Hearts pay ˘50 million for Laryea Kingston
Ghana Open
golf championship on March 29
Accra (Greater Accra) 20 March 2002 - The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) has accepted to include Ghana in its 'Goal Programme' for the years 2002 and 2003.
Mr Ben Koufie, chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) told the GNA Sports on Tuesday that FIFA has written to them to extend the programme to Ghana despite her late application and the long list of countries queuing for the opportunity. The GFA chairman said Ghana would ask FIFA to finance the Prampram School of Excellence, a youth programme, which has been abandoned when it was eventually handed over to the GFA by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
He said three playing fields would be constructed in addition to a gym while decent hostel facilities would also be provided to enable all the national teams to camp there when they have assignments. Mr Koufie said the centre would be a first class soccer academy from where coaches and administrators as well as cadet players would be trained in line with the GFA's five-year development programme, which the Executive Council is currently studying.
The chairman said the five-year development plan is an embodiment of the establishment of structures for Under 12, Under 15, Under 17 and Under 20 teams at the national, regional and district levels, adding that the Goal Programme would be a perfect facilitator of the plan.
The FIFA letter, which was signed by Mr Michel Zenn Ruffinen, General Secretary said the Goal Bureau Committee has accepted to send the programme to Ghana and the Budget Committee of FIFA would release the package after deliberations with the Finance Committee during Congress, which is slated for South Korea ahead of the World Cup.
FIFA Goal Programme assists developing countries in the establishment of structures, which would help raise the standard of the game in their countries. With the inclusion of Ghana, 117 countries have received the Goal Bureau's approval for assistance up to date.
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Ho (Volta Region) 20 March 2002 - Mr Hebert Addo, the newly signed Headcoach of Accra Hearts of Oak football club on Monday said he was still hopeful that the team would beat Stade Malien in their second leg African Clubs Championship slated for Mali next Sunday to remain in the reckoning of this year's championship.
"If Ghanaians have lost hope, we have not, at least not those of us here," he declared at Ho, where the team has pitched its camp. Mr Addo expressed the hope when he led a team of 32 players, technical men and executives of Chapter 41 supporters of the club to pay a courtesy call on Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister. The team arrived in Ho last week to prepare for the crucial second leg match on Sunday in far away Mali.
Hearts drew 1-1 with Stade Malien in the first leg match played at the Accra Sports Stadium on March 10, to deflate supporters’ confidence in the team's ability to win the return encounter. "It has happened before and with your cooperation and friendship we would bring back glory from Mali," Coach Addo stated. He said Hearts needed "peace of mind to train and prepare for the coming encounter" hence their presence in Ho.
Mr Owusu-Yeboa who said he had been a Hearts fan since he began to appreciate football said "I have absolutely no doubt on my mind that in spite of the outcome of the first leg encounter you are going to sail through." Mr Owusu-Yeboa said "there have been experiences when even within seconds of the last whistle things happened to clinch victory for Hearts." He called for support for the team saying, "when your heart is with a club, no matter what the fortunes of the club are, you still remain with the club."
The Regional Minister said the weather at Ho presently would condition the players properly to be comfortable with the weather in Mali. "Rain or shine, no matter the level of heat in Mali, you are going to win to make Hearts and Ghana proud," he stated. Mr Owusu-Yeboa advised the players who were in high spirits to train seriously for their matches since performance at the domestic level was a means to an end of football, which is now big business.
He supported Mr Dan Anane, Chapter 41 Vice-Chairman's view that Hearts adopted Ho as their training ground for subsequent matches. Among exhilarated fans who accompanied the team to meet the Minister was Mr Douglas Wagba, Volta Regional Director of Ghana Telecom. The presence of the team drew workers from their offices trying to spot their favourite players.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 March 2002 - Accra Hearts of Oak have concluded the payment of ˘50 million to city rivals, Great Olympics as transfer fees on Laryea Kingston. Hearts issued a cheque for ˘40 million to Olympics last week and instructed them to make up the balance with ˘10 million Oly had owed them on the transfer of James Zogho, a former striker of the champion club.
Mr Ernest Thompson, secretary to the Board of Directors of Hearts told the GNA Sports on Tuesday that the Phobians have not yet taken a decision on Samuel Monnie who also joined their ranks at the close of the season from Great Olympics but pay his wages as and when due because he trains with them.
He said though the two players presented themselves to Hearts as floating players when they returned from their botched professional escapade in Libya, the management of the Premier club have decided to respect the ruling of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Status Committee, which brokered an amicable settlement over the two clubs in connection with the players.
The Hearts scribe said the Status Committee approved of ˘50 million on Kingston and ˘40 million on Monnie and Hearts accepted their decision and accordingly cancelled the debt on Kingston who has been registered by the club. He said though they wrote to Olympics explaining their position, Oly wrote to inform the GFA that Hearts have paid ˘20 million as part payment for each player while it was appropriately stated that the money was to conclude the deal on Kingston.
Mr Thompson said as much as Hearts would like to co-exist with Olympics in the most friendly atmosphere, such a desire must be primary to the two teams before it could materialise. He said the action of Olympics undermines the spirit of good neighbourliness, adding that "their position is untenable because the seller cannot impose his commodity on the buyer; the buyer pays for what he needs."
The Hearts scribe said if Olympics want to please their accounting system by splitting Kingston's money to cover Monnie, they could do so and Hearts would not challenge their book-keeping methods but by informing the GFA that the money was meant for the two players, they have been rather unfair to Hearts.
Asked if Hearts would not need the services of Monnie, Mr Thompson said a decision would be taken at a later date and if the player would not be in the plans of the Phobians he could return Olympics.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 March 2002 - The 70th annual Ghana Amateur Open golf championship tees off at the Achimota Golf Course in Accra from Saturday, March 29 and ends on Monday, April 1.
Mr Mike Ezan, President of the Ghana Golf Association (GGA) who announced this in Accra on Tuesday, said the three-day Scratch competition open to golfers from Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire, is being jointly sponsored by Silver Star Auto Limited and Japan Motors Trading Company.
He said the competition which will be played under the rules of the St Andrews Golf Club, the World's golf governing body, is expected to attract more than 300 participants. The President said the entry requirement for the Men is handicap 12 and below while that of the Ladies is pegged at Handicap 25. The Professionals will engage in a hectic 72-hole competition starting from March 28.
Mr Ezan said a Special Youth (Under-16) tournament will also take place during the tournament and the winner will participate in the St Andrew's Golf Championship competition in Scotland later in the year. Eight prizes will go the Men's event while five will be presented to the Ladies category. Mr Edward Osei Kwaku, Minister for Youth and Sports is the special guest of honour.
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