Ghana cautiously optimistic of a win over Germany

All has not been well in the camp of the Ghana Black Stars since Monday’s 1:2 loss to the USA in the ongoing 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Reports of player’ revolt against the team’s coach and management have been denied by the Ghana Football Association but public commentary and debates point to a team which is not united to take on Germany in the 2^nd Group G match in Fortaleza on Saturday.

Some of the Black Stars’ senior players are alleged to have threatened to leave camp in protest of the selection policy of coach Kwasi Appiah in the USA game.

But GFA spokesperson, Ibrahim Saanie Daara, has dismissed the allegations as untrue.

Throughout the week, Ghana’s 25 million population has been reviewing the match between Ghana and the USA – whilst some questioned the coach’s selection criteria and tactics leading to the loss, others believe Ghana was just not lucky on the day.

Coach Kwesi Appiah is however confident his team would bounce back better to stage a formidable game against Germany, who are three times winners of the World Cup.

According to him, the team “will get better in our coming games and make sure that we qualify…It is not going to be easy but we will work hard at it.”

Ghana needs to maximize all three points against Germany if the Black Stars are to keep alive hopes of qualifying from the group stages of the tournament.

 

Sports analyst, Dr. Danny Owusu Ansah, says Ghana should not panic because “it is not the first time we are meeting a giant at the World Cup and we should be able to hold them [Germans] at least in the first 15minutes and then we settle with them and play.”

He attributes Ghana’s loss to the US to “creativity upfront” hoping this will improve if “the coach is careful by studying the opponents before embarking on any strategy before any match.”

Ghana’s Midfielder, Michael Essien, who suffered a toe injury, is expected to pass a fitness test to be available for the game. It is however unclear if defender Rashid Sumaila, who is also responding to a toe injury, could make it to the starting lineup.

A major attraction of Saturday’s match is the possible clash between Germany’s Jerome Boateng and his half-brother, Kevin-Prince Boateng of Ghana.

The siblings, both born in Berlin to separate mothers, set a record in South Africa as the first brothers to play against each other at a World Cup finals.

In that game in Johannesburg, Germany won by a lone goal over Ghana but both sides proceeded to the knock out stage.

On Saturday, the Germans would be seeking to maintain their lead in the group after thrashing Portugal 4:0 in their opening match.

There is some level of skeptism among Ghanaians on the possibility of winning against Germany.

The usual World Cup euphoria is virtually absent on the streets of cities in Ghana. Some traders in Black Starts paraphernalia are reporting drop in sales and other businesses are worried of decline in patronage should the Ghanaian team suffer yet another defeat.

 

Dr. Owusu Ansah is however optimistic of a good score line in favour of the Black Stars.

“It is not the first time Germany is going to lose against a mino and so I believe that fans should be optimistic; we shouldn’t expect too much from the team though, because other big teams have lost and they are out of the competition. I still think the Black Stars can shine,” he expressed.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Originally commissioned by Folha de S.Paulo, Brazil's largest newspaper.

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/esporte/folhanacopa/2014/06/1473799-o-ganes-cautelosamente-otimista-quanto-a-vitoria-sobre-a-alemanha.shtml

Luv Sports Invitational Tournament

The Wesley College Park in Kumasi was centre of soccer spectacle as corporate establishments in the metropolis slugged it out to determine the best team on the field of play.
 

Twenty-two institutions took part in the maiden edition of the regional Sports Invitational Tournament organized by Luv 99.5 Fm, a member of the Multimedia Group.

The fun-filled sporting event, modeled after the original Joy Sports Invitational Tournament in Accra, is aimed at affording staff of corporate institutions the opportunity to socialize, network and exercise.

After days of bragging on-air, the teams attempted to prove their prowess on the pitch. 

The tournament was as interesting as the names of the teams – including Mantrac Stars, Orange 11 from GT Bank, VAT Stars, Airport United, Zoom Soccer Academy, Indomie Academy, Bank of Ghana, JUSAC 11, Komfo Anokye Stars, GRIDCo, Justice Stars, MMT 11 and FCP United.

Others are ECOFOOT from Ecobank, Power FC,

Information FC, Zenith 11, Vega Stars, RLG 11, Ricky Boakye United, Indomitable Latex, Fabulous Opportunity and Y’ello United from MTN.

The tournament lasted almost eleven hours with JUSAC 11 battling it out with VAT Stars in the finals. 

The Judiciary Service won by 2:1 to keep the tournament trophy. Ecobank took the third place position and adjudged the team with ‘bragging rights’.

The Luv Sports Invitational Tournament was sponsored by rLG Communication, GT Bank, Indomie Noodles and Crystal Catering Services.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Going back to my good old Lagos!

I was not too keen going to Lagos, Nigeria! Not because I don’t like the city’s hustling and bustling environment but apparently I had been to Ibadan seven months earlier. Also the fact that the trip was an opportunity to acquire new skills in reporting sports and society was bait for me to relive the over five years I spent in Nigeria as a student and human rights activist.

The 2010 workshop was to prepare participants to be capable of writing and producing passionate features about African life and football – African journalists telling African stories linked to sports.

The workshop, held at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism – my very own training grounds – was insightful, highlighting issues beyond stadiums and scores, rankings or strictly news related content.

Participating radio and photojournalists from Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Namibia, Egypt, Tanzania, Uganda, Liberia, Sierra Leon and Kenya demonstrated diverse skills in content development and feature presentation. The guidance of tutors from the Thomson Reuters Foundation ensured production was tight and interesting to targeted consumers.

The training and fraternization among the media personnel indicated there is hope for developmental journalism on the African continent.

Going out to Surulere, Ikeja and Isale Eko in Lagos to cover my assignment revealed the changing (positive) landscape of a city I had known very well. Most Lagosians were quick to mention Governor Babatunde Raji Fasola for the giant strides in the reengineering of Lagos State. This man, I am told, has defied all odds to embark on a radical action to redevelop the state.

Obviously pulling down structures erected at unauthorized places has deprived some people of their places of habitation and livelihoods but to majority of the people a price has to paid if Lagos State is to survive urbanization. Already Ghana is learning from the Fashola experience in the management of traffic and public transportation.

There are concerns that Governor Fasola may pay politically for implementing some new policies of social re-engineering but I can strongly say this man is leaving his name in the sands of times and if he should carry his legacy through to the end, he would certainly be remembered as one of the greatest administrators Nigeria has ever produced.
The next time I travel to Nigeria, I would be expecting freer traffic flow, a clean and healthy environment and a more organized people productively developing their State!

Lagos is leading the way for other African cities to better manage limited resource and journalists should support public-sector managers or administrators to advance local communities.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh