FootyDream

Nigerien international, Mamane Lawali has ended his three-year stay at Hearts of Oak following the expiration of his contract.

The Ghana Premier League club on Thursday, December 29, confirmed that the player has decided not to extend his stay.

“After 3 years of being with Accra Hearts of Oak, midfielder, Lawali Mamane has finally parted ways with the club.

“The Nigerien midfielder whose contract ended this year has opted not to extend his contract with the club thereby bringing his stay at the club to an end. He has opted to continue with his career elsewhere,” an official communique from the Phobians said.

The exquisite passer sustained an injury in his first year at the club and underwent successful surgery in South Africa.

Since then, he has spent most of his time going through his prescribed rehabilitation program.

Now fit, the midfielder believes it is better to move away from Hearts of Oak to open a new chapter in his career.

South African giants Kaizer Chiefs are reported to have tabled $380,000 offer to sign Hearts of Oak midfield maestro Salifu Ibrahim.

The 22-year-old is attracting interest from stellar clubs in Europe as well as the PSL side as he continues his fine form since recovering from a long injury layoff.

Ibrahim, a former Techiman Eleven Wonders star, has emerged strongly on the radar of AmaKhosi, who are ready to splash $380,000 on the player.

Salifu Ibrahim is regarded as key member of Slavko Matic’s squad which has gone unbeaten since the Serbian tactician took over from Samuel Boadu.

He has a year and half left on his current contract as clubs continue to circle for his signature.

Widespread media reports have claimed that clubs from Eastern Europe in particular have been keeping tabs on the progress of the talented Ghanaian.

Hearts of Oak are eager to tie him down to avert losing the player for free when his current deal expires.

The Phobians have been unable to reach an agreement with the player with his representatives Eyeconic Sports Management Limited reportedly demanding $4,000 as monthly salary.

The poster boy has scored three goals in 41 appearances for the former African champions.

Asante Kotoko are claimed to be leading the race to sign Michael Ampadu from Legon Cities in January despite links over a move to Hearts.

The right-back has done himself proud in playing a key role in Cities’ resurgence this campaign. Whilst Hearts have been linked, the rumours seem quite quiet in regards to a potential move to Kotoko.

Both Hearts and Kotoko are in need of a right-back to replace departing players. Hearts’ Fatawu Mohammed has been told he is no longer needed at the club and met secure his future elsewhere.

Kotoko on the other hand recently parted ways with Christopher Nettey after the expiration of his contract.

According to sources, Kotoko and Legon Cities have reached an agreement for the former U-20 and Black Meteors defender to join the Porcupine Warriors in January.

The quest to building a strong team for the second round of the ongoing season continues as Hearts of Oak shortlist Bibiani Goldstars striker Laar Ibrahim as part of their targets in the January transfer window.

The stalwart forward joined the ‘Dun’s Park’ outfit prior to the beginning of the season on a two year contract which keeps him in Bibiani until 2024.

He is really enjoying himself with the newbies in the league having netted four goals in his last five matches, including a brace against King Faisal in match-day 6.

Speculations are that, Hearts of Oak have identified Laar Ibrahim as a potential figure to fill the gap in their attack, and are so desperate to offload Cameroonian striker Junior Kaaba- who is yet to register his name on the scoresheet in any competitive game.

He scored 10 goals in his 25 appearances for Eleven Wonders in the recently ended 2021/22 Ghana Premier League season.

Laar, 25, previously played for Norwegian second-tier side Naestved Boldklub.

Medeama Sporting Club and Head Coach David Duncan today parted company on mutual ground.

Duncan joined the Mauve and Yellow in September 2022, signing a one-year contract.However, circumstances mean both parties have reached an agreement to go separate ways after four months.

The experienced gaffer supervised five Ghana Premier League matches during his tenure.O behalf of everyone at Medeama SC, the Club would like to place on record its gratitude to David Duncan for his efforts during his time with the club and wish him well in his future endeavour.

There will be no further comment.

Source: Medeama Sporting Club

Board member of Accra Hearts of Oak, Alhaji Braimah Akambi has assured the anxious supporters of the club that their prized asset Daniel Afriyie Barnieh will not leave the club for free.

According to the club chief, they are in constant talks with the player and his representative, and are deal will be reached very soon.

He says that the player will not depart Hearts of Oak on a free transfer and will sign a new contract with the club very soon.

“We are still talking to the representatives of Afriyie Barnieh, very soon we will arrive at a deal. Barnieh will never leave Hearts for free”

There has been a contract stand-off between the player and the club with his contract set to expire at the end of the month.

Hearts have opened contract talks with the talented forward for months now but no compromise has been reached between the pair.

Barnieh was part of the Black Stars squad that played at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar although he did not play a single minute but featured in Ghana’s last preparatory game against Switzerland where he shone.

Hearts have tabled a new proposal before the player but he and his representatives have rejected it with a move away on the cards.

The club has been in talks with the player about extending his contract with them for a while but no agreement has been reached with reports claiming that that the player has now decided against renewing his contract with Hearts.

Afriyie Barnieh was the subject of interest from teams abroad with some Scandinavian clubs the most interested but Hearts did not entertain any offers with Al Ahly latest to join the fray.

The forward joined Accra Hearts of Oak three seasons ago after passing trials with the club and has since gone on to become a fan’s favourite.

He has been integral in Hearts of Oak recent rise helping the club win the Ghana Premier League title two seasons ago and also winning MTN FA Cup in two consecutive seasons among others.

Barnieh has earned call-ups to the Black Stars and was recently handed his Ghana debut in the 1-0 win against Nicaragua in Spain.

The Hearts forward also helped Ghana qualify for the CHAN tournament with the Black Galaxies for the first time in eight years.

If you mistakenly assume that the National Sports Authority (NSA) has an active, functioning policy, that allows it to preside over the situation where facilities at state sports infrastructure are subjected to the most undesirable treatment only for repairs afterwards, you can be pardoned.

There’s no such policy, but on the evidence of what we’ve seen this year and in the past, the NSA, relative to its management of the Accra Sports Stadium, would allow anything for revenue expedition only to come back to use the funds generated from renting the stadium to repair damaged things like the pitch and others.

That life is akin to that of a prostitute who uses money gained from sexual promiscuity to treat STIs. Of what benefit is that? The repair doesn’t even guarantee the previous state of affairs and the patchy maintenance leads to more ruin. Current photos of the Accra Sports Stadium pitch authenticate this view. The once lush green turf now casts the image of a tired, brown and horrible surface.

It’s wanton destruction. NSA legitimises it. It wants money to wet its arid coffers if not grow fat in its lean bank account. So football, which often fetches nothing substantial all year, has no place on the pitch during the Yuletide. Significant showbiz events take over. The pitch therefore comes under the mercy of heavy equipment and hordes of human feet in all manner of footwear. The harmattan aggravates the situation.

We can argue why the NSA wouldn’t stop hiring the stadium for events other than football. I’ve no qualms. It’s unacceptable, however, why the NSA wants us to think that, for instance, there can be no covering of the pitch to absorb pressure and further save it from inevitable, unbridled movements of human feet and equipment.

The NSA shouldn’t be reckless in its management of facilities under its care and turn around to preach on maintenance culture when it’s the same entity that ensures no proper culture of maintenance. Having the pitch destroyed, for, after all, there would be re-grassing, is a form of mismanagement. The NSA can reduce the damage caused and repair costs with appropriate management steps.

Claims of leadership and management dearth or inertia at the NSA are undisputable when you look at the issues of state sports infrastructure and their maintenance countrywide. The NSA stands accused and it must work harder to maintain proper standards regarding facilities under its purview. The current situation is disturbing.

The one-time beautiful Essipong Stadium is deteriorating. The Finance Minister’s 2021 budget, which said that Essipong stadium renovation was 90% complete, was false. In March, we struggled to meet FIFA standards for a venue for the World Cup playoff against Nigeria. Not much has changed since then.

It doesn’t look like we’ve learnt any lesson from the near-embarrassing moment of Ghana not having a suitable stadium for an international game involving the Black Stars. Even now we aren’t out of the woods yet regarding that issue and we rather seem to be destroying the Accra stadium pitch the more. What kind of football nation are we?