North Stand re-opened under new name
Boxing-Raymond Narh looks for game in London
North Stand re-opened under new name
Accra (Greater Accra) 10 May 2002 - Mr Edward Osei -Kwaku, Minister of Youth and Sport, on Thursday 9 May commissioned the ˘235 million rehabilitated North Stand of the Accra Sports Stadium. But the stand has been renamed the ‘May 9th Stand’ in remembrance of 126 victims who lost their lives through the disaster.
At a brief ceremony after a Commemorative Inter-Faith Memorial Church Service in honour of the 9 May disaster victims at the Accra Sports Stadium, Mr Osei- Kwaku said the stand has now been renamed "May 9 Stand" in honour of the victims of who died on the fateful day.
He said rehabilitation and renaming of the stand has been done upon recommendations of the Okudzeto Commission, which investigated the accident. Giving the breakdown of the expenditure, the minister said ˘200 million was spent on reconstruction of six entrances to the stand, while ˘35 million cedis was used for fixing 1,094 chairs which were broken by angry soccer fans on the day of the disaster.
Mr Osei Kweku added that 136 million cedis would also be spent in constructing a monument in front of the main gate of the stadium in honour of the victims. He said names of the deceased would be inscribed on the monument. He later on cut the sod for the commencement of work on the construction of the monument.
The monument portrays a person carrying a fellow at the back in pains with the inscription in "Gbomo nyemi dzi gbomo" in Ga language, which literally means, “We are each brother’s keeper.”
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Inter-faith service held in memory of 9 May
disaster victims
Accra (Greater Accra) 10 May 2002 - President John Agyekum Kufuor was among dignitaries who attended a 60-minute inter-faith memorial service held at the Accra Sports Stadium on Thursday in commemoration of the first anniversary of the May 9, 2001 stadium disaster in which 126 soccer fans perished.
Ninety-five people were admitted to various hospitals in Accra while 277 people who received minor injuries were treated and discharged. A minute silence was observed for the departed souls and four wreaths were laid.
Mr Edward Osei-Kwaku, Minister of Youth and Sports laid the first one on behalf of the government and people of Ghana, Nana Twum Barima, Okyehene Sanaahene laid the second on behalf of the bereaved families.
Colonel George Pattington, member of the Kumasi Asante Kotoko Board laid the third on behalf of the club, while Mr Fiifi Forson, a member of the Accra Hearts of Oak Management laid the fourth on behalf of the club.
In a tribute, the Minister of Youth and Sports said 9 May marked a dark day in the history of the country and would also remain indelibly etched in the football history of the country. "It was unbearably pathetic and a day of shock not only for the bereaved families but the entire government and people of Ghana. Thank God, the grief notwithstanding, the entire nation has been able to pull itself together and stand firm".
Mr Osei-Kwaku said the overwhelming show of support by Ghanaians and well-wishers demonstrated through donations to the Stadium Disaster Fund was a huge testimony to those who died in the tragedy that they did not die in vain.
Mr Christopher Okpoti Kwao, who read a tribute on behalf of the bereaved families, said the event was painful and almost impossible to forget, but the great healer has worked hard on the wounds in their hearts. He said the support of Ghanaians and the international community, had been tremendous and they were grateful.
Mr Fiifi Forson who read Accra Hearts of Oak tribute said the tragedy was one of Africa's worst in sports and the saddest part of the tragedy was that most of the innocent victims were supporters of their club. He said the victims were disciplined, noble and honourable heroes and heroines who fell in the battle for the great game of football.
Mr Herbert Mensah, Chief Executive of Kotoko said the tragedy was of tremendous shock to the country, families and the sporting world. He said it was a day families of the victims would never forget.
Reverend Dr Emmanuel Asante, President of the Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon in a sermon said the tragedy called for respect for rule of law and order and the rejection of football hooliganism in the country. He appealed to the football authorities to institute measures that would prevent its re-occurrence and refrain from ad-hoc measures when such events occur in playing fields throughout the country.
President Kufuor later presented an ambulance donated to the government by four organisations to the Stadium Government Clinic. Presenting the keys to the ambulance to Mr Osei-Kwaku, President Kufuor asked the management of the clinic to take good care of the vehicle. The ambulance was presented to the government last year by the management of Ghana Breweries, Mobil (Ghana) Limited, Nestle (Ghana) limited and Coca-Cola (Ghana) Limited.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 10 May 2002 - Bofoakwa Tano are sure to beat Kumasi Asante Kotoko in their upcoming sixth week premier league match on Sunday in Sunyani.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency Sports on Thursday in Sunyani, Mr Ohene Adjei, a Sunyani-based businessman and a Board Member of the club, said Bofoakwa was fully prepared to snatch the maximum three points from Kotoko. Mr Adjei, who sounded very confident, said their resolve was reinforced by last season's league match, during which a Kotoko fan assaulted the referee on the field of play, leading to the abandonment of the match; "we want to beat them to justify the Ghana Football Association's (GFA) decision to award us the three points in that encounter".
He dismissed the current form of Kotoko as "nothing before us" at the Sunyani Coronation Park, saying, "we also have equally in-form players who can match the Oseikrom lads squarely". The Director said it would be suicidal to lose to Kotoko since last year no team could defeat the club at the Coronation Park.
The Board Member stated: "Surely we are going to beat them because hardly do Kotoko beat us in Sunyani." Mr Adjei urged supporters of the club to throng the park and comport themselves well before and after the match towards the players and the match officials. He expressed confidence in the club's coach, Bright Obeng, who he said had prepared the boys adequately for the encounter.
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Obuasi (Ashanti Region) 10 May 2002 - The Obuasi Goldfields Sporting Club has called on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Referees Appointment Committee to be circumspect in the selection of referees for the on-going premier league competition.
The call is necessitated by the hell the management of the club, led by the Operations Manager, Mr E.K. Oteng-Aboagye and the security agencies led by the District Stadium Security Co-ordinator, D.S.P. Gyinae, went through before being able to whisk the match officials of their mid-week encounter against Power F/C from the Len Clay Stadium.
The club said referee Benedicta Wormade and her assistants, all from Hohoe, were held hostage at the stadium for well over two hours after the match had ended. It said the biased officiating by Benedicta, with the view to assisting the visitors to win the match, did not go down well with the supporters who charged on her after the match resulting in her hostage.
The club's management said it later learnt that the referee is related to one of the executives of the visiting Power F/C. "We want to appeal to the GFA and Referees Appointment Committee to ensure that referees who have relations with clubs and those who are prone to monetary and other influences are not appointed for the rest of the premier league matches."
It said the Len Clay Stadium is not noted for rioting and it is therefore incumbent on the GFA, the referees and all other stakeholders in the sports to ensure that nothing is done to erase that uniqueness of the stadium. "Management deeply expresses dissatisfaction about the poor performance of referee Benedicta Wormade but at the same time wish to appeal to supporters to exercise restrain in the face of such open bias officiating against their idol club." The club assured match officials of their safety at the Len Clay Stadium but wished that such safety should not be abused by the referees.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 10 May 2002 - National and West super-feartherweight champion Raymond Narh is expected to leave for London next week end, Saturday 18 May to engage in a warm up fight.
The fight scheduled for 25 May is billed on Sport Network Promotions owned by Frank Warren, one of the world’s renowned by Frank Warren, one of the world’s renowned promoters. Narh, the pride of Graphic, would be leaving together with the National and West African Lightweight champion, Ben Neequaye, who is also billed to engage in a warm up fight on the same day with Narh.
Mr Al Hamilton, the manger of the two boxers, told the GNA Sports in an interview that he is in the country to finalise arrangements for the departure of the two boxers to London. He said the boxers would embark on training during the 10-day stay in London before they fight on 25 May. He however, declined to make known the financial deal for the two boxers.
He said air fares, accommodation and everything related to the trip would be financed by him and the organisers of the event in London. Mr Hamilton said each of the boxers is likely to earn not less than ˘10 million in the bout, adding that after the fight both boxers would come back to Ghana to defend their respective titles.
“My wards are not afraid of any contender in the country and they would be ever ready to face any opponent for the defence of their titles,” Mr Hamilton stressed. He said the titles being held by his wards command a lot of respect since the likes of Azumah Nelson, Ike Quartey and other great Ghanaian boxers have never held those titles. Mr Hamilton said his boxers would put up, at least, tow defences in every year for titles they are holding.
Raymond Narh last 22 February knocked out champion Smith Odoom in the 10th round to win the National and West Africa super-feartherweight titles, while Ben Neequaye also defeated Congo Soldier to win the National and West Africa lightweight titles, on the same night, dubbed “Put Up or Shut Up.”
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