Experience boxing consultant, Yoofi Boham has tipped Ghanaian boxer Jessie Manyo Plange for a world title very soon after he moved up to the second spot on the latest World Boxing Association (WBA) ratings.

He said with the support of his manager, Tony Tojl who is based in Australia, they are managing affairs well to get the boxers in top shape before he cracks at the title held by experienced champion Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz or Gary Antonio Russel, one of the fine boxers in the division.

Since Plange, 32 moved up to number 2 in the latest World Boxing Association (WBA) ratings, his confidence has soured and he has stepped up his training.

He has won all his 20 fights with a draw which he feels he won against Michael Dasmarinas at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore.

Plange, ex captain of the national amateur boxing team, the Black Bombers is one of the most loved boxers and many Ghanaians believe he can become a world champion.

According to Boham they are going to make him one of the legends of Ghana Boxing. He thanked Dr. Arthur, John Marfo and others who have supported the budding champion.

In an exclusive chat with West AustralianTony Tolj, he said Plange is on the list of 60 boxers whom they are managing and promoting to become world champions.

Jessie Manyo Plange won silver at the 2007 All-Africa Games and participated at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

He has been booked for Best Boxer in Ghana in 2020.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Former World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight titlist, Ike ‘Bazooka’ Quartey, says he is willing to lead the transformation agenda in amateur boxing in the country.

Quartey believes he can achieve that by taking over the reins of the Ghana Amateur Boxing Federation (GBF) without a fee.

The former world champion who represented Ghana at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games has been advocating for a strong amateur system in the country if Ghana was to regain its status of producing more credible world titlists.

In an interview with the Graphic Sports, Quartey noted that he was willing to take the sport to every part of the country to make it popular in the other regions.

“I think the problem of professional boxing in the country starts from our poor amateur systems and until it’s fixed, we will continue to struggle to produce credible fighters.

“That is what I want to do, so I have been calling on the government to give me the amateur body without a pay and I promise to transform it,” Quartey said.

Quartey had a blissful career during which he fought the likes of Crisanto Espana, Oscar De La Hoya, Jose Luis Lopez, Ronald Wright, Vernon Forrest, Fernando Vargas among others.

For sometime now, the nation’s amateur system has been dormant due to lack of investment in upcoming fighters.

The turn of events made it difficult for Ghana to unearth and nurture talents from the amateur level to the professional ranks.

Graphic Sports

Ghana Tennis Star, Naa Anyme Mckorley, on Friday 8th January has donated drinks, school bags, water bottles, soaps, toilet tissues to the Teshie Orphanage Home.

She said her gesture was from a heartfelt position to mark her 18th birthday.

Naa Mckorley told ghanatennis.org that, "This year I wanted to celebrate my birthday with the disadvantaged and vulnerable people in the society, giving them hope in the face of hopelessness".

She further expressed her readiness to frequently extend aid to the orphanage.

Naa again donated an undisclosed amount to Janet Parker, CEO of the Teshie orphanage home, who received the items on behalf of the management and staff.

Madam Parker expressed gratitude to Naa Mckorley and her family for their kind gesture.

Story: Gabriel Amoakoh

Kazuyoshi Miura, the oldest scorer in Japanese professional football, is set to play on at the age of 54 after extending his contract with Yokohama FC for another season.

Miura, dubbed “King Kazu” in Japan, turns 54 on 26 February, a day before the 2021 J-League campaign kicks off. It will be his 17th season with the club he joined in 2005, his 36th overall.

“Last season, I was feeling the joy of playing football at a time when the world was facing a tough situation because of the new coronavirus,” he said in a statement.

The former Japan striker last scored against Thespakusatsu Gunma in 2017 in Japan’s second division, becoming the oldest player to score in a Japanese professional league game at 50 years and 14 days.

Miura started his career with Santos in Brazil in 1986.

The striker is one of the most revered sportsmen in Japan and was at the forefront of the country’s football boom in the early 1990s when he was the poster boy of the newly launched league in 1993.

He led Verdy Kawasaki to the title in 1993 and 1994 before moving to Italy, where he spent a season in Serie A with Genoa. He has also had stints in Croatia and Australia as well as at other Japanese sides.

Miura won the Asian Cup with Japan in 1992 but missed out on representing his country on their debut appearance at the World Cup finals in France six years later. He scored 55 goals in 89 games for Japan.

The forward helped Yokohama to secure promotion to Japan’s top division at the end of the 2019 season but played only four times in the 2020 season. “Personally it was not a satisfactory season, but my ambition and enthusiasm towards football are increasing,” he said. “I will work hard every day, aiming to contribute to the team’s victory this season by playing as many games as possible.”

By theguardian.com

 The Corona virus pandemic frown on sporting activities throughout the world in the greater part of 2020 may hopefully see discontinuity in the year ahead.

Rugby League Federation Ghana (RLFG) while receiving an equal share on the adverse effects of the pandemic, still kept its ahead above water to come through with innovative programs  carefully designed to suit all the pandemic protocols being observed globally.

The few which could materialize among the many planned at the end of the previous year are the Flagship 9s Series in January and February, The breat Cancer awareness program which tickled the interest of Corporate Ghana and the media alike, the pulling down of a one gender sport with the introduction of the the women's rugby league, the warily creation of the youth rugby league, obtaining affiliate member status of the International Rugby League Federation, RL boundaries extended into the military academy, and a fulfilling stand taken by the RLFG women's coordinator in some IRLF appointments.

Be that as it may, the 9s series took a bow after the second month while the 13s never saw a drop kick; resulting from the ban on all sporting activities.

With a much hopeful year ahead, RLFG has positioned itself to serve all within and outside the fraternity with an excessively ornate and embellished activities and events. Development remains the pivot of all efforts and actions of the  Federation.

Outlined below are some exclusive events to be held in the coming year:

> Introduction of RL to most Educational Institutions

> Introduction of RL into Zongo communities

> 9s Series

> 13s League

> Love Touch Tournament

> International Friendlies

> Blood Donation

> Breast Cancer Awareness Program

> Turn Over Weekends

RLFG anticipates making significant strides in extending the reach and knowledge of the sport in the coming season.

The General Manager, Jafar Mustapha has  voiced out his confidence and hope he has in the coming year. '2021is an action packed year which  promises lots of fun. We pray all stakeholders bring on their A-game to realize the dream of becoming full members of IRL by 2023. I can't wait for the calendar season to begin', he iterated.

Source- - RLFG

The former 135-pound titlist is slated to return to the ring on February 13, in a crossroads bout with fellow lightweight contender Jackson Marinez.

“Richard is desperate to win his world title back but in saying that we are not looking past this fight,” Michael Amoo-Bediako, Commey’s manager told BoxingScene.com. “Jackson Marinez is a tricky and dangerous customer.”

The bout will land in supporting capacity to a vacant light heavyweight clash between Joe Smith Jr. and Maksim Vlasov, as previously reported by BoxingScene.com earlier this month. Both bouts will air live on an ESPN platform.

Commey (29-3, 26KOs) has been out of the ring since a crushing 2nd round knockout loss to Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12KOs) last December, which ended his 10-month stay as a lightweight titlist. Efforts to get back into the ring have proven troublesome, with Commey training in his native Ghana during the pandemic while waiting on his next marching orders.

In that time has come a considerable changing of the guard. Lopez has emerged as the World lightweight champion, toppling Ukraine’s Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-2, 10KOs) in Las Vegas to win the lineal championship while unifying the WBA/WBO/IBF titles this past October.

Two months prior, Marinez (19-1, 7KOs) did his best to enter the mix. The Dominican lightweight—who turns 30 later this month—would have to settle for a moral victory in suffering a questionable 12-round decision defeat to Rolando Romero in their interim title fight this past August in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The outcome was met with industry scorn, though there are those who’ve come to grips with what took place in the Showtime-televised bout.

“I don’t think it was a robbery as that is a strong word,” admits Commey, though he is of the belief that Marinez deserved the nod, “I believe Romero got the [house] decision just like Robert Easter Jr. did in our world lightweight title fight back in 2016.

The disputed verdict leaves Commey’s clash with Marinez—who turns 30 later this month—without a belt at stake. It’s just as well, as it leaves both hungry for a victory, one which will carry means to an end.

“Once this fight is out of the way and I am victorious then we can speak about world titles,” Commey notes. “I am not underestimating Marinez one bit; he has my full attention.”

–boxingscene.com

Alhaji Abdul Haye Yartey founder and President of Cheetah FC, has stated that, his team is not in a hurry to qualify to the Ghana Premier League ((GPL) but rather, focused on building a solid team and adequate infrastructure.

His objective for the club was to create a platform to groom young and talented players to showcase their potentials in Ghana and outside the shores of the country.

Mr. Yartey,a keen sports enthusiast said, he had no timeline to qualify to the elite division but believes it would materialize someday.

He said “I can’t give a time line because for Cheetah Football Club, our objective is to create a platform for young talented players to show case their talent to the outside world. And I think we are doing very well in that regard.

“We want to put infrastructure in place, we want to have the right infrastructure before we can actually think of going into a First division and the Premier league.

“We believe that, when we have the right infrastructure, the right team, the right structures in place, it would be very easier to play in the Premier league. And then not just to play for participation sake but to play with purpose so that the brand would be very solid and recognised.”

Cheetah FC is the first lower division club to establish a store house and also groomed the likes of Black Stars player Christian Atsu, Alhassan Wakasu, Mohammed Iddrisu among others who are currently playing in Europe.

Cheetah FC marked its 12 years in football on Thursday, January 7, 2021.

From Sammy Heywood Okine

Ghanaian midfielder Anthony Annan has put pen to paper on a new contract with Finnish side Inter Turku as player-coach, according to GHANASoccernet.com.

Annan penned a one-year deal with the club, however, he will be working as a player and coach.

The 34-year-old has been a key cog of Inter since joining them in 2019.

"Anthony also wants to think about the time after his career as a player. In the further negotiations, we quickly found a solution that was of interest to both parties, in which Inter's developer of coaching skills Mika Hemmilä supports Anthony's coaching training. It has not yet been agreed with which team, but it will be clear in the near future," says Inter’s technical director Vesa Mäki.

"Anthony is a sure player in the midfield. He showed his skills are still in place in many of the end-of-season matches," says Inter coach Jose Riveiro.

Annan has previously played had stints with some clubs in Germany, Spain, Netherlands and Norway.

ghanasoccernet

Mr. Jafaru Mustapha, Communications Manager of Decathlon Ghana has emphasized his company’s commitment to supporting and increasing the profiles of Ghanaian athletes.

Speaking to Yours Truly at the McDan Park at La where Decathlon Ghana supported the carnival to herald the 2020/2021 Ghana Women’s Premier League (WPL), he said their aim is to reach everyone who loves sports.

He said Decathlon products are durable and affordable, so every home in Ghana must try to get some of their sports products, and they supply all sports items, from footballs to jerseys to boots to tennis, basketball, hiking, camping, golf, swimming, handball, table tennis, tennis and others like skipping ropes, gloves, rackets, caps, bags, training shoes, soaks, boxing gloves, punching bags and anything sports.

He urged Ghanaians to patronize their quality and comfortable products which can turn ordinary sports men and women into super stars.

Mr. Mustapha said they are opening up with a new shop at Kawukudi, near Nima, Roman Ridge and Airport residential area in Accra and pray the youth and aged, as well as male and females will go to Decathlon for all their sports wear and equipment.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

The Ghana Football Association (GFA), is thrilled to announce Bethel Dental Clinic as the Official Dental partner of the Black Stars for a period of two football seasons.

This sponsorship agreement which commences with immediate effect is valid until the end of the 2021/22 football season.

Under this agreement, Bethel Dental Clinic shall provide services such as Preventive Dental care, restorative care, free treatment for any dental injuries, crowns, implants, fillings and surgical procedures for the duration of two football seasons subject to be renewed by the two parties.

Beneficiaries of the deal include, players of the Black Stars and Technical team members (Head Coach, Assistant 1&2, Physical trainer, Team Manager, Physio, Team Doctors, Dietician, 3 Kits Managers and Technical Director).

As has been the practice over the years, members of the junior national teams stand to benefit from this deal, alongside the senior side, Black Stars.

All players called to the Black Stars will be entitled to free preventive dental care, free restorative care, free treatment for any dental injuries sustained while in camp or while on call with the national team.

Again, Dental injuries sustained by technical team members during Black Stars camping or matches shall be treated free of charge.

The Ghana Football Association is pleased to welcome on board Bethel Dental Clinic as a partner.

GFA COMMUNICATIONS