Boxing Clubs/ fans within Greater Accra region should expect mega and exciting events in 2022.

All the  major events including GIRLS BOX , BOOKSB4HOOKS,GABA HOMOWO TOURNAMENT,NOVICE TOURNAMENT will return bigger and better ! New exciting programs will soon be announced.

Present at the meeting were Chairman Mr. Bernie Johnson, General Secretary Alex Ntiamoah, Ist Vice Mad. Edith, Coach Naa Amerley Turkson Member and Sarah Lotus Asare(Administrator and Assistant Organizer)

The Association declared they will soon outdoor their calendar for the year.

According to Miss Sarah Asare, they are inviting corporate bodies within the Region to come on board to make boxing big in the region great again.

Mr. Alex Ntiamoah, CEO of Boxoffice Promotions pledged to support the Association with 10% of gate proceeds from his professional bouts shows for 2022.

The Panthers of Gabon worked hard to earn a controversial 1-1 drawn game against the Black Stars of Ghana in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations at Stade Ahmadou AhidjoCameroon.

Andre Ayew, skipper of Ghana had scored a beautiful goal in 18th minute of the first half, however lack of concentration by his players caught them off guard for the hungry and aggressive Gabonese to smile better at the end of the game. Jim Allevinah's superb 88th-minute strike earned Gabon the vital point

Andre Ayew said at post match presser "We had the ball out , because our man was on the floor, we expected them to give us back the ball but they went on to score. I am very disappointed in Gabon."

But coach of Ghana, Milovan Rajevac maintained as a fact that Gabon did not display fairplay during the match.

"Our player [Daniel Kofi Kyereh] was being treated and our players kicked the ball out of player. Gabon were supposed to kick the ball as fair play demands."

He said “We already had 3 points in our pocket, but same as in the first match, we had a loss of concentration. [That said] we have one point and in the last game, we'll qualify”

Gabon coach Patrice Neveu on lack of Fair Play allegations by Ghana:

"I respect Ghana. 'Fair Play' is an English word; we don't have it in French. Fair Play means GH should've stopped trying to waste time and breaking the game. Don't come and preach me  on Fair Play. We saw a chance and we took it."

The game had to end in chaos as players and officials of both sides decided to end in fisticuffs.

Algerian referee Lahlou Benbraham had to over work even when the game was over to award Ghana’s Benjamin Tetteh in jersey number 25 the red card. Television pictures showed that he punched Gabon's Aaron Boupendza during the melee.

For his personal effort in getting Ghana’s first goal, and his 10^th in six Afcons, Andre Ayew was awarded Man of the Match.

Ghana were under pressure at start of the game, with Swindon Town keeper Wollacott and his defenders struggling with communication, but the Black Stars grabbed the lead when Ayew put them in front with a magnificent strike.

Ghana with one point will clash with pointless Comoros in a match that they must score more goals to win at all cost, while Gabon carrying four points face Morocco who already have six points and already in the second round.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Binance, the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency exchange, will bring its global brand and technology to African football, as it announces its partnership with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), as an official sponsor of the

TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments 2021. The renowned football event will take place from January 9 till February 6, 2022 in Cameroon.

This sponsorship deal will make Binance the exclusive cryptocurrency & blockchain platform for the AFCON 2021 tournaments and marks the first time Binance will sponsor a large-scale football event.

Binance will also be the official partner of the Assist of the Day / Binance Assist of the Week / Binance Assist of the Tournament, which will be promoted across CAF’s social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and across all six venues in five cities in Cameroon.

Veron Mosengo-Omba, CAF's General Secretary said, “I am delighted to welcome Binance as an official sponsor of the AFCON tournament this year. Through this partnership with CAF, Binance will connect further with its users and the African community through football. CAF is ready to embrace blockchain-based technology and its impact on the future of African football development. I am certain that together with Binance, we can take African football to a new level.”

As part of its mission to drive blockchain adoption and enable greater access to financial services for the world’s unbanked, Binance has provided free crypto education classes to over 541,000 Africans since 2020 - on topics ranging from user protection to building a career in blockchain.

Yi He, co-founder and CMO of Binance said: “With a population of 1.2 billion Africans and the prevalence of blockchain technology & its use cases, we believe the African continent could lead the future of the blockchain industry. We will continue to put in our efforts in pushing the mainstream adoption of crypto, so that more people can understand crypto, and understand Binance."

The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations tournament starts the sports calendar of the year for Africa. Emmanuel Babalola, Binance Director for Africa said: “Football is the most popular sport in Africa, one that unites the entire continent and as the leading blockchain ecosystem, we are proud to be an official sponsor of the AFCON tournament. This corroborates our mission to take crypto mainstream across the continent.”

The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations kicked off on Sunday, January 9, 2022 at 5PM (WAT) at Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, with the host country Cameroon facing Burkina Faso. More than 160 nations will live broadcast the tournament with an audience of over 300 million.

About Binance

Binance is the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider with a financial product suite that includes the largest digital asset exchange by volume. Trusted by millions worldwide, the Binance platform is dedicated to increasing the freedom of money for users, and features an unmatched portfolio of crypto products and offerings, including: education, data and research, social good, investment and incubation, decentralization and infrastructure solutions, and more.

For more information, visit: https://www.binance.com

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Ex-Ghana defender Anthony Baffoe has charged the Black Stars to put up a heart-on-the-sleeves performance in their must-win Group C clash against Gabon at the Africa Cup of Nations.

After losing their opening match 1-0 to Morocco on Monday, the four-time African champions need the three points to revive their bid.

Les Pantheres managed a 1-0 win over debutants Comoros and have been boosted by the available of captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who missed their opener due to covid.

''You see, you must show hunger, hunger to win. Aubameyang has recovered. I don't care if Abdul Mumin, Jonathan Mensah, [Alexander] Djiku or Daniel Amartey is going to play in central defence- I don't care,'' the former CAF General Secretary told the players after Thursday's final training session at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.

''From day one when you move out of the dressing room, when you go into tunnel, they must feel you, no smiles. It's no more jokes. Gabon is going to fall tomorrow.

''Captain Dede Ayew, Thomas Partey, [Mubarak] Wakaso, Jordan [Ayew], Baba [Rahman], Jonathan Mensah. Why am I mentioning you? Daniel Amartey- because you are people who have been in the team for long. People like you, you can’t allow yourself to have a bad day.

''It is not possible to have a bad day. Sweat for the nation, sweat for the flag of Ghana, sweat for your familie...''

Source GhanaSoccerNet

Implementation of MOU signed between Ghana Basketball Association and Lithuania Basketball University has begun in earnest with the arrival of Lithuanian representative in the country.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the two bodies and the visit to Ghana  by the representative of the LBF, Jonas Vainauskas.

Mr Vainauskas who is currently in the country on a 10-day working visit is expected to assess the state of Ghana basketball and propose ways the two countries can benefit from the partnership

The joint projects covering grassroot development of the sport up to establishment of a formidable national team will be across the entire country starting from four (4) at the moment.

The  Ghana Basketball Association executive called on the Director General of National Sports Authority (NSA), Prof Peter Twumasi, before dispatching to the regions.

They included Executive members of the Association and Technical Team of the NSA led by Director of Sports Development, Mrs Vivian Dougblor.

Ghana is to benefit immensely from technical development of the sport especially in the areas of coaching courses and exchanges between both countries.

Ghana is to serve as hub for Africa continental basketball development by the Lithuania Basketball University.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

…they need good luck, favour and our support  he said

The Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Prof. Peter O. Twumasi has called on Ghanaians to pray for the Black Stars as they participate in the African Cup of Nations Football Tournament in Cameroon.

Yours Truly sought his opinion on the Black Stars who struggled in their opener against Morocco in Yaounde, and he advised football fans not to chastise the officials and players, but rather encourage them to come back better and stronger because it is a tournament in which anything can happen.

He was spiritual, and hinted that the Black Stars of Ghana will shine, despite all the odds.

“Let's continuously back our own, The BLACK STARS, with our prayers and every support,  they take on Gabon on Friday and others later in #AFCON2021” he expressed.

*SONG OF PRAYER By Prof P. Twumasi*

"Hwie hwie hwie gu y3n so (2×)

Oyame Sunsum e

Hwie gu y3n so

Sunsum boafo

Hwie gu y3n so

Hwie hwie hwie gu y3n so (2×)"

Ghana faces Gabon today, Friday January, 14, 2022 and will meet Comoros in their last Group match. The Black Stars have been tagged as not favourites, by bookmakers with the likes of Cameroon, Algeria, Senegal and Egypt as likely winners.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Former Utah Valley University track star Akwasi Frimpong captivated an entire continent by becoming the first African skeleton racer to compete in the Winter Olympics, representing the country of Ghana.

Frimpong was on pace to qualify for next month’s Winter Games before being hit by Covid. Now, there is a last-ditch effort to send him to Beijing.

Without the support of a nation devoted to Winter Olympic athletes, Frimpong has had to do much of the work himself.

“It’s financially super hard for me and my family,” he said from his home in Salt Lake City. “Sometimes we’ve got to decide are we going to pay rent, or are we going to go to a competition somewhere in Germany?”

Frimpong was on pace to possibly represent Ghana once again at the Olympics. With three qualifying races left, he was about to enter the top-60, a prerequisite for qualifying, when he contracted Covid in Germany.

“I did a rapid test, and that came back positive,” said Frimpong, who is vaccinated. “I made sure to do a PCR test as well. That came back positive as well. That was very devastating. At that moment, I knew that my chance to qualify was over. The past four years, it just felt like all that work had gone to waste over something I have no control over.”

In 2018, Frimpong was ranked 99th in the world, but was still able to compete in South Korea under the Olympic Continental Quota system. However, that was taken out by the IOC for the Winter Games in Beijing. So, former U.S. skeleton coaches Zach Lund and Brian McDonald got involved, writing a letter to the IOC urging them to allow Frimpong to compete.

“He is at such a disadvantage,” McDonald said. “We have a sport that is just not inclusive to African nations being able to participate on a level playing field. You look at the flag and there’s an African nation represented in the Olympic flag, and I think they should do everything possible that make sure they can get African nations who are qualified to compete in these games.”

Without Frimpong, the 54 African nations will have no representation in any of the sliding sports in Beijing.

“As an African nation, we are still 100 years behind compared to European athletes that started 100 years ago with this sport,” Frimpong said. “I have come super far.”

So far, there has been no response from the IOC, and time is running out.

“All of us have been waiting to hear something back, and we haven’t heard anything,” McDonald said. “We don’t know the reason for that. We did a follow-up letter recently. We just can’t sit back and wait for them to get a hold of us because by then it could be too late.”

But Frimpong did receive a call from the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation on Tuesday, and they are planning on discussing his situation on Wednesday.

“It’s not over until it’s over,” Frimpong said. “It’s not over yet, so I’m still going to train as hard as possible.”

McDonald and Lund, a former Olympian himself, are not asking for Frimpong to get a free pass to the Olympics. He has beaten some of the world’s top riders this season. They just want see Frimpong get a chance to represent the over one billion people on the continent of Africa.

“You have to see these African nations competing in the games, “McDonald said. “It’s just what the Olympic spirit stands for.”

“As long as the athlete is competitive, as long as the athlete is qualified and can safely get down, it’s important to include a continent like Africa with so many people out there fighting for a dream and a chance like this. All we are saying it this is a way to grow the sport and a way to make it inclusive.”

After he competed in South Korea in 2018, Frimpong said several African nations had people become interested in sliding sports.

“There’s proof that after I competed in the Olympic Games,” Frimpong said. “You had Togo start a federation. Gambia started a federation, Nigeria got more athletes involved in the sport as well. It shows what impact I’ve been able to have.”

“There’s a billion people out there hoping they can see Africans represented in the Winter Olympics as opposed to just the Summer Olympics,” McDonald said.

By Dana Greene /ABC4 Daily News

Morning radio in Ghana was a ‘bloodbath’ the day after Ghana lost 1-0 to Morocco at Cameroon 2021. Journalists, former footballers and administrators, and thousands of ordinary Ghanaians were out in force expressing their opinions about the Black Star’s capitulation to Morocco in their opening match on Monday.

The knives were truly out, and the unanimous verdict was summed up in former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Chairman Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe declaration that the Black Stars are substandard and would not advance beyond the group stages of Cameroon 2021

This rather damning conclusion is a familiar refrain uttered at every tournament that Ghana makes a poor start to. It is however not altogether unfounded. This crop of Black Stars is indeed substandard, assuming the standard is any of the great teams of the 1990s and circa 2006 to 2010.

This is a team undergoing a rebuild with so many positions subjected to a revolving door that started under Coach C.K Akunnor. Afcon 2021 has probably come too early as a test of the real mettle of this team. To expect as much as Ghanaian football fans do from this team – victory in Cameroon – is not only unrealistic but dangerous for team building. It is especially the case when none of the previously-mentioned great iterations of the Black Stars managed to win the trophy.

To put the Ghana situation in context, the country last won the African Cup of Nations in 1982. Milovan Rajevac’s half-baked side simply have the misfortune of chasing the elusive fifth title on the 40th anniversary of the championship win in Libya. The mismatched expectation has been fueled in no small measure by the impractical target the Government and GFA have set for the team – to win the cup in Cameroon.

Ghanaians expect every Black Stars line-up to walk over any African opposition they face irrespective of squad depth or form. When this does not materialise, that team of Black Stars players are simply not good enough. Strangely, despite numerous resolutions by fans to stop supporting the senior national team, it is very evident from the hurt and vexation expressed after last Monday’s loss to Morocco that reports of Ghanaians’ disinterest in the Black Stars participation in tournaments are greatly exaggerated.

What cannot be exaggerated is the arrogance Ghanaian football administrators and supporters strut around with expecting to win every tournament – this haughtiness is the font of our lofty expectations and must be jettisoned, immediately. Ghanaian supporters must begin to look at the current Black Stars team as a medium to long term project for the 2023 Afcon and 2026 World Cup respectively. A creditable Afcon outing and qualification for the 2022 World Cup would be a welcome bonus rather than a deserved windfall.

For now, the loss to Morocco must not be looked upon as all doom and gloom. A second late or an inch short in Moroccan Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou’s dive in the 73rd minute to tip-around Joseph Paintsil's goal-bound curler and the story could have been different.

There are parallels between the Cameroon situation and Ghana’s campaign in Angola 2010 where a motley crew of veterans and youngsters powered by Asamoah Gyan’s goals overcame a 3-1 first group game loss to Côte d'Ivoire to embark on a remarkable title push that only the great Egypt could halt in the final.

A similar tilt at the Afcon title in 2022 looks far-fetched especially when Milovan Rejavac lacks the reliable goal scorer that he so badly needs to execute his preferred smash-and-grab approach to tournament matches. The team also showed clear signs of not having fully adapted to the coach’s famed tactical discipline, a symptom of how little time they have spent together in preparation for this tournament.

That said, the Black Stars have a way of surprising when least expected and one can only hope that rock-bottom expectations following the Morocco defeat will propel them to turn things around against Comoros and Gabon.

By Sammy Bartels

The writer is a lawyer and sports journalist

Attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus is reportedly set to join the Black Stars in Cameroon after receiving green light from Dutch giants Ajax.

Ajax are happy to allow Kudus to travel to Cameroon for the ongoing 2021 Africa Cup of Nations having assessed the 21-year-old following his return from injury.

Initially, Ajax were reluctant for Kudus to join the Black Stars as they claimed he wasn't fit to play in the difficult tournament fresh off an injury.

Kudus has not played since November when he suffered the rib injury in the crucial 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against South Africa.

Kudus travelled for Ajax's mid-season training in Portugal, where he seemed to have demonstrated he was ready to return to competitive action.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) had been in contact with Ajax after Milovan Rajevac decided not to give up on Kudus and added him to the 28-man final squad.

According to the reports, GFA have arranged a flight to bring Kudus to Yaounde, where the Black Stars are currently based.

Kudus' imminent arrival is a huge boost for the Black Stars who made a rough start as they were beaten 1-0 by Morocco on Monday at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.

Kudus is now likely to feature in the crucial game against Gabon on Friday and then start on against debutants Comoros.

The Black Stars of Ghana suffered a painful 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Atlas Lions of Morocco in the opening Group C game at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaoude, Cameroon on Monday, courtesy  Sofiane Boufal's 82nd-minute strike.

But, while there is mixed feelings among Ghana fans, mostly who are annoyed with the scoreline, the Black Stars players and coach Milovan Rajavac believes they have what it takes to qualify to the next stage and move on to the final.

Miss Abigail Okanta, Miss Grace Okyere and Abraham Nkansah, all members of the Ghana Supporters Union in Cameroon are hopeful that Ghana will ride on to the final and take the cup home.

Some local football experts like Alhaji Grunsah have also advised the coach to give chance to local players. Ghana went to the tournament with 17 debutants.

In 2010 and 2015, Ghana lost their first match but went to the finals and were runners up in those Afcon editions.

The Serbian coach handling the Black Stars said his players were on top till they were punished by the Moroccan strike, some few minutes to the end of the game.

Experienced skipper, Andre Ayew said he was not fully fit, but had to play to inspire the younger players.

He promised that they will fight on the field to qualify and go on to win the trophy which has eluded Ghana for 40 years.

Morocco face debutants Comoros on Friday (16:00 GMT) before Ghana play Gabon (19:00 GMT).

Meanwhile, President Nana Akufo Addo has urged Ghanaian to support the Black Stars and not discourage them.

The Total Enegies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 tournament has brought some sporting excitement on the continent of Africa, however the covid 19 pandemic is not allowing things to go the normal way.

GHANA STARTING XI

Starting XI: Wollacott, Rahman, Amartey, Djiku, Yiadom, Paintsil, Baba, Thomas, Sulemana, A. Ayew, J. Ayew

Substitutes: Nurudeen, J. Mensah, Addo, Issahaku, Kyereh, Boakye, G. Mensah, Owusu, Attah, Tetteh, Mumin, Abagna

MOROCCO STARTING XI

Morocco XI: Bono, Mmaee, Masina, Aguerd, Hakimi, Saiss, Ounahi, Amallah, Aboukhlal, Boufal, Louza

Substitutes: Amrabat, El Haddadi, Fajr, Mohamedi, Chair, Chakla, Alakouch, El Karouani, Tagnaouti, Chibi, Rahimi, Tissoudali

By Sammy Heywood Okine