The Club Licensing Board, acting in its capacity as the first instant body of the Club Licensing process has revoked the Licenses of Berekum Chelsea and Elmina Sharks FC to use the Golden City park and the Ndoum sports stadium respectively.

As part of the mid-season spot check inspection and review, the Club Licensing Department led by Manager Julius Ben Emunah continued its spot check inspection on match day 17 of the Ghana Premier League and presented an updated report on five match venues to the board.

Upon a review of the reports and recommendations, the board has taken the following decisions;

Revocation of match venue License: 

Elmina Sharks - Nduom Sports Stadium

Berekum Chelsea & Berekum Arsenal – Golden city park

Warning to continue improvement:

Dreams FC – Theatre of Dreams, Dawu

Eleven Wonders / King Faisal FC – Ohene Ameyaw park, Techiman

Bechem United – Bechem park

The various defects and recommendations have been identified and notified to the clubs individually.

This takes the number of revoked licenses to three after the earlier revocation of the Carl Reindorf Park during the first phase of the spot check inspection.

Meanwhile the Club Licensing Department shall continue the spot check inspection from match day 18 of the Ghana Premier League at the following venues;

- Akoon Park, TARKWA

- CAM Park, Aiyinase

- Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

- Len Clay Stadium, Obuasi and

- Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast.

Unannounced spot check inspection shall also commence for the Division One League from match day 12.

Clubs should kindly refer to their recommendations to ensure they are fixed and maintained to avoid revocation or further sanctions.

GFA COMMUNICATIONS

The President H.E. Nana Akufo Addo has commended the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the African Games 2023 for their achievements and assured considering the hosting of the Games as a national project, thus  his government "will do all it takes to get it done to make Ghana and Africa proud".

He guaranteed the members of the  LOC that his door would always be open to them to regularly come and keep him posted on the progress of the project. On the construction of the stadium, 

Four of the nine members of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) led by Dr Kwaku Ofosu-Asare,  the Executive Chairman and Honourable Mustapha Ussif,  the new Minister designate for the Ministry of Youth and Sports, paid a working visit to the President of Ghana at the Jubilee House, last week Thursday to update him on the  activities of the LOC .        

The Executive Chairman, briefed H.E. Nana Akufo Addo, on the LOC's  achievements so far since it was inaugurated 5 months ago.                                      

Dr Ofosu-Asare filled the President in on a plethora of issues including the following: how the LOC has facilitated things for the construction of the multi- purpose stadium for the Games at Borteyman;  reviewed the  Protocol Agreement with the African Union (AU)  which is to be signed between Ghana and the AU, owners of the Games;  efforts to improve Ghana's position on the Medal Table during the Games; and held stakeholders' meetings with the media to promote the African Games as some of the important achievements of the LOC.    

He said the LOC was proposing at most May 1, 2021to enable them meet all the deadlines set by the AU.

The President assured them that he would ensure that work on the stadium would start soon. The Executive Chairman thanked the President for the opportunity he offered them despite his busy schedule.                      

Picture (L-R), Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare,  Executive Chairman of the LOC, Ms Eva Okyere, member-Legal, H. E. Nana Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Beatrice Dwumfour Williams,  member, Hon Mustapha Ussif,Youth and Sports Minister designate,  Reks Brobby, Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the LOC.

Source – LOC

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) have set dates for the first ever capacity building on GFA activities and programmes for the media.

This follows the decision of the Executive Council to set aside Seven Thousand dollars (US$7,000) from the FIFA COVID-19 Relief Fund for a capacity building programme for the sports media, as a key stakeholder in developing the game.

In view of that, two cities have been selected to host both the Southern and Northern sector events. The first event is scheduled for Accra on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, while the second event takes place in Kumasi on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.

The two sessions will be more practical and interactive on the Association’s way of work.

There will be keynote address from Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, President of the Ghana Football Association and SWAG President Kwabena Yeboah with various topics being discussed by various resource persons.

Under Governance at the GFA, the GFA new Structure, Vision, Mission, Statutes, relationship with FIFA, CAF etc, Compliance and Integrity and governance principles, audits etc will be addressed by the General Secretary of the GFA Prosper Harrison Addo, Esq.

Head of the national teams department Alex Asante will also take participants through activities of the various National Teams, camping, organizing International friendly matches, competitive matches.

Again, under Sports and technology, IT and Communications departments will also touch on relationship with the media, Domestic Competitions, IT Systems at the GFA -FIFA Connect, Transfer Matching System and the Competitions Management System (CMS).

The SWAG will also have a presentation on building footballs brands - role of the media.

"It a policy of the GFA to bring along every stakeholder, such as SWAG, along on its new way of working in its quest for greater transparency and information flow" said the General Secretary, Prosper Harrison Addo, Esq. after meeting with SWAG on the progress of the organization of the programme.

The GFA will show the programme live across its new media platforms on facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter for more people to benefit from the programme.

GFA COMMUNICATIONS  

Yours Truly had an exclusive chat with Coach Carl Lokko. Head coach and CEO of the Bronx Gym at James Town in Accra who was at the corner of Sherrif Quaye last Sunday morning for the Independence Day Rumble for the National Lightweight belt at the Bukom Boxing Arena.

I asked him how he felt after the bout in which Referee Erasmus Owoo stopped the fight in the 5^th round.

“The fight was a good fight and I can say I'm happy with SHERIFF performance on the night but its unfortunate it happened that way , I also think the Referee should have given a second chance to see how SHERIFF can control himself because that was the main bout and people wont to see more, but all the same I say Congratulations to the winner” said Carl Lokko.

Meanwhile, Michael Ansah says he is not interested in a fourth bout as he wants to move on and get a shot at the Commonwealth title and other big deals.

For the records Referee Erasmus Owoo was named Best Referee for 2020 by the Boxing Writers Association Ghana (BWAG).

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Chat with Coach Charles Quartey after the Trilogy

The decider of the Independence Day Rumble (The Trilogy) was made known after Michael Ansah knocked out Sherrif Quaye at the Bukom Boxing Arena.

Here are excepts of an interview with Coach Charles Quartey who masterminded the strategy used by Ansah also known as ‘One Bullet’.

Sammy Heywood Okine (SHO): What is your impression after the bout?

Coach Charles Quartey (CCQ): We have fought our opponent for two times and we knew he about our left hook so we decided to work more on the right overhead

And during the first two rounds, few of our overheads were working so our opponent lost focus on the left hook and started focusing on the overheads instead of the left hook.

My view on Bullet’s performance, for me personally as a coach I was impressed with his first round performance but wasn't pleased with the second and third round performance.

So going into the fourth round, I told him Sherrif's confidence his high now which was his undoing.

Because when you fighting someone like bullet you must know how to manage you confidence especially when you know bullet has power punch which is his left hook.

SHO: Did your plan for the fight work on the night?

CCQ: So going into the fourth round I told him to make sure he tries the left hook  so we can break the confidence that was building up in Sherrif

And it worked perfectly

The last training regime we went through was to use one of my boys who didn't have a power punch and made him to work bullet so he will conditioned to receive anything sherrif throws at him.

SHO: What plans for the future for Bullet?

CCQ: We are looking so many things as far as the future is concerned so at this very moment I can't say for sure what we gonna do

It is not my decision alone and after the fight we decided to give him some three days for him to rest so we will be having a team meeting tomorrow to decided on the way forward

SHO: Does Bullet have a sponsor?

CCQ: We are opened to anything as far as it will help Bullet to achieve something positive financially because he has been used for long.

So we as a team owe Bullet to make sure he doesn't finish boxing without getting anything out of it.

So am ready to listen to any proposal you will bring to my attention.

SHO: Ok Thanks, we have to work towards it.

CCQ: You are most welcome

For the record’s Michael Ansah is now 20 (14KOs) - 10(3KOs) -2

By SHO

ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY, THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC), THE INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE (IPC), THE TOKYO 2020 ORGANISING COMMITTEE, THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN AND THE TOKYO METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT (TMG) ARE REITERATING THEIR COMMITMENT TO MAKE THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES THIS SUMMER A LANDMARK IN GENDER EQUALITY ON AND OFF THE FIELD OF PLAY, PAVING THE WAY FOR A MORE EQUAL AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETY.

At the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020:

- Almost 49 per cent of the athletes participating will be women, according to the IOC quota allocation. These will be the first gender-balanced Games in history.

- There will be a ground-breaking competition schedule. ensuring equal visibility between women’s and men’s events and featuring nine more mixed events than at Rio 2016, raising the overall number to 18.

- For the first time ever, all 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) should have at least one female and one male athlete in their respective Olympic teams.

- All 206 NOCs and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team will be encouraged to have their flag carried by one female and one male athlete at the Opening Ceremony.

At the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020:

- At least 40.5 per cent of all the athletes will be women, according to the IPC Qualification Criteria. This equates to 1,782 athletes, an increase on the 1,671 women who competed at Rio 2016 (38.6 per cent).

- At the Opening Ceremony, all the competing National Paralympic Committees will also be encouraged to have their flag carried by one female and one male athlete.

Following the appointment of its new President, Hashimoto Seiko, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee has increased the size of its Executive Board, bringing the percentage of women to 42 per cent. It has also created a Gender Equality Promotion Team under the leadership of its Sports Director, Kotani Mikako, in order to further promote gender and inclusion initiatives during the Games.

“The IOC is committed to gender equality in all areas, from the athletes competing on and off the field of play to leadership roles in sports organisations”, said IOC President Thomas Bach. “With only four months to go until the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Olympic Movement is getting ready for a new milestone in its efforts to create a gender-equal sporting world – the first gender-balanced Olympic Games in history.”

“Inclusion is at the core of everything the IPC does,” said IPC President Andrew Parsons. “We are constantly striving with our members to increase female participation at all levels of the Paralympic Movement, from athletes to administrators, from coaches to Board members. Tokyo 2020 is on course to have more female athletes compete than any previous Paralympic Games. In less than a decade, we will have increased the number of women competing at the Paralympics by at least 18.7 per cent compared to London 2012. Despite this progress we will not rest on our laurels, and we will continue to work hard with our members to increase women’s participation at all future Games until we reach gender equality.”

“Tokyo 2020 upholds ‘Unity in Diversity’ as an important concept of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It has been making various efforts for this purpose together with the IOC, IPC, TMG and the Government of Japan. Currently, the Gender Equality Promotion Team is actively working to put together possible further action, including proposals for leaving a lasting legacy after the Games. We resolve to make the Tokyo 2020 Games considered as a turning point in history when looking back many years later,” said Tokyo 2020 President Hashimoto Seiko.

“Participation of both women and men in all fields, and the active participation of women will lead to the creation of a prosperous, vibrant and sustainable society and the realisation of a society in which everyone can live comfortably,” said Marukawa Tamayo, Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment and Minister of State for Gender Equality. “To re-acknowledge the importance of unity in diversity throughout the world and to make the Tokyo Games an opportunity to develop a harmonious and inclusive society, the Government of Japan, together with the IOC, IPC, TMG and the Tokyo Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, will pledge to make the Tokyo Games the all-time best in terms of gender equality; promote gender equality in the field of sport; and support women affected largely by the pandemic.”

Koike Yuriko, the Governor of Tokyo, said: “The Tokyo 2020 Games uphold ‘Unity in Diversity’ as one of the primary concepts. The TMG has also been engaging in fostering the public’s awareness towards human rights by enacting the ‘Ordinance aiming for realisation of the concept of respect for human rights as stipulated in the Olympic Charter’. Furthermore, the promotion of women’s active participation in society is positioned as one of the vital tasks of the TMG, and we are determined to continue to work on various measures extensively. We would like to make these Games an opportunity for the concepts of diversity and respect for human rights to take further root in society. We will make this a legacy and build a better future based on it. The TMG, together with the IOC, IPC, Japanese Government and Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, will aim to realise Games with the concept of unity in diversity.”

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.

IOC

FAITHFUL Servants Awards, led by Bishop Adonteng Boateng and Fairfax County Communities of Trust Committee (COTC) on Friday, March 5, 2021, honoured the Northern Virginia First Responder Agencies in a simple but beautiful and well-organised event at their global headquarters in the United States.

The event, dubbed Faithful Servants Awards, honours men and women working in the field of law enforcement and fire and rescue, as well as private citizens, for their dedication, support, and community service.

What made this year’s Faithful Servants Awards peculiar, as discovered by TheAfricanDream.net, is that in previous years, like the inaugural one in 2018, awards were given to individuals selected by their respective their agencies.

However, due to effects of COVID-19, the awards scheme this year focused on collectively recognising the agencies.

“In my mind, every individual from these collection agencies across the board delivered an excellently selfless account of themselves. They all showed absolute and outstanding humanity in the face of a deadly pandemic, sometimes, even to the point of putting their own lives at peril to save others,” Bishop Boateng told TheAfricanDream.net in an interview at the event.

Overall, a total of 21 police departments, fire and rescue departments, sheriff offices and Virginia State Police, from across the Northern Virginia area, received the “Excellence in Community Service Award” in recognition and appreciation of their support and outstanding community service during COVID-19. They represented Fairfax, Prince William, Arlington, Stafford and Loudoun Counties. Also represented were the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church as well as the Town of Vienna.

Receiving the award on behalf of their departments were Interim Chief Andy Penn, Major Tara Johnson, Captain II Richard Shupe, Acting Captain Courtney Ballantine, Randolph Woodson, LT Ronnie Lewis, and Major Daniel Janickey. Others are Asst.

Chief Thomas Arnold, Sheriff Stacy Kincaid, Captain Steve Pihonak, Cpt David Smith, LTC Christopher Hines, Chief Tim Keen, Interim Chief David Rohrer, Chief Peter Newsham. Chief Joseph Cardello, Sheriff Glendell Hill, Major Jason Dembowski, and Captain J-P N. Koushel.  Community members receiving the “Community Excellence Award” were Sarah and George Barber, Beverly Howard and Willie Bailey.

Bishop Boateng presented a monetary donation to the COTC to assist them in continuing their support to the community and first responders, especially those who have lost family members due to COVID-19.  Sheriff Stacy Kincaid presented the “Soaring Eagle Award” to Bishop Boateng for their continued and exceptional community engagement and support.

In a video broadcast that was captured by TheAfricanDream.net at the event, Chairman Jeff McKay of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, thanked the COTC for “putting this event together today and also for the work they do year-round to build trust within our community and the men and women in law enforcement.

Source: Oral Ofori

CAPTION:

Bishop Boateng in tan-like colour suit (centre). To his right is Ms Ginwright and some awardees at the event. Photo courtesy: DWIM Media

The duration of the contract between the club and the thermal power station is for one year

The duration of the contract between the club and the thermal power station is for one year

Hearts of Oak have announced the club will accrue US$ 200,000 from their headline sponsorship deal with Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Limited.

The duration of the contract between the club and the thermal power station is for one year.

Hearts of Oak were paid 50% of the total package (US$ 100,000) when the two parties signed the deal last Thursday, 4 March 2021.

The remainder of the cash will be paid in two installments.

Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Limited has replaced Strategic Africa Securities (SAS) as headline sponsors.

And in their first-ever match since the deal was announced, Hearts trounced WAFA 4-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, 7 March 2021 in a Ghana Premier League fixture.

After the first round, Hearts are in third place with 27 points; four behind leaders Karela United.

Organizations should ‘put their monies where their mouth is’

Over the years, women all over the world have and continue to battle for access to equal human rights and responsibilities bereft of gender biases.

While we have made some good strides in various fields such as the right to vote, right to equal pay and compensations, education, to name a few, it is worth noting that there's still some more miles to cover.

Let me first highlight and applaud all forward-thinking organizations that have embraced and promoted this fight in some outstanding ways. These organizations today are very open to recruiting more women who are equally as competent as the men who apply for particular roles which were hitherto a reserve of ‘men only’.

These organizations continue to empower and encourage women to have a relatively fair representation in the boardrooms, top management, the executive and advisory levels and for that, we applaud them, Thank You!

Today as we celebrate International women’s day, I would like to highlight one of the key neglected areas surrounding women economic empowerment; precisely women owned businesses!

As a procurement and supply chain professional with a little over a decade’s experience, I have noted that about 70% percent of businesses that ever approached me to bid for contracts, especially for high-ticket contracts were mostly men-owned businesses

In fact, statistics show that seven out of ten thriving “big” businesses in Africa are owned by men. Here in Ghana data from the registrar general’s department corroborates this narrative.

So, my question then is; why aren’t the big businesses in a field like technology which is largely the biggest spend element of most organizations owned by women? Energy, Automobile Manufacturing, Transport, Oil and Gas, Real Estates, Process and Plants to name a few (feel free to add to this list)

In Ghana most business owned by women are typically small, plagued with less capital because they are unable to provide the traditional collaterals i.e. Landed properties, etc. required to access loans from the financial institutions, and even if they do, the interest on these loans are almost a carnage.

These women-owned businesses basically have no or few employees, they also have to deal with unfavorable market conditions, lack of quality mentorship and business management skills just to name a few.

The pandemic has as well impacted businesses significantly in ways we didn’t imagine.

What is the way forward?

All hands-on deck! We need to rebuild Africa and Africa includes women. Organizations must be more intentional about economically empowering women, so that women can equally contribute to the growth and rebuilding of the African continent. We desire a growth that is more inclusive. Yes, we desire to own landed properties so we can offer them to the banks as collaterals just like men-owned business do. Hello! this is not about taking power, its only us, asking to be treated equally.

Chief Procurement Officers and stakeholders, can you award contracts to women bidders on the same merit score as the men-owned businesses? My experience indicate that women-owned businesses equally have the competence, skill, and necessary resources required for effective execution.

Chief Finance Officer, how much of your company's spend went to a woman-owned business in 2020? A simple spend spool from your accounts payable team should give you a guide. I can almost bet it's less than 40%

Dear CEO, when your organization professes to empower women and women's rights it should go beyond the PR (Public Relations) & marketing fleece. ‘Put your money where your mouth is; empower women economically by awarding high value contracts to women owned business too.

#ichoosetochallenge

#iwd2021

About the Author

Celestine Djane is a procurement and supply chain professional, passionate about rebuilding africa through a well -thought-through, intentional, sustainable and strategic alliance and partnerships within the business sector.

With a career spanning a decade within multinational and local organizations such as Stanbic bank, UMB bank and Capital Bank, Celestine believes empowered women and thriving women businesses are a key requisite to rebuilding Africa

Celestine is currently the lead consultant for Right-Proc Consult, a consulting and advisory firm offering consultancy and advisory services in the areas of cost management, resource optimization, sustainable bottomline growth and leveraging technology as a competitive advantage. She’s also keen procurement knowledge volunteer.

Celestine holds a Master's Degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of science and technology, KNUST, several certifications on procurement and sustainable bottomline policies and programs, including a bachelors degree in administration from the University of professional studies

She promotes the ideology that, in rebuilding africa, organizations and businesses should leverage procurement and supply chain as a tool to building sustainable profits and relevance

Celestine is married and blessed with three children

Ghana midfielder Issahaku Abdul Fatawu was named the Most Valuable Player  (MVP) of the just concluded 2021 CAF U20 Cup of Nations.

The 16-year-old midfielder was singled out as the tournament's poster boy with his imposing performance.

The Steadfast FC player scored two goals, including a monstrous centre-to-goal in Ghana’s opening game against Tanzania.

He gained global attention when he scored a Puskas Award contender in Ghana's 4-0 win over Tanzania in their opener.

Ibrahim Danlad was also voted best goalkeeper.

Danlad picked up the golden glove award, after keeping four clean sheets in the tournament.

He was impressive and just conceded Gambia in the final group game.

Ghana captain, Daniel Afriyie Barnieh was named Man of the Match in the finals of the 2021 Total CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament against Uganda.

The Hearts of Oak was on top of his game for the Black Satellites in the crucial encounter against the Hippos at the Stade Olympique Nouakchott.

Leading by example and working his socks off, the forward excelled with his performance in the final third while occasionally dropping deep into midfield to help the team defend.

In the keenly contested match, Daniel Afriyie Barnieh scored in each half to steer Ghana to defeat Uganda 2-0 at the end of the 90 minutes.

Taking into consideration his goals plus his impressive work-ethic on the night, the 20-year-old has been named the Man of the Match at the end of the game.

Ghana beat Uganda 2-0 in the final to clinch their 4th title.

From Sammy Heywood Okine