Former boxer grateful to Ike Quartey and fans
Accra (Greater Accra) 21 March 2002 - Mr Francis Oti-Akenten, Coach of Obuasi Goldfields, has said that, his team would scale through to the next stage of the CAF competition if they are given fair officiating in the second leg in Guinea. Speaking to GNA Sports, he said, his boys have trained well for the second leg and are capable of beating their opponent when the game is devoid of intimidation from the match officials.
Mr Oti-Akenten said the Guineans had a very good officiating in the first leg at Obuasi Len Clay Stadium, adding that, should they also have the same in the second leg nothing can deny them of victory. He said the players are in good shape for the match and have vowed not to repeat the mistakes of the first leg after watching the video clip of the match.
Mr Oti-Akenten said inexperience and complacency were the cause of their unimpressive performance in the first leg since most of the players were just graduating from their Soccer Academy. On his plans for the future, the coach said his primary concern is to build a formidable team by blending the old guards with the newly graduated players from the academy for the next football season.
He said, the club might not do so well in this year's league because most of the players would be having their first taste of the premier league but expressed the hope that, they would be a strong force in the 2003 league season. Obuasi Goldfields are scheduled to play Satellite Club of Guinea in the second leg of the Confederation of African Football competition in Guinea on Sunday, March 24.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 21March 2002 - Goalkeeper Owusu Banahene, formerly of Sekondi Hasaacas and now with Dansoman-based Liberty Professionals, has predicted that his new club will win this year's league scheduled to commence on Sunday, March 31.
Banahene who kept the post for the silver medallist Satellites team at last year's World Youth Championship in Argentina joined Liberty Professionals recently and was featured in the Guinness Gala competition last weekend.
He told the GNA Sports in Accra that looking at the performances of the remaining 15 teams and other factors, Liberty are more likely to win the league. The goalkeeper said the team has been through a rigid training regime and therefore have the urge over all the other 15 clubs irrespective of the level of opposition they may put up.
He admitted that even though he might not have seen the other teams at training and could not also use the gala as a credible criterion for assessment, he was optimistic that his new club would scale over all others. "Indeed, discipline, dedication and determination have been the hallmark of all the players and we will therefore leave nothing to chance by approaching each game with all seriousness," Banahene told the GNA.
On whether Hearts or Kotoko could provide a stiff opposition to their championship aspirations, he said Kotoko could but Hearts have lost the men needed to do that job. The goalkeeper bluffed that Liberty currently have the best team as compared to the others.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 21 March 2002 - The Ghana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) is to engage the services of two teachers to take amateur boxers through basic English and arithmetic to enhance their communication skills.
Mr Eddy Duplan, Chairman of GABA told GNA sports in an interview that the boxers would need to go through some basic studies especially in English, so that they would be able to communicate well when they travel outside. He said the studies would begin when the boxers start the residential camping, which begins at the Winneba Sports College from March 25. They would be taken through one hour of studies in simple English and mathematics everyday.
The 29 boxers currently undergoing a two-week non-residential camping at the Accra Sports Stadium under the tutelage of coaches Owusu Asare and Napoleon Abbey are expected to form the nucleus of the National Amateur boxing team which would represent the nation at international events.
Touching on the preparations of the boxers, Mr Duplan said the boxers are making a lot of progress in their training and expressed the confidence that they would be in good shape in due time. He said they are planning tournaments with countries like Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso and Cote d' Ivoire to prepare the boys and make them battle ready before the end of May or early June.
Mr Duplan said they are also in the process of getting the computer used in scoring by judges at international games for their boxers to help them get used to the system. He indicated that, the National Sports Council NSC and the Ghana Olympic Committee have given them enough support in their preparations so far and expressed gratitude to them.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 21 March 2002 - El-Abdul Rahman Okpoti, a former featherweight Ghanaian boxer, now suffering from stroke, has expressed his profound gratitude to Ike "Bazooka" Quartey, former WBA Welterweight Champion and some boxing fans for financial assistance that enabled him undergo medical treatment.
Speaking to the GNA Sports in Accra on Wednesday, Okpoti, 48, former number one contender in his weight division between 1974 to 1995, said the financial aid has given him a new lease of life, in that he is now responding to treatment.
"I now feel better. It's my hope that I would be fully fit in due time", the boxer told the GNA. The boxer through the GNA appealed to the public on Wednesday, February 20, for financial assistance to enable him undergo treatment. And barely two days after, Ike Quartey donated 300 dollars while some fans gave him ¢240,000 at the Accra Sports Stadium during a boxing show. He said, he is currently seeing a specialist at the Agalata Clinic at Chokor, a fishing community in Accra, for herbal treatment.
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