Don Bortey, the coach said the ball might have hit the hand of the player, but it might not have been intentional even though he did not see the action from where he was standing. Mr Addo said the goal was a perfect one because the assistant referee was right on the spot and did not see any thing wrong with it.
He said the return encounter would be a different story since they are preparing fervently for it. He said Hearts would come out victorious, adding that, "it would be a do or die affair." Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak last Sunday engaged in a gruelling encounter at the Kumasi Sports Stadium, which ended one-all. The match was however shrouded in controversies as two sides vehemently contested the goals scored by the by their opponents.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 June 2002 - The first training session of the senior national team, the Black Stars under new coach Millan Zivadinovic, originally scheduled for the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday has been rescheduled to Wednesday.
Speaking in Accra on Monday Mr Kudjo Fianoo, Welfare Officer of the team said the delay was due to the inability of the coach to arrive in the country as planed on Monday. The coach however touched down on Tuesday evening and promised meeting the players a day after.
He is expected to work with an assembly of local and professional players. The players would be camped at the SSNIT hostel at Legon and would begin training at nine o'clock in the morning. The Ghana Football Association had thrown an open invitation to all Ghanaian players on holiday in the country to attend the training sessions with the coach.
Fifteen local players have been invited to join the foreign-based ones. They are Sammy Adjei, James Nanor, Charles Taylor, Bernard Don Bortey from Hearts. Joe Hendricks, Micheal Osei, Nana Arhin Duah, Hamza Mohamed are from Kotoko, while John Painstil and Ernest Papa Arko are from the camp of Liberty Professionals. Others are Iddrisu Yahaya, Debrah Isahaku from King Faisal, Edward Sosu Power F.C, Massawudu Mumuni Maxbees and Isaac Boakye formerly of Obuasi Goldfields.
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