Coach Dan Larbie, trainer and father of best and most popular juvenile in Ghana, Prince ‘The Buzz’ Larbie has commended the promotion of boxing on Social Media.

He said it has increased publicity and awareness of the sport, as well as encouraging people to love boxing.

The former boxer turned coach at the Will Power Boxing Gym said Social Media has made them know many things, but prays that the information would be positive and inspiring.

He hinted that his son is aiming to be a world boxing champion in future, but they are not in a rush.

“We are taking things very cool, and praying for God to give us the will, strength, wisdom, understanding and confidence to grow, we pray for life. Our ambition is to go through the mill, and become the best at the amateur level and represent Ghana and Africa at the 2032 Olympic Games before turning professional” he expressed.

The 8 year old Prince Larbie of Kiddie Class School has started winning laurels and recently appointed Ambassador by SparBar.

However, coach Larbie says they are not complacent, but focused on becoming the best in the world.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Ghana defender, Kwadwo Asamoah made chalked another history in the Italian Serie A.

Asamoah finally made his Cagliari debut against Crotone in a win on Sunday. He replaced Joao Pedro in the 77th minute to make history.

Asamoah by virtue of coming on became the African player with the most appearances in Serie A with a tally of 271.

The history was previously held fellow Ghanaian Sulley Muntari as both players were on 270 appearances.

For Asamoah, he had to wait almost five months to reach this remarkable feat since terminating his contract with Inter Milan last year.

Asamoah’s journey in the Serie A started with Udinese where he made a name for himself attracting interest from top clubs in Europe.

The Ghanaian went on to make 114 appearances in the league for Udinese before joining giants Juventus.

At Juventus, Asamoah enjoyed his best spell in Italy winning six Serie A titles and making 116 appearances in the league.

Inter Milan was the defender’s next location as he was reunited with former boss Antonio Conte. In the player’s two seasons, he made 40 appearances.

In Asamoah’s 271 game spell in Serie A, he has scored 12 goals and provided 19 assists.

The next task for the 32-year-old is to help his current side Cagliari to escape relegation this season.

Asamoah joined Cagliari last month on a free deal till the end of season.

South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe appears favourite to take over as Confederation of African Football (CAF) President amid reports rival candidates have agreed to step aside from standing in the election.

Reports have claimed Senegal’s Augustin Senghor and Mauritania’s Ahmed Yahya have agreed to end their campaigns to become CAF President.

The duo will reportedly now back Motsepe, which will lead to the pair being named CAF vice-presidents.

Kenyan journalist Francis Gaitho reported that a meeting was held in Rabat on February 27 and 28, which was attended by Senghor, Yahaya and Jacques Anouma, Honorary President of the Ivorian Football Federation.

The three officials are currently standing in the CAF Presidential election alongside Motsepe.

Gaitho reported that the meeting involved representatives of FIFA and saw discussions held over the candidates supporting Motsepe’s candidacy.

Senghor and Yahaya are claimed to have been offered CAF vice-president positions.

According to Abdoulaye Thiam, President of the Senegalese Sports Press Association, Anouma will be named as an advisor to Motsepe.

The reported agreement comes days after FIFA President Gianni Infantino returned home following a tour of Africa.

Infantino had visited Mauritania, Senegal, the Central African Republic and Rwanda in the early part of his tour, which took place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FIFA President latterly visited Sudan, Morocco, Mali and Benin, and the tour included meetings with all four candidates for CAF President.

Infantino has repeatedly called for unity during his visits, stressing that member associations in the continent need to work together.

The Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) last week heeded his call, with the organisation’s 14 members vowing to support Motsepe in the CAF Presidential election.

Should Senghor and Yahaya withdraw to support Motsepe, the South African appears poised to become the next CAF President.

Motsepe is the current owner of South African Premier Soccer League side Mamelodi Sundowns, who were crowned winners of the CAF Champions League in 2016.

Motsepe is the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals.

Should the agreement be forthcoming, incumbent CAF President Ahmad would effectively be ruled out of contention to secure a second term once and for all - even if he were able to stand in the vote.

Ahmad was banned from all football activity for five years by FIFA in November 2020 after he was found guilty of committing four breaches of the ethics code.

His ban from all football was temporarily suspended by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last month.

The CAS has set March 2 as the date for Ahmad's appeal against FIFA sanctions, and while he was cleared to take the CAF reins once more in the meantime, the Malagasy is still not eligible to stand for re-election.

The CAF Presidential election is scheduled to be held in Rabat, Morocco on March 12, with CAS expected to reach a verdict in Ahmad case before that date.

By Michael Pavitt 

On the 8th of March 2021, Africa Sports Ventures Group (ASVG) will join the rest of the world to celebrate International Women's Day. To celebrate and appreciate women excellence, ASVG will, in the build up to the day, profile some of the best women athletes and administrators.

Ushering in the new month is Chairwoman of ASVG Board of Directors Ms. Game Mothibi

theme#ChooseToChallenge, with the following message, "Let's all heed the call #choosetochallenge and challenge all the violence, biases, sexism, inequalities, prejudices in sport, lets use our voice to challenge the harm to women, shaming of women in sport, belittling, refusing to give space for women to flourish. Lets challenge and ask why there are still less women in boardrooms and offices of sport organizations even whem we have so many capable women. Lets take the lead as women to demand better for ourselves

#ichoosetochallenge all the inequalities and barriers in sport for women to take part in sport. I choose to stand with women and for women. #ichoosetochallenge

#ASVGchoosetochallenge

Africa, Africa Sport Ventures Ground "(ASVG) and the rest of the world celebrates you. Thank you for choosing to challenge being the lead to change through your victory.

#InternationalWomenDay/8March2021

From Leslie Koroma

Djokovic defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the Australian Open final

Novak Djokovic has equalled Roger Federer's record of 310 weeks ranked as world number one.

The 33-year-old Serbian is guaranteed to break the mark next week.

Djokovic won his 18th Grand Slam title and his ninth Australian Open crown in Melbourne last month.

"After achieving the historic number one for the longest weeks at number one, it's going to be a relief for me because I'm going to focus all my attention on slams mostly," he said.

His victory in Melbourne takes him to two wins behind the joint holders of the men's Grand Slam record, Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic has been helped by temporary changes to the ranking system because of the coronavirus pandemic which means players can currently count tournaments from two years instead of one.

However, he is still the in-form player on the men's tour, beginning 2021 by winning nine consecutive matches while last year he did not lose a completed match until the French Open final in October.

Djokovic's fifth spell at the top of the rankings began on 3 February last and he has been number one for all but 32 weeks since Federer hit 310 weeks in June 2018.

His longest stint as number one was 122 weeks between July 2014 and November 2016.

Djokovic sits on 12,030 points - more than 2,000 clear of Rafael Nadal, with Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem the only other players with more than 7,000 points.

However, he still trails the women's number one record holder Steffi Graf who held top spot for 377 weeks, while Martina Navratilova (332) and Serena Williams (319) have also had longer spells at number one than Djokovic.

BBC

Bring Back School Sports - GOC Youth Coordinator

Mr. Emmanuel Olla Williams  the Youth Coordinator of the Ghana Olympic Committee GOC has called for the removal of restrictions on school sports activities.

He said if people are advised to keep fit to be healthy and boast immune system, why should they be stopped.

He call on Ghanaians to support the return of sports to schools in the fight against Covid-19.

He wished that like-minded people will support to push the agenda to bring back school sports.

 As a sportsman who is very much aware of the importance of physical activity in health development, he wondered  why one of the best interventions admonished by all (Presidents, ministers designate, health experts and physical and health educators) has been relegated to the background. Not being oblivious of the mode of transmission of COVID-19,

He said  there has not been any empirical evidence to suggest that participating in school sports and/or physical activity increases the infection rate of the Coronavirus.

He appealed to  the authorities to allow schools to begin physical activity and sports with strict adherence to the safety protocols so that the youth will not suffer any of the underlying conditions that make COVID-19 rather fatal.

He expressed that all the other safety protocols would be observed as the students exercise or do some aerobics to keep fit and healthy.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Boxing Coach Eben Adjei aka ‘Killer’ of the Black Panthers Boxing Gym at James Town says there are many good boxers in Ghana who can make big money and win titles if the government invests in the sport.

The enthusiastic trainer who now handles the gym founded in 1997 by late Emmanuel Tagoe (a,k,a coach Akesi) hinted that boxing can win the nation laurels at international events like the Olympic Games so boxers ought to be highly motivated.

Talking about his gym, he stated that he has a total of  48 boxers and five coaches.

He expressed that his major challenge is to be best of all, and hopes to achieve his goal in the near future.

He named some of the popular boxers at Black Panthers as Joseph Lamptey,  Ekow Wilson,  Michael Osumau,  Alfred Lamptey and others.

They take inspiration for ex champions like the Clottey Brothers, Osmanu  Yahya, Osumanu Alabama and Stephen Okine.

He said his major problem is financial as the gym has not got a sponsor, and appealed to companies to invest in boxing.

They also operate in a school, so his boxers find it quite difficult to train in the morning.

As head coach he said what motivated him is when he won the IBO title with Felix Williams and some national titles, but he believes he can do better.

He gave the breakdown of boxers in his gym as 16 professionals, 15 amateurs and 17 juvenile boxers.

He assured Ghanaians that soon he will give them world title and concluded that the Black Panthers Boxing Club will rise again with their new generation of boxers.

"Ghana boxing is coming up in a big way. I assure you that we'll get there" he told Yours Truly.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Ghana Black Stars skipper, Andre Ayew scored the only goal for Swansea City in their defeat to Bristol City in the English Championship on Saturday afternoon.

It was a surprise to the Swans as they sat home for Bristol City to inject them a painful 1:3 defeat.

Ayew broke the deadlock for the home from the spot in the 55th minute but Nahki Wells snatched the parity for the visitors after eleven minutes.

Kasey Palmer sent Bristol City to the lead with a beautiful goal in the 80th before Semenyo made it 1:3 for the visitors.

The goal becomes Andre Ayew’s tenth league goal for Swansea City in the English Championship after 30 matches with two assists.

Swansea City currently fourth on the league log with 59 points after 31 matches.

Ghana Premier League side, Accra Hearts of Oak have confirmed the signing of Salifu Ibrahim from Techiman Eleven Wonders.

The talented midfielder who has been sensational in the ongoing Ghana Premier League signed a three year deal with the Phobians.

The enterprising defender arrived in Accra on Friday and underwent his mandatory medicals.

Salisu has been in top form for Techiman Eleven Wonders and was among the players invited by Black Stars coach to begin camping for next month 2021 Africa Cup of Nations [Afcon] qualifiers against South Africa and São Tomé.

Salisu won the Ghana Premier League Man of the Match Awards for four consecutive times in a row with Eleven Wonders.

Salifu Ibrahim has been the pillar in the Eleven Wonders midfield and the reason behind the club’s astonishing form this season.

He is expected to help the Hearts of Oak squad compete for laurels this season.

Hearts of Oak meanwhile are expected to announce Samuel Boadu, who parted ways with Medeama SC as their new hed coach.

The Phobians will be hosted by their sworn rivals Asante Kotoko in an outstanding match at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.

Boxers advised to be disciplined to attract sponsorship

Ghanaian boxers have been advised to brand themselves positively to attract sponsorship from the corporate world.

Mr. Sammy Heywood Okine, President of the Boxing Writers Association Ghana (BWAG) said boxers are role models so if they must brand themselves well, and talk well in public as well as dress well to be appreciated.

He congratulated Coach Dan Larbie, dad of  8 years old whiz kid Prince ‘The Buzz’ Larbie for his dedication and devotion to the game of boxing, and ensuring discipline among boxers at the Will Power Boxing Gym and attracting attention from SparBar, an international equipment supplier.

Prince Larbie is a stage 3 pupil of Kiddie Class who has attracted international recognition.

He also commended Coach Ofori Asare head trainer of the Wisdom Boxing Club and the national team, the Black Bombers as another disciplined and respected official with international recognition and reputation.

According to the experienced sports journalist who doubles as the Communications Director of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) and Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA), Ghana Boxing is not down, as the future is bright with the eagerness of the young boxers to shine.

He appealed to the Minister of Youth and Sports designate Hon. Mustapha Ussif to support boxing, especially the Ghana Boxing Federation (GBF) as there are so many amateur boxers who must be motivated and encouraged to represent the nation.

He also commended the media, especially GTV for promoting boxing on Friday and Saturday evenings, and urged journalists to educate and transform boxers with positive news.

“Boxers, notwithstanding their backgrounds are role models who many people look up to for inspiration, so they must comport themselves always to be loved” he advised.

He tasked boxers, coaches and members of the boxing fraternity including fans to promote the wearing of face masks and fight the corona virus squarely  by observing all the safety protocols.

By Elizabeth Alhassan