Paramount
Distilleries launches Hearts drinks
Cheating
in club competitions, which way?
Accra
(Greater Accra) 14 November 2002 - The long awaited Table Tennis League kicked
off at the Accra Sports Stadium last Friday with Fire Service and Rambels
"A" club playing the opening matches.
The
eight-club league, which should have started in September, was delayed following
the Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) efforts to go in conformity with the
calendar of the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF). The first round of the
league is expected to end in February next year, while the second round is
spread across the year.
In the
opening match, Rambels A Club defeated Fire Service by three straight games
after David Mills, Joseph Osei and Christian Aboagye had triumphed over
Tweneboa Kodua, Samuel Ashittey and Seth Darko 3-2, 3-2 and 3-2 respectively.
The league
continues on Friday, November 15, with attractive and interesting pairings as
Rambells B takes on Street Academy, with Ghana Navy facing Tema Table Tennis
Club which is expected to be the toughest match of the day.
GRi…/
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Paramount Distilleries launches Hearts drinks
Accra
(Greater Accra) 14 November 2002 - The National Chapter Committee of Accra
Hearts of Oak in partnership with Paramount Distilleries on Tuesday introduced
onto the Ghanaian market two brands of alcoholic beverages known as the Phobia
Power Bitters and Phobia Dry Gin.
The aim of
the launch is to help the champion club raise funds of ¢1bn to support the club
in the coming season and beyond. The club would benefit from every tout
purchased from the two drinks.
Luanching
the drinks, Peter Wiafe-Preprah, the managing director of Paramount said the company was proud to be
associated with the six times league champions and congratulated the Phobia fraternity for their dominance so far.
"We congratulate you for winning the title for six unprecedented times and
proving that you are the best on the local front and hope that next year by this
time we would be gathered here launching and celebrating the Kwame Nson title and drinks."
He said the
aim of the company is to help raise funds to help the team adding that plans
are far advanced to introduce other non alcoholic beverages onto the market to
allow supporters of the club who do not take alcohol have the alternative and
help the club financially.
The one
billion cedis if raised would be used in the next six months to parches a brand
new fully air condition 60-seater
bus which would have facilities of a washroom, television including others for the club and would be the first of its kind to be introduced into the
country.
Tommy Okine,
Chief Executive, receiving the package on behalf of the club expressed
appreciation to the initiators and appealed to all sympathizers of the club to
help in raising the fund. He tasked them to use the two drinks in every
occasion- that is the only way we could contribute our quota to push the club
forward." he added.
GRi…/
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Cheating in club competitions, which way?
By William
Ezah)
Accra
(Greater Accra) 14 November 2002 - Recent treatments meted out to Ghana's
participants
in the
African Cup Winners Cup competitions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, in Congo during
their second leg match against AS Police portrayed the level of civilization in
African football in this era of modern and scientific game.
On the
contrary, there is no doubt that visiting teams are given the best of treatment
when they come to Ghana but the same clubs maltreat Ghanaian teams during
second leg return encounters. These maltreatments indicate that in this present
day when the world is seeking modern and scientific ways of developing and
improving the game, African Clubs still resort to archaic and uncivilized ways
to achieve success. No wonder we are
always content with our performance, anytime we reached the quarter finals of the World Cup or even
the second round.
It also not
surprising that Asians and other less known football countries like South Korea
and Turkey were in the last four teams in the FIFA world cup staged in Japan
and South Korea this year. It is sad that there is still mass cheating and
maltreatment of clubs in CAF organized competitions like Club Championship and
Cup Winners Cup as well as other related events.
The CAF
competitions dated back to 1960's and clubs from East, Central and North
African have ever since delighted in day light robberies and glaring
maltreatment of visiting clubs in order to gain undue physical and psychological
advantage over their opponents.
The issue of
low class hotels and mosquito infested hostels, poor training pitches,
poor food as well as lack of general
care for visiting teams in places like the two Congo's have been the headache
of visiting teams to these parts of the continent.
Officials of
clubs like Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko have had occasions to
tell their own horrifying stories in their away encounters in the continental
assignments. Accra Hearts of Oak have not yet forgotten the treatment they were
subjected to in 2001 when they were in Congo for a second leg match against Etoile Du Congo in the preliminaries of that
year's Club Championship.
Aside of the
maltreatments, they were subjected to biased officiating hence their in ability
to make a successful defence of the cup resulting in their early exit. For the
case of Kotoko, they were told of what would be awaiting them in their return
match in Congo after they had demolished AS Police 4-0 in Kumasi during the
first leg.
And true to
the words of Coach Dengaki of AS Police, the fabulous boys were taken through
hell in their match in Congo. Later media reports said that the coach was
sacked
for opening
his mouth too wide in Kumasi.
In spite of
all these, the continent's football governing body, CAF, has shown no concern
over the situation. No doubt the CAF president Issa Hayatou lost miserably to
Sepp Blatter when he made an attempt to be the president of FIFA. Because many
accused him of not doing enough to reduce the rot in African Football.
The CAF
scribe is still sitting idle without solving the unending problem but is
instead embarking on unnecessary reshuffle in the executive board of the
confederation. It would however be noted that the introduction of CAF Champions
league has reduced the negative things associated with the game in Africa to
some extent but in the other competitions they are still rampant.
This is
because of the live viewing of the champion's league competition. But the
preliminaries are still plagued with the canker crying to the continent's
football governing body to take pragmatic steps to solve the problem.
Unless the
CAF president wants to say that he is happy with the situation, since for the
past years he has not been able to find the antidote to the problem, one
wonders to what use the various committees of the confederation are being put.
It is for
this reason that CAF must sit up and take a critical look at the complaints
lodged by clubs which suffer these acts of barbarism. Many such acts have gone
without the confederation passing comments let alone taking steps to stem their
recurrence.
Sepp Blatter
should not think of developing only infrastructure in Africa, even though it is
well appreciated, but must help to clean up the rot in the game on the
continent in order to ensure the emergence of worthy champions. Also, Africa's football
association must do well to speak against all unsportsmanly practices which
turn to tear us apart instead of uniting Africa through sports.
The Ghana
Football Association (GFA) only came out to condemn the Congolese but has
failed to make any aggressive move to see to an end of such behaviors by clubs
who want to win by hook or crook.
Ghanaian
clubs participating in CAF organised competitions must do well to take pressmen
along so that they can report on these happenings. Kotoko did well by giving
the incidents in Congo some publicity through their official mouth piece
"Kotoko Express" as well as other private radio stations in the
country. Clubs like Hearts, Goldfield, Liberty must take note of these.
Finally
there is the need for all clubs to unite and fight against these things by any
means necessary and possible. There can be boycotts of CAF competitions as a
way of protest. It is the hope of all that African soccer would be free of all
these troubles as we look forward to host the World Cup and if possible win it.
GRi…/
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