GRi Sports 24 - 10 - 2002

Asante Kotoko need ˘900m to go to Morocco

Abuakwa state wants a stadium

Mylik under-19 tournament launched

 

 

Asante Kotoko need ˘900m to go to Morocco

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 24 October 2002 - Kumasi Asante Kotoko would require an amount of ˘900m to enable them honour their first leg CAF Cup Winners Cup final match against Wydad Casablanca in Morocco in early November.

 

A source close to Kotoko’s management hinted Ghana Review International Sports that the amount, which is not available in the club’s coffers was needed to cater for air fare, accommodation and feeding among others. It said at present the team would have to fall on philanthropists to come to their aid to enable the club foot the almost ˘1b amount if it will honour the finals of the CAF competition. According to the source even though Kotoko’s early sojourn to Brazzaville to honour a semi-final match with A.S. Police profited tremendously it left a financial gap that stretches the club into a desperate situation.

 

So far, the main source of the club’s revenue generation has been through gate proceeds recorded in Kotoko home matches in the domestic league and in the continental campaigns but it has not sufficed in taking it through the continental campaign. The onus on a number of occasions had fallen on individuals’ assistance.

 

In their last game at Brazzaville, some players and officials of Kotoko were detained in Brazzaville to await their settling of hotel bills accruing from their one-week stay in equatorial Africa. Ghana Review International was told by the management source that Chief Executive Herbert Mensah had to fly to South Africa in pursuit of $50,000 to settle bills before the club could leave the country. 

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Abuakwa state wants a stadium

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 24 October 2002 - The Chiefs and People of Akyem Abuakwa have appealed to the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Edward Osei-Kwaku, to help them build a modern stadium in the area as part of the ministry's proposed infrastructural drive.

 

The traditional area, which boast of two elite clubs- Kwaebibirem and Suhum Maxbees- lacked any stadium of their own and they are therefore compelled to travel to other centres to honour matches.

 

Nana Fredua Agyemang, Apagyahene of Akyem Abuakwa made the appeal on behalf of the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyin at the launch of the Mylik Classic Under-19 Football Tournament scheduled for 20 - 30 November at the Accra Sports Stadium.

 

In all, eight teams including Leyton Orient from England, Racing Club from Cote D'Ivoire, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko will be participating.

The teams would be put into two groups with the two top winners in each group playing in the semis finals. The two winning teams would meet  in the finals on November 30.

 

Nana Fredua Agyemang urged the ministry to make provision for rural teams in terms of infrastructural facilities such a stadiums so that their youth would not be attracted to the nation's capital. "We want to enjoy the facilities that the people in the cities enjoy", the chief said and urged  the ministry to take a second look at the distribution of sporting facilities in the country.

 

"The minister has earmarked certain areas for the provision of stadiums as a premise for the country to bid for the 2008 Nations' Cup but unfortunately the Abuakwa State is not included."

 

Dr Owusu Ansah, Acting Chief Executive of the National Sports Council who spoke on behalf of the Minister could not make any definite promise but instead commended the Okyehene for his involvement in sports, citing his defiant to tradition to participate in last year's cross country races to commemorate World Aids Day.

 

The Chief Executive said his outfit would donate four trophies, at the request of the Okyehene, towards this year's event.

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Mylik under-19 tournament launched

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 24 October 2002 - Edward Osei-Kwaku, Minister for Youth and Sports has challenged the management of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to find ways of making the achievements of the national youth teams to reflect on the senior national team, the Black Stars.

 

In a speech read for him by Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, Acting Chief Executive of the National Sports Council (NSC) at the launch of the Mylik Classic under-19 Football Tournament, he said even though currently "we celebrate the achievements of the junior national teams it is important that we recognise that there is a yarning gap between success at the junior level and senior level.

 

He praised Mylik Sporting Limited for instituting the tournament, which would bring the youth from all over the world to show their soccer talents and at the same time give them the opportunity to increase their market value.

 

The tournament is scheduled for the Accra Sports Stadium from 20 - 30 November and would involve eight team divided in to two groups with the first two moving to the semi-finals before the finals.

 

Osei-Kwaku said the Mylik Classic under-19 Football Tournament is in consonance with government's policy of private sector participation in national development. "It is in this direction that I will lend my support to all progressive programmes of Mylik and encourage more private sector participation in the development and management of Ghana Sports."

 

Kofi Bawuah, Chief Executive Officer of Mylik Sporting Limited said the venture started with a dream to put in place a mechanism that would help bring about a systematic bottom up development of sports in the country.

 

He said some of the objectives for starting the company are to organise community football development, player management, staging of youth football tournaments and marketing of quality sports wears. Bawuah said it in line with the company's objectives that they have started a community sports project at Jamasi in the Ashanti Region, which would take the form of football academy to provide football education to the Youth of the region.

 

"Currently we already have the basic infrastructure in the form of a building that can house 40 students in the first instance and it is our hope that we expand it to 200 students by 2004." He said the Mylik Classic under-19 Football Tournament would be an annual affair and would start off with the youth teams of Accra Hearts of Oak, Liberty Professional, F C Midjiland, and a British Council Community Sports Initiative team, all from Accra.

 

Bawuah said Asante Kotoko and Corners Babies would come from Kumasi, Feyernorod Academy from Gomoah-Fetteh and Racing Club from Ivory Coast. He said Ghana soccer is be-devilled with many problems including the rushing of talented young players into playing at the senior level leading to their early burnout. "It is our aim to identify such players for careful observations and monitoring with the aim of building a reservoir to feed local clubs and national teams in the future."

 

Bawuah said it is the aim of his company to work together with the NSC, GFA and the Ghana Education Service to streamline youth football in Ghana by installing a football league solely for young footballers in second cycle educational institutes and football academies.

 

Present at the ceremony were Kwadwo Mpiani, Chief of Staff Office of the President, Teddy Humphreys, Director British Council, Yaw Bawuah, former Chairman of Kumasi Asanti Kotoko and representatives of some of the clubs to play in the tournament.

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