Asante Kotoko Brands and Communications Director David Obeng Nyarko has blamed poor officiating for the poor attendance at the various venues for the Ghana Premier League.
Poor stadium attendance has been a problem for the domestic top division this season; for instance, King Faisal earned nothing when they played Nsoatreman FC.
Speaking to Kumasi-based Oyerepa FM, Obeng Nyarko believes that bad officiating has prevented fans from attending games at the Stadium.
“We have done our research and there are several reasons and one of the reason is that people do not believe there is fairness in the game.
“There are people who come to the stadium but decide not to come to the stadium again because of bad officiating, that is a fact.
“How we market our league is also a factor, statistics are available in other leagues and with just a click you can have every statistic you need but if asked who has the most passes in our league, I do not think anyone can answer that question” he said.
Asante Kotoko will play Great Olympics on match-day 11 of Ghana Premier League at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on Sunday without seven key players due to several reasons beyond the technical team, the club has confirmed.
John Tedeku, Stephen Amankona, Georges Mfegue and youngster Isaac Oppong missed the trip to Dormaa Ahenkro last weekend due to injury concerns and they will once again sit out of the game on Sunday afternoon.
The quartet could not recover fully to have full session of training with the first team.
Also, Dickson Afoakwa will be missed the clash due to an injury he sustained during the game against Aduana Stars.
Midfielder Justice Blay and youngster Nicholas Mensah are also out of the game through suspension.
The duo have been ruled out of the game after picking three yellow cards each this season.
A club statement read, “Our safest pair of hands Danlad Ibrahim, Defender Sheriff Mohammed, and Augustine Agyapong are away on international duty.
“Dickson Afoakwa, Isaac Oppong , Georges Mfegue , Stephen Amankona and John Tedeku, are on the injury list while our utility player Justice Blay and Nicholas Mensah are both ruled out through suspension.”
However, midfielder Sherif Mohammed and forward Clinton Opoku are likely to make Kotoko’s squad list for the first time this season.
Kotoko will be hoping to maintain their home invincibility in the season, having drawn twice and won three.
They currently lie second on the league log with 18 points, two adrift of leaders Aduana Stars.
Asante Kotoko are beginning official justify your inclusion in January in their quest to form a formidable youth team.
According to a club statement on Friday, the festival, which will last for four days, will commence on January 17, 2022, and end on January 20, 2022, at the Adako Jachie Park.
The exercise is aimed at getting quality players for their youth system, which is expected to start in February.
The Porcupine Warriors are trying to revive their youth team, which served as the bedrock of the club, producing the likes of Francis Akwaffo, the late Kwaku Dua, Eric Nii Baah, and a host of others.
The players who wish to come for the four-day trial should be between 15 and 19 years old and must be present at the training grounds by 7 a.m. each day.
The club indicated that interested male footballers should pick up registration forms at T.I. Amass Senior High School in Kumasi and the Regional Football Association Secretariat in Kumasi.
Abdullai Gazelle will lead the coaches, who will assess the players.
Bibiani Gold Stars forward Ibrahim Laar has won the Ghana Premier League player of the month award for November.
Laar emerged as winner after scoring four goals and winning two most valuable player awards.
He was nominated with Cephas Kofi Mantey of Bechem United, Bright Adjei of Aduana FC, David Abagna Sandan of Real Tamale United and Mezack Afriyie of Berekum Chelsea.
The player is set to receive a 40-inch NASCO Television set from Electroland Ghana Limited.
Former Head Coach of the Black Stars, Kwesi Appiah has explained why Thomas Partey didn’t perform to expectation at the 2022 World Cup played in Qatar.
Thomas Partey headed into the World Cup which was won by Argentina as one of the best midfielders in the World. The 29-year old was expected to elevate the Ghana national team with his form which has transformed Arsenal into title contenders.
Nevertheless, he failed to do so as Ghana bowed out of the competition in the group stages. The development saw a plethora of Ghanaian footballers question Partey’s commitment for the national team.
In an interview with Dan Kweku Yeboah TV, Kwesi Appiah explained that Partey failed to perform with the Black Stars because he was limited on the field.
“I would like to use this World Cup. If you look at Arsenal, they use him more like a defensive midfielder, always he plays in front of the defenders. But here we use him as an offensive midfielder who operates on the right side. That means he is enclosed in a small area with the number 10 but at Arsenal, he can move all over the place,” said Kwesi Appiah.
Partey has dumped the disappointment at the World Cup and has continued his decent form with Arsenal, keeping the team top of the Premier League table with 44 points from 17 games, 8 more points than 2nd placed Manchester City.
According to reports in the local media, MTN FA Cup holders Accra Hearts of Oak have parted ways with Cameroonian striker Junior Kaaba after just four months.
The 23-year-old signed a two-year contract with the ‘Phobians’ in August after impressing in Cameroon’s top division.
Hearts of Oak coach Slavko Matic seems not to fancy the Cameroonian striker who arrived with so much promise.
However, in the early stages, he has yet to find the back of the net in six matches and has been demoted to the bench after the World Cup break.
Hearts of Oak have won two FA Cup games against Nsoatreman FC and Uncle T United since the league resumed.
However, they were defeated 1-2 by Bechem United, ending their current eight-game undefeated streak and dropping them out of the top four.
The Phobians will likely sign another striker to help strengthen their attack. Hearts of Oak will take on Tamale City in their next Ghana Premier League game.
Nora Häuptle has been appointed as the Head Coach of the senior Women’s national team – otherwise known as Black Queens.
The 39-year-old former Swiss International is a product of the University of Bern where she attained her Masters in Sports Sciences – also a Bachelor of Philosophy and Minor in Theatre Sciences.
Nora holds is a UEFA Pro Licence certificate and has previously worked as an Instructor for the Swiss Football Association.
She holds other Diploma Certificates such a, UEFA Mentorship Hope Powell – Brighton and Hove Albion FC, CAS Sports Management – University of St. Gallen and Shalkeh 04, Athletics Coach – Swiss Football Association and Swiss Tennis, Strength and Conditioning – Swiss Olympic team, Olympic Weightlifting – Swiss Olympic team as well as EXOS Level I & FMS and Sailing and Motoboat Licence.
She played for BSC Young Boys, FFC Zuchwil 05, FC Twente Enschade, FC Thun and the Swiss national team between 1996 and 2010. From 2009 to 2012 she was coach at FC Thun and later worked as a conditioning coach for Tennis player Romina Oprandi.
Nora previously worked with the Israeli Football Association as Head Coach and Women’s Director for the national team and also had a stint with SC Sand 1946 – a German Women’s Bundeliga club.
She will be assisted by Joyce Boatey-Agyei and Aboagye Dacosta.
Joyce Boatey – Agyei is a physical Education Tutor and Coach of Kumasi Girls Senior High School and a former Coach of the Girls U-15 national team.
Aboagye Dacosta is a former player of Asante Kotoko and Head Coach of Women’s Premier League Club Ashtown Ladies in Kumasi.
The Black Queens will soon move to camp to begin preparations towards the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and the third edition of the WAFU Zone B Women’s Cup of Nations 2023 in March/April this year.
Ghana defender Gideon Mensah is said to be a transfer target of English Premier League duo Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The left-back – 24 – only joined Auxerre last summer in a permanent deal from Austrian giants Red Bull Salzburg.
But a report by eyefootballclaims Mensah is chased by the English clubs who could a fee of around 12 million euros accepted for the 13-time capped Ghana international.
Leeds manager Jesse Marsch is familiar with the defender, having worked with him when in charge at Red Bull Salzburg. The Elland Road outfit is said to be in search of a cover for current left-back Pascal Struijk.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have recently been playing Spanish defender Hugo Bueno in the full-back role, who has impressed during recent weeks. However, newly appointed manager Julen Lopetegui wants to sign cover for Bueno, and sees Mensah as a well-priced alternative.
Gideon Mensah, since arriving in Europe on the books of RB Salzburg from WAFA SC in summer 2016, has enjoyed spells at Austria’s FC Liefering, Sturm Graz, Zulte Waregem, Vitoria de Guimaraes, FC Girondins Bordeaux and is currently at Auxerre.
The 2022 Fifa World Cup campaigner with Ghana has featured 9 times in the Ligue 1 so far this season.
James Kwasi Appiah, the former head coach of Ghana, has stated that should the Ghana Football Association approach him, he would not decline the chance to lead the Black Stars once more.
Appiah was fired from his position as head coach of the national team in January 2020 after overseeing 20 matches between 2017 and 2019.
The former Ghanaian international was fired as a result of his nine wins, six draws, and five losses.
The 62-year-old claims he has not finished his coaching career, though, and that he would be ready should the Ghana FA need him again.
“The fact that I have not gone out and said I have quit coaching if the opportunity arises and I can help, why not?” he said in an interview with Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV. ”Once coaching is my destiny, why not help if I’m approached?”
Following Ghana’s elimination from the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, Otto Addo announced his resignation as head coach of the Black Stars.
In a sensational audio, the partner of Hearts of Oak goalkeeper Joyce Attah claimed that two unnamed club officials, “Aki and Pawpaw,” were responsible for orchestrating the firing of former coach Samuel Boadu. The pair allegedly instructed the referee to issue red cards to two Hearts of Oak players in order to remove the club’s most beloved manager, according to the audio.
Mrs. Joyce Attah has claimed in an astonishing audio recording that the two managers of the Ghanaian powerhouse wanted to damage Hearts of Oak before their final 1-1 draw with Asante Kotoko in September2022. They also told referee Serlom Yao Bless to give two Hearts of Oak players their marching orders.
She claimed the plan was to ensure the club loses the game so they could manipulate the firing of previous coach Samuel Boadu.
It’s unknown what set the goalkeeper’s wife off after she listed the problems that led to her husband’s absence from the team since March 2022.
Since being called up to the Black Stars for the Fifa World Cup playoff match against Nigeria last year, Attah has not played for the former African champions.
The goalkeepers’ wife also went into great detail about what transpired between her husband and the team.
“When the team (Hearts of Oak) traveled to play Kotoko, Ayi (goalkeeper) was not not involved in the team’s warm-up. It was Attah and Alawa (Eric Ofori Antwi) who were in camp. Boadu included Attah in his starting X1 against Kotoko but the officials warned him (Boadu) to change him. He was replaced with Alawa but the officials rejected that one too” Mrs. Attah said in an explosive audio.
“So Ayi was not aware that he was going to be in post. You understand! So he hurriedly dressed up for warm up and the game itself.
“Because they wanted Samuel Boadu downfall, they planned to rely on the outcome of the game to engineer his dismissal.
“Is is me! I am the one telling you this. The referee (Serlom Yao Bless) confronted two players and asked them if they had wronged their bosses? and they said No! Then he informed them that these your bosses ‘Aki and Pawpaw’ say I should show these two specifics players the marching off orders.
“I am telling you. Whoever doubts me should come to me. He said these players should be shown the red card so that the lose to force the exit of Samuel Boadu.
“Thankfully, there were no red cards. Attah has not done anything wrong. It was Samuel Boadu had left the club that he informed Attah of the plot against him.”
It’s unclear who the ‘Aki and Pawpaw’ are but references can be deduced by their teeming followers.
