The Technical team of the Black Stars has granted Joseph Painstil permission to return to his club in Belgium due to injury.
The winger sustained the injury in the last period of his League game against Anderlecht on Sunday and was later substituted – forcing him to withdraw from Thursday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Central African Republic. The player will return to his club immediately to commence rehabilitation.
That leaves Chris Hughton with 24 players to prepare for the match on Thursday.
They include:
Goalkeepers: Lawrence Ati Zigi, Abdul Manaf Nurudeen, Richard Ofori
Defenders: Alidu Seidu, Kingsley Schindler, Stephan Ambrosius, Joseph Aidoo, Alexander Djiku, Nicholas Opoku, Baba Abdul Rahman, Gideon Mensah
Midfielders: Abdul Samed-Salis, Baba Iddrisu, Edmund Addo, Andre Ayew, Elisha Owusu, Mohammed Kudus, Ransford Konigsdorffer
Forwards: Inaki Williams, Jordan Ayew, Antoine Semenyo, Ernest Nuamah, Osman Bukari, Jonathan Sowah
Richard Ofori has joined the Black Stars camp in Kumasi ahead of the Cote D’voire 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Central African Republic on Thursday.
The Orlando Pirates shots stopper who arrived in camp Tuesday afternoon trained with the rest of the squad at the Baba Yara Sports stadium. Also joining the team is Crystal Palace forward Joran Ayew.
The Black Stars will continue their preparation on Wednesday ahead of the crucial match scheduled for 4pm kick off at the Baba Yara Sports stadium on Thursday, September 07,2023.
Ghana sit on top of Group E with 9 points and a win will secure them a place at the tournament in Cote D’Ivoire next January.
Ghanaian forward Samuel Tetteh has officially made his move to Azerbaijani Premier League, Gabala SC.
The 27-year-old has inked a two-year contract with the two-time Azerbaijani Cup champions, following his departure from Adanaspor.
Having spent the last two years in Turkey, representing both Adanaspor and Birdimirspor, the former WAFA winger is now donning the colors of the Red and Blacks.
A club statement said, “Gabala welcomes another addition to our team, Samuel Tetteh. We have signed a two-season contract with the 27-year-old Ghanaian striker.”
The Club Licensing Department of the Ghana Football Association has today released its decisions on match venues of Premier League clubs for the upcoming season.
These decisions were taken after a second inspection by the Club Licensing Department on 31 August 2023.
The Club Licensing Department shall continue to conduct spot check and monitoring of the state of the facilities during the course of the season.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Ministry of Energy, Mr Kwasi Obeng-Fosu, popularly known in the Adentan political landscape as Homeboy Baba Tauffic, the headline sponsor for this year’s Adentan Homowo Soccer Fiesta. The event, which took place at the Wembley Sports Stadium in Adjiriganor and drew soccer fans from far and near, to grace the occasion.
The event which was aimed at promoting unity and development in Adentan as well as unearthing talents was heavily attended by the Chiefs and people of Adjiriganor, Ashale Botwe and its environs, soccer fans in Adentan and beyond, politicians as well as party faithfuls from the major political parties in the constituency etc.
As it is usual of him, Baba Tauffic once again proved his resourcefulness and battle readiness to lead the NPP in the 2024 polls when given the endorsement by delegates and led the kick-off to signify the commencement of the tournament. Earlier, Ashaley Botwe had battled it out with Adjiriganor in both the juvenile and senior teams in their home matches. Ashaley Botwe managed to win both matches at home but couldn’t defend their victory as they went to Adjirganor to concede more goals in their return matches. Both teams won on their home soils to signify the need to stay united to foster growth and development in our electoral areas.
This is not the first time the dynamic and experienced Adentan politician, Homeboy Kwasi Obeng-Fosu, has sponsored any activity of the Homowo Festival in the constituency. Last year, he made cash donations to the leaders of all the traditional areas in the constituency towards the celebration of the 2022 Homowo Festival.
Kwasi Obeng-Fosu, who is well vexed in the Adentan political terrain and has developed good relationship with the people over time, has been fully participating in all socio-political events in the constituency over the years including Homowo Festival, marriage ceremonies, naming ceremonies, funerals, political campaigns etc.
Similar and well organised tournaments by Kwasi Obeng-Fosu in the Adentan Constituency had earlier taken place in parts of the constituency which had energized soccer fans and the teeming youth in the electoral areas and sought to foster unity in order to get poised to win back the parliamentary seat for the NDC.
Indeed, many people in the constituency from both political divide who have experienced Kwasi Obeng-Fosu’s charisma and good interpersonal relationship with the people see his electoral victory in 2024 as a communal labor and not an election to be fought on party lines as they have a good story to tell about him. They say he is a homegrown politician with international standard hence they are ever ready to promote one of their own to parliament because they believe he alone can give them better representation.
Asante Kotoko has embarked on a significant project at the Adako Jachie Training Complex, initiating the construction of a state-of-the-art astro turf.
The project is being carried out by the Ghanaian-based company Benak Construction Limited, located in Accra. The construction work is expected to span approximately five months.
Upon completion of this ambitious project, the field will have a FIFA standard pitch, 5,000 seating capacity, floodlights, changing rooms, providing the team with world-class training and playing facilities amongst others.
The astro turf project has received full financial backing from the club’s esteemed life patron, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. With the project now underway, it is anticipated that the construction will be completed within the next six months.
This development is a significant step forward for Asante Kotoko, enhancing their training facilities and creating a top-notch environment for their players and staff.
Asantehene’s commitment to infrastructure improvements underscores his dedication to success and excellence at Asante Kotoko
Black Stars head coach, Chris Hughton, says public outrage about Andre Ayew’s inclusion in his Black Stars squad for the final 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is not his concern.
The Ghana captain is without a club and has not played competitive football this season but has been named in Hughton’s list for the crucial game.
Reacting to critics of his decision to name the 33-year-old in the 25-man squad, the former Brighton boss said there will always be debates about who should be in the squad, so he is not moved.
“Growing perception is not something that means too much to my point of view as the head coach,” Hughton told Asaase Radio.
“It’s about the squad that I want and the reason for each player to be in the squad. What is the perception outside? I don’t know. This is not my concern.
“What I have to do is to pick a squad that is made up of young exciting players and much more experienced players.
“There will always be, in the general public, a lot of debate about who should be in the squad and who shouldn’t.
“We are knowledgeable about the amount games that he has played and we also know what he means to the squad. He is out captain; I know what he gives the squad.”
Ghana will host the Central Africa Republic in their final Group E game at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Thursday, September 7, 2023.
Chris Hughton’s team leads Group E with nine points, a point ahead of Angola and two above the Central Africa Republic. Madagascar is bottom of the group with two points.
The Black Stars need a point from the game to book qualification for the tournament to be held in Ivory Coast next January.
The Black Stars held their first training session at the Accra Sports Stadium on Monday, September 4, ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Central African Republic.
Ghana will face CAR in their final game on Thursday, September 7 in Kumasi.
Chris Hughton’s side opened camping Monday with 12 players reporting to the team’s base at the Alisa Hotel.
With 12 players arriving, the other 13 are expected to land by close of Tuesday to wrap up the preparations for the game.
The Black Stars need a draw to book a place at the tournament to be staged in Ivory Coast next year.
The players involved in the first training session at the Accra Sports Stadium were goalkeeper Ati Zigi, Edmund Addo, Mohammed Kudus. Nicholas Opoku, Gideon Mensah, Antoine Semenyo, and Osman Bukari
The others were Jonathan Sowah, the sole local player in the squad, Elisha Owusu, Ghana’s captain Andre Ayew, Baba Idrissu, and Joseph Aidoo.
Mas-Ud Didi Dramani has been appointed as Head Coach of the Black Galaxies as he takes over from Annor Walker.
The Black Stars Assistant Coach is expected to lead the team throughout the qualifiers for the next edition of the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) Tournament.
Didi Dramani who currently works with Right To Dream Academy is also the Assistant Coach of the Black Stars. He previously led Ghana to win Bronze at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan before winning the domestic double (Premier League and FA Cup) with Asante Kotoko in 2014.
On the domestic front, Didi Dramani played for Bolgatanga Soccer Masters, Real Tamale United and Cape Coast Mysterious Ebusua Dwarfs before calling time on his playing career in 2000.
The GFA/CAF Instructor will be assisted by Baba Nuhu and Samuel Boadu. Ghana will aim to make another appearance at the CHAN tournament following a quarter final exit in the last edition in Algeria this year.
The Ghana Football Association has promoted Desmond Offei to the position of head coach for the Black Satellites, the national under-20 football team.
Desmond Offei, a 35-year-old UEFA A (Level 4) Licensed Professional Football Coach, brings a wealth of coaching experience to his new role.
Offei has previously served as the U-18 Head Coach and U-21 coach at Royal Antwerp FC, as well as the Head Coach for Lokeren U-21 and Lusitano SAD. He is currently working at the Technical Directorate of the Ghana Football Association, where he has been the head of high performance.
Over the past 9 months, Desmond Offei has been working as an assistant coach alongside former coach Samuel Boadu. He has also gained coaching and scouting experience in various countries, including Belgium, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.
Desmond Offei will be supported by a coaching team that includes former Ghanaian football star Nii Ordartey Lamptey and Heart of Lions coach Salifu Fatawu.
