The executive board of the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) have expressed gratitude to the Ghanaian media and other stakeholders for their unwavering support for the just commenced Ghana Professional Boxing League.

The much heralded boxing league got off to a bright start last Saturday at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra with the Sports Minister, Hon. Mustapha Ussif, Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuye, a former Minister for Youth and Sports, Mr.Maxwel Takyie, Chairman of Imax Media Group and Peter Zwennes, immediate pastformer GBA President among a host of dignitaries present to ussher in the new era in Ghana boxing.

GBA President, Abraham Kotei Neequaye has hailed the unique role of the media and other stakeholders including referees, judges and ring marshalls as well as card girl.

“We appreciate the support of the media, many of whom have rallied behind us and given us publicity we cannot buy. From the first time we announced this deal through signing the contract with Imax Media all the way to our first fight night on Saturday, you have stood by us and we appreciate it so much,” Mr. Neequaye said.

“Even though Imax Media are the major sponsors/partners, the rest of the media have supported us in various ways with their publications, TV and Radio shows and are still doing it. This is just what we need for the progress of Ghana boxing, we can only do it with the media behind us,” the GBA capo continued.

He added: “We are also grateful to our ring officials who are the Referees, Judges and others like ring marshalls , timekeepers and ring girl for standing by us and making it a great start to what we believe is the future of Ghana boxing. We assure you of our commitment to give you all the support and motivation to do even better going forward.”

The Ghana Professional Boxing League saw it’s first night of action on February 19, with mouthwatering rewards for best boxers in juvenile, amateur and professional ranks aside juicy purses. The league is expected to bounce back with fight night 2 in a fortnight.

Credit: Ghana Boxing Authority

The Executive Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for Accra 2023, Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare, has outlined the criteria used to select the sports disciplines which will be competing at the 13th African Games.

The list of 25 disciplines was announced during the closing session of the First Joint Technical Meeting with the LOC, the TCAG, and the AUSC which was held at the Alisa Hotel in Accra on Friday, February 18, 2022.

The disciplines selected include; Football, Athletes, Boxing, Cycling, Chess, Squash, Table Tennis, Tennis, Netball, Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Fencing, Cricket, Armwrestling, Badminton, Basketball, Field Hockey, Handball, Judo, Karate-do, Rugby, Swimming, Taekwondo, Weightlifting, and Teqball as a demonstration sport.

Some of the confederation heads during the closing session of the First Joint Meeting of the 13th African Games held at the Alisa Hotel on Friday, February 18, 2022.

The criteria as enumerated by Dr. Ofosu-Asare include the following;

1. Sending out forms of interest to the various confederations to complete and return for assessment.
2. The confederations were required to explain the qualification procedures and processes for their various teams and individual sports.
3. The LOC also took into consideration the number of teams and individual athletes to be based in Accra for the Games in their respective sports codes.
4. The LOC considered availability of facilities required for the Games.
5. Availability of the number of technical officials required.
6. The contribution of various international confederations towards the disciplines.
7. Expectations of various sports disciplines of the LOC.
8. Milestones reached by various sports disciplines with respect to qualification to major international competitions.
9. The expected outcomes of the African Games.

The President of the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) says they have no constitution, and would be calling for an extra ordinary Congress very soon to rectify that important issue.

Addressing Promoters at the Mudor Conference Hall inside the Trust Sports Emporium, he revealed that the former President Peter Zwennes who is a lawyer did not sign the draft constituting to make in binding.

He said for 29 years the GBA has operated without a constitution, and they want to refer to their ‘Green Book’ which has the rules and regulations.

Mr. Abraham Kotei Neequaye said there are many articles in the draft constitution which need to be amended to conform with modern trends.

He expressed that the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) is at the same level with the National Sports Authority (NSA), and they are looking forward to fruitful and cordial working relations with them and the Ministry of Youth  Sports.

According to him, there are some good portions in the constitution, but there is the need to call all stakeholders to the extra ordinary congress to work on it.

He said the new Ghana Professional Boxing League will be good for boxers, coaches, managers, promoters and ring officials.

“The Professional League being organized by Imax Media and other sponsors is not a threat” he said, explaining that they are ready to support other promoters who call on them for support.

“We want to make promoters more comfortable, they should get closer to use” he added.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

…Says Gideon Happy Kwamla Oyiadzo

I am very disappointed in the President of the GBA for calling me an errand boy simply bacause I disagree with him on fundamental issues currently confronting boxing administration in Ghana as the Organizer for the Boxing Promoters Association of Ghana. Mr Abraham Kotei Neequaye should know better that unlike a Manager of a boxer who can be a person, a promoter is a corporate entity, a syndicate with actors and officers that play key roles for project success.

Mr Abraham Kotei Neequaye should be ashamed of himself for talking so loose as President of the Ghana Boxing Authority. This way below the belt sir.

I am a project manager who doubles up as the head of marketing and production at Cabic Promotions so if the President plays mischief by asking that I must secure a license under the GBA before he can recognize me, then which one will it be? If I get licensed as a promoter then that sets me up to compete with Cabic Promotions. Also if we go by the logic of the GBA President that everyone else apart from the head of a licensed promotion house is an errand boy then will I be right to refer to Mr. Abraham Kotei Neequaye as 'an errand boy' when he was with Babyjet Promotions? This is because he was not the licensed Promoter then and has never been a promoter but performed fiduciary duties for Baby Jet Promotions.

It is unfortunate that no one is allowed to speak to issues anymore where boxing in Ghana is concerned. The Boxing Promoters Association of Ghana cannot be another licensed body of the GBA such that it is subject to the control of the GBA and its President.

As the Organizer of the BPA, I was mandated to perform a fiduciary duty which must be respected by the GBA President. The rate at which the GBA President is rewriting the rules and the GBA Constitution itself is scary and the earlier we all call him to order, the better for the sport we all love so much.

Beijing 2022: Historic Olympic Winter Games on and off the field

(Photo by Getty Images)

IOC

BEIJING, February 21, 2022 - History was made during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, with athletes and audiences contributing to record-breaking performances on and off the snow and ice.

Competitors once again excelled, with the world’s greatest winter sports athletes delivering outstanding performances - breaking Olympic and world records, raising the bar for equality, and inspiring the next generation of Olympians.

This success was illustrated by the fact these were the most digitally engaged Olympic Winter Games ever, with billions of engagements across digital platforms, including Olympic and Rights-Holding Broadcasters’ properties.

There were more hours of broadcast coverage made available than at any previous Olympic Winter Games edition, including record coverage through digital platforms.

The Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony achieved the highest global audience reach ever for an Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony. In China, broadcast coverage of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 reached over 600 million people through TV alone.

Below are some key facts and figures from the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022:

Sport

- 19 days of competition.

- 2,897 athlete entries.

- 7 sports/15 disciplines.

- 109 medal events.

-- 12 Mixed Gender/Open events.

-- New events: Women’s Monobob; Freestyle Skiing Men and Women’s Freeski Big Air; Short Track Speed Skating Mixed Team Relay; Ski Jumping Mixed Team NH; Freestyle Skiing Mixed Team Aerials; and Mixed Team Snowboard Cross.

- 17 Olympic records broken.

- 2 World records broken.

- 29 NOCs won medals.

- 91 National Olympic Committees participated.

- 1 NOC won its first Olympic Winter Games gold medals

- New Zealand (2 gold: Men’s Freeski Halfpipe + Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe).

Gender Equality

- Most gender-balanced Olympic Winter Games ever: 45 per cent women/55 per cent men.

- Highest-ever number of women’s events (46).

- Addition of two women’s events and four mixed-team events.

- 53 per cent of the Beijing 2022 events featured female athletes.

- Beijing 2022 competition schedule built on key advances made to the PyeongChang 2018 competition schedule to equalise the visibility of women’s and men’s events.

- 7 disciplines moved to gender balance for the first time: skeleton; luge (men's and women's singles); speed skating; cross-country skiing; alpine skiing; and freestyle skiing and snowboard reaching this milestone in Beijing, making for a total of 10 (out of 15) fully gender-balanced disciplines.

- 45 per cent of the total number of flagbearers at the Opening Ceremony were women, compared to 30 per cent in PyeongChang.

- 73 per cent of NOCs had a female flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony (either one female flagbearer or one male and one female flagbearer).  

- Gold medallists Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner of Team United States (C), Silver medallists Michela Moioli and Omar Visintin of Team Italy (L) and Bronze medallists Meryeta Odine and Eliot Grondin of Team Canada (R) celebrate during the Mixed Team Snowboard Cross Finals © 2022 Getty Images

Venues

- First city to host summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games.

- 3 competition zones: Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou.

- 12 competition venues.

- 5 venues were legacy venues from Beijing 2008.

Olympic Solidarity

- 236 Olympic Solidarity individual scholarship-holders competed (138 men and 98 women).

- 10 medals won by individual scholarship-holders: 3 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze, plus 35 diplomas.

- 93 NOCs received NOC Olympic Solidarity funding (80 through individual scholarships and 13 through tailor-made assistance).

- 3 medals won by teams who received Olympic Solidarity grants: , 1 silver, 2 bronze plus 2 diplomas.

- 65 Beijing 2022 individual scholarship-holders (31 women and 34 men) were selected as the flagbearers for their NOC at the Opening Ceremony.

Media and Broadcast

- 24 Rights-Holding Broadcasters (including the Olympic Channel).

- 300+ broadcast sublicensees.

- Games broadcast globally.

- 6,000+ hours produced by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS).

- 10,000 broadcast personnel.

- 660+ OBS cameras; 1,600+ microphones.

- 1,952 accredited press: 461 domestic/1,491 international.

- 520 news organisations.

- 602 photographers.

Digital*

- Record numbers using Olympic Web and App for a Winter Games edition, with over 64 million people reached during Beijing 2022.

- The Olympics App was the No. 1 sports app across 20+ territories.

2.8 billion engagements across Olympic social handles during Beijing 2022

- Unique viewers on the Olympics YouTube channel grew by 58 per cent compared with PyeongChang 2018, driven by our global collaboration with YouTube, including Games highlights available in over 70 territories.

- 10M+ growth of Olympic social media followers, particularly on youth-led platforms, surpassing 93 million across handles.

- Innovative digital platform collaborations driving huge engagement, including 2.1 billion video views surpassed for the #OlympicSpirit hashtag on TikTok during Beijing 2022.

- 720,000 live views on the first Olympics Twitch stream.

- 178 million views of Olympic archive GIFs on Google’s Tenor.

- 47 million virtual cheers sent by fans to their favourite teams on Olympics.com.

Legacy

- Over 346 million Chinese people engaged in winter sport since 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

- 26,000 people trained as winter sports instructors in Beijing in 2021 alone.

- There are now almost 2,000 ice and snow facilities across China.

- Income from ice and snow tourism exceeded RMB 390 billion in the 2020-2021 snow season.

- In 2019, Zhangjiakou received more than 86 million tourists and revenue of over RMB 100 billion – up by over 20 per cent on the previous year.

- As of June 2021, all 12 poverty-stricken counties and districts in Zhangjiakou had been lifted out of poverty.

- In Yanqing, preparations for the Games helped drive an increase of more than 35 per cent in disposable income per capita, between 2015 and 2019.

- Over one million people applied for volunteer positions, with around 19,000 selected to support the Games. All Beijing 2022 venues have legacy plans in place, ensuring their post-Games, multipurpose use, all year-around.

Education

- By the end of 2021, more than 2,500 primary and secondary schools across China had included Olympic and Paralympic education, plus winter sports, in their curriculum.

- Since 2019, 200,000 children have learnt about the Olympic and Paralympic values in Beijing.

Sustainability

- Beijing 2022 is on track to being carbon-neutral Games

- Five Beijing 2008 venues reused, reducing construction and carbon emissions

- All Beijing 2022 venues powered by 100 per cent renewable energy – a first at the Olympic Games

- All new venues embrace new, green construction standards

- Natural CO2 refrigeration systems used for the first time in China and at the Olympic Games - in four ice venues, reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption.

- 100 per cent of all passenger cars and 84.9 per cent of all vehicles were fuel efficient vehicles - hydrogen, electric, natural gas and hybrid.

- Carbon compensation measures include afforestation projects in Beijing and Zhangjiakou. Since 2014, Beijing and Zhangjiakou have planted 47,333 and 33,000 hectares of forest and green areas respectively.

- Click here to read Beijing 2022’s Pre-Games Sustainability Report.

*As of the end of 19 February 2022 (before the Closing Ceremony)

AIPS media

Joseph Awinongya Jnr. the 14 year old Ghanaian American born boxer was very happy to meet the former Black Stars skipper and top goals scorer, Asamoah Gyan,

He said Dr. Asamoah Gyan is one of the sportsmen who inspire him, and meeting with him face to face is an opportunity and blessing.

He has already met some dignitaries like the Minister of Youth and Sports, Alhaji Inusah Sally, the chief of Ashaiman, the President of the GBA, the Vice President of the GBF, the Ghana Boxing Supporters Union, the MCE of Ashaiman, and the Ashiaman NDC MP.

He also has an interesting interaction with students of Ashiaman High School and King's Court School.

Joe Junior who is in Ghana with Joe Snr, his dad/ coach, mum and younger sister will visit their hometown in northen Ghana before leaving for the USA.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Hans DeBeer won the 32nd Seniors Open championship  which took place over the weekend at the Coconut Groove Golf Course at Elmina.

He was followed by Stephen Acquah of Obuasi in the Men's event whiles Rosemond Coggin won the ladies support

In all a total of 48 golfers took part in the exciting competition. The number of participants increased than previous events, and the President of the Ghana Golf Association, Mr. Michael O. Aggrey was very happy.

He expressed his satisfaction for the successful tournament which attracted players from Tarkwa, Obuasi, Takoradi, Nsuta, Achimota and Centre of the World Golf club.

Prizes were awarded to the winners, including giant locally made wooden trophies with golden adinkra symbols.

Coconut Grove Beach Resort gave out a full board weekend for two voucher to the men and ladies winners.

All participants received a bone density treatment from Crystal Health worth Ghs1,000 each.

Mr. Aggrey commended the winners and urged the losses to train very hard for other competitions coming up. He advised the youth to take up golf as it is a wonderful sport.

32ND GHANA SENIORS  OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2022

LIST OF WINNERS

MEN

MEN GROUP A

CROSS

1ST  HANS DEBEER

2ND  STEPHEN ACQUAH

3RD  PROSPER OSEI

HANDICAP

1ST  J. ENNNIN

2ND  JOESPH TIEKU

3RD  NANA AMOAKOHENE

SUPPORTERS

MEN GROUP B

SCRATCH

1ST  KARIM HAWARAH

2ND  GAD ASANTE

3RD  PAUL OSEI ASSIBEY

HANDICAP

1S  ERNEST ASIMENU

2ND  SARWN KUMAR

LADIES

LADIES SCRATCH

GROUP B

1ST  ROSEMOND COGGIN

2ND  PHILOMENA SEDO

HANDICAP

1ST  JOANA JACKSON

9 HOLES

WINNER CHARLES MARTEY

HANDICAP

WINNER JOY ARKUTU

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Mustapha Ussif has described the Pro league as a game-changer event on the boxing calendar which, he said, would offer fighters the chance to remain competitive.

He called on all stakeholders in the boxing fraternity to come together to make the league a competitive and exciting one to help benefit the fighters.

“This is a novelty and my Ministry is in support of it because we believe it offers the chance for the fighters to remain competitive throughout the year.

“It is my wish that all the stakeholders within the boxing fraternity would come together to support it to make it successful for the benefit of the fighters,” he said.

Former World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Africa super bantamweight champion, Isaac Sackey, returned to winning ways on the opening night of the Ghana Professional Boxing League with a unanimous points decision victory over debutant, Isaac Taylor, at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra.

Sackey troubled Taylor all night with his experience and forced an impressive win for Attoh Quarshie Boxing Club against his opponent from the Akotoku Boxing Academy.

The stylish fighter told the Graphic Sports that he was looking forward to his next fight and expressed the hope to use the league as means of staying active.

“It is a good win and I have to congratulate my opponent on giving me a good show,” Sackey said. “I knew I was going to win so I wasn’t surprised at the results but I have to continue working harder.

“This league provides the opportunity for me to stay active in the ring and I am ready to take advantage of that,” he added.

In an entertaining night of boxing, the novelty Ghana Professional Boxing League, which is being organised by the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA), in collaboration with IMAX Media Group, threw out exciting bouts.

In other bouts, John Quaye of the Sea View Boxing Club earned a deserved unanimous decision win over Stephen Addy of The Gym in a super lightweight contest.

Seconds Out Gym’s Burkinabe fighter, Alexis Kabore, defeated Michael Tagoe via a round seven technical knockout in a super featherweight contest.

Adam Hab Deen Salanon of the Panix Boxing Club stopped Daniel Otoo in two rounds after the Palm Springs Boxing Club’s boxer failed to answer the bell for the second stanza of their scheduled six-round flyweight contest.

From Sammy Heywood Okine

The Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) and Promoters of the Ghana  Professional Boxing League, Imax Media group paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Mustapha Ussif at his office in Accra on Thursday February 17th,2022.

The meeting was designed for the GBA to officially introduce its new President, Abraham Kotei Neequaye and his board members as well as Promoters of the upcoming Ghana Professional Boxing League in Ghana.

The Sports Minister, Hon. Mustapha Ussif was very much elated with the meeting because as a boxing fan he has been looking forward to interact with the leadership of Ghana Boxing Authority and offer his perspective regarding productive leadership and the spirit of unity.

According to the Minister, he was overly excited in Tokyo when Samuel Takyi of the Black Bombers made the nation Ghana proud and won a bronze medal after many years of waiting.

“I was very much involved in the fight because I was part of those encouraging Takyi by the ringside to go all out and defeat his opponent. My spirit and passion for boxing came alive in Tokyo and also reminded me of my love for boxing during the periods of Azuma Nelson and Ike Quartey”-he said .

Hon. Ussif congratulated the GBA president, his able executive board members and other stakeholders for their commitment and dedication to the sports. He expressed his satisfaction regarding the achievements made by the GBA just within a short period of their tenure. The bouncing back of the boxing league after 16 years and also secured two Renault Kwid vehicles for the best gym and the overall best boxer cannot be over emphasised.

The Sports Minister urged all stakeholders in boxing to be calm and supportive to what the current GBA is doing for the betterment of all. He however, advised the GBA President to be very strategic and patient in his approach and style of leadership. ”You need all stakeholders in boxing including your detractors or enemies to succeed, and so please develop a cool head and a flexible leadership style for your own benefit. You need to leave an indelible legacy as a leader and one day when you are no more, your footprint or legacy will tell positive stories about you.

The GBA President, Mr. Abraham Kotei Neequaye expressed his profound gratitude to the Sports Minister and thanked him for the warm and friendly reception his office accorded him and his team.

He gave information on why he introduced a new national titles for boxers to compete and keep them for good and the bouncing back of boxing league in Ghana. He explained the reason why the GBA recommended to the Promoter of the boxing league,Imax Media Group to feature juvenile and amateur fights. According to him, these young boxers are potential professional boxers in future and so therefore we need to guide and support them to go through the rightful process.

The GBA President, Abraham Kotei Neequaye then eulogised the Sports Minister for his loyalty and love for boxing and instantaneously brought out a beautiful national boxing title belt and decorated the minister to symbolise him as a true boxing enthusiast.

The GBA President then officially invited the Sports Minister to the first night of the upcoming Ghana Professional Boxing League slated for Saturday February 19th, 2022 at the Bukom Boxing Arena as special guest of honour and who will officially outdoor the much anticipated boxing league.

The Sports Minister accepted the invitation and promised to be there.

GBA COMMUNICATIONS

For the first time in Olympic history, a UNHCR-recognised refugee has been elected as an IOC Member. Yiech Pur Biel is an Olympian, who competed as a member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Rio 2016 and was a team manager for the same team at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. His election was possible following the amendment made to the Olympic Charter in Tokyo, allowing the election of IOC Members in special cases without a nationality or National Olympic Committee (NOC) requirement.

Olympic bronze medallist Danka Barteková (Slovakia), having been an IOC Member as an elected athletes’ representative from 2012 until 2021, and having been Vice-Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission from 2018 to 2021, was also elected. Both Mr Biel und Ms Barteková were elected as Independent Individuals.

David Lappartient (France) was elected as an IOC Member linked to his function as President of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

Olympians Martin Fourcade (France) and Frida Hansdotter (Sweden), elected by their peers earlier this week as members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission (AC), were also elected by the Session as IOC Members, bringing the number of active athletes’ representatives in the IOC membership to 15.

The term of office of all the newly elected IOC Members is eight years.

A new Vice-President and two members re-elected to the IOC Executive Board (EB)

During today’s proceedings, the Session elected Juan Antonio Samaranch (Spain) as an IOC Vice-President. Mr Samaranch’s term as Vice-President will start on 20 May after the conclusion of the 139th IOC Session.

Nenad Lalović (Serbia) and Ivo Ferriani (Italy) were also re-elected as EB members. The terms for the EB members is four years.

Member re-election, term extension and change of membership status

Arriving at the end of her IOC membership term, Nicole Hoevertsz (Aruba) was re-elected for an additional eight years. A change of status to Independent Individual was also approved for Ms Hoevertsz.

IOC Member Poul-Erik Høyer (Denmark) informed the Session that, for personal reasons, he was not seeking re-election. Therefore his membership will end at the close of the 139th Session in May.

The age limit of 70 for IOC Member Luis Moreno (Colombia) was extended for four years. As the Chair of the IOC Public Affairs and Social Development Through Sport Commission and Permanent Observer of the IOC to the United Nations since 2019, Mr Moreno plays an important role in the relationship between the IOC and the UN.

The elections brings the number of IOC Members to 106.

Re-election of two members of the IOC Ethics Commission

Following the IOC EB’s recommendation, the Session also re-elected two members of the IOC Ethics Commission for a new four-year term, in their capacity as IOC Members: Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant and Auvita Rapilla.

Chaired by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon since 2017, the IOC Ethics Commission is composed of nine members, five of whom must be independent from the IOC. Among the four IOC Members, one must be an IOC Athletes’ Commission member. The full composition of the Commission can be found here.

Following the decision to streamline the institutional meetings in Beijing due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the 139th IOC Session will conclude on 20 May 2022.

The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit, civil, non-governmental, international organisation made up of volunteers which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 3.4 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

Source IOC