FootyDream

The final installment of the 2023/24 Ashanti Regional Inter-school Boys’ Soccer Competition qualifiers were held on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, with giants Prempeh College and Adu Gyamfi SHS progressing to the knockout stage.

Nkawie SHTS also advanced to the round of 32 after picking two wins and a draw. Osei Tutu emerged winners in their group with 8 points.

The knockout stage of the competition will start on January 9, 2024 to January 16, 2024 at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.

Below are results of matches played on Day 4;

Group 25

Antoa SHS 3:0 St. George Cath. SHTS

Kofiase SDA 0:2 Asare Bediako

St. George Cath. SHTS 2:0 Kofiase SDA

Asare Bediako 1:0 St. George SHTS

Asare Bediako 1:0 Antoa SHS

Kofiase SDA 0:1 Antoa SHS

Group 26

Jacobu SHS 3:1 Opoku Agyemang SHS

Effisco SHS 1:0 Jacobu

Opoku Agyemang 1:2 Effisco

Tawheed SHS 0:1 Effisco SHS

Group 27

Nkawie SHTS 0:0 Bosome SHTS

*Nkawie wins 3-1 on penalties

J .A. Kuffour SHS 0:1 Nkawie SHTS

Bosome SHTS 2:0 J .A. Kuffour SHS

Barekese SHS 0:3 Nkawie SHS

Group 28

Spiritan SHS 1:0 Beposo SHS

Adu Gyamfi SHS 2:0 Akrofuom SHS

Adu Gyamfi SHS 2:0 Spiritan SHS

Beposo SHS 1:0 Akrofuom SHS

Spiritan SHS 1:1 Akrofuom

*Spiritan wins 5-4 on penalties

Group 29

Osei Tutu SHS 0-0 Kwamang Presby SHS

*Osei Tutu won 5-4 on penalties

Osei Tutu SHS 2-0 Wesley High School

Osei Tutu SHS 1-0 Nyinahin Catholic

Wesley High 2:1 Kwamang Presby SHS

Kwamang Presby 2:4 Nyinahin Catholic

Nyinahin Catholic 1:2 Wesley High

Group 30

St. Hubert SHS 0:0 Christ The King SHS

*St. Hubert wins 4-1 on penalties

KNUST SHS 1:0 Christ The King SHS

KNUST SHS 0:0 Toase SHS

*Toase SHS wins 7-8 on penalties

Toase SHS 0:1 St. Hubert

KNUST SHS 1:0 St. Hubert

Group 32

Prempeh 2:0 Bosomtwe Oyoko

Achinakrom 2:0 Anum Asamoah SHS

Prempeh College 3:2 Achinakrom SHS

Bosomtwe Oyoko 2:1 Anum SHS

Bosomtwe SHS 1:0 Achinakrom

Prempeh College 2:0 Anum Asamoah

Qualified Schools – DAY 4

1. Prempeh College
2. Adu Gyamfi SHS
3. Effiduase SHS
4. Osei Tutu
5. Asare Bediako SHS
6. Nkawie SHTS
7. KNUST SHS
8. Tepa SHS

The Ghana Football Association has unveiled Global technology brand TECNO as the official and smartphone Partner in Accra.

The partnership agreement, officially sealed during a momentous ceremony at the Wesley Towers at Ridge in Accra on the 19th December, 2023, marks the commencement of an exciting new chapter for both TECNO and GFA.

The signing ceremony was attended by distinguished guests including TECNO’s Channel Manager, Ernest Sonkor, and GFA’s President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku together Executives of the Ghana Football Association including; the Vice President Mark Addo, Executive Council members Nana Sarfo Oduro, Samuel Aboabire and Eugene Nobel.

Mr. Ernest Sonkoh Channel Manager of TECNO Ghana, shared his excitement, stating
“We are confident that this partnership will bring mutual benefits and long-term value to both TECNO and the Ghana Football Association as well as to the Ghanaian football community and society at large as we embark on this transformative journey hand in hand”.

“Together TECNO and the GFA will turn passion into purpose, potential into achievement and dreams into reality so that we can make football more than just a game but a way of life” he added.

Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, president of Ghana Football Association, expressed his excitement to welcome TECNO to the Family as official Smartphone partner.

This partnership deal is expected to be a game changer for football fans, players and officials in advancing the Ghanaian game.

TECNO Ghana and the Ghana Football Association aim to use the deal to turn passion into purpose, potential into achievement and dreams into reality.

About TECNO TECNO is an innovative technology brand with operations in over 70 countries and regions across five continents. Since its launch, TECNO has been revolutionizing the digital experience in emerging global markets, relentlessly pushing for the perfect integration of contemporary, aesthetic design with the latest technologies.

Today, TECNO has developed into a recognized leader in its target markets, delivering state-of-the-art innovation through a wide range of smartphones, smart wearables, laptops and tablets, HiOS operating systems and smart home products. Guided by its brand essence of “Stop At Nothing”, TECNO is committed to unlocking the best and newest technologies for forward-looking individuals.

By creating stylish, intelligent products, TECNO inspires consumers worldwide to never stop pursuing their best selves and their best futures. For more information, please visit TECNO’s official site: www.tecno-mobile.com.

Photo: Fentuo Tahiru

The Ghana Football Association (GFA)’s President, Kurt Okraku’s Facebook post decrying (and rightly so), what the National Sports Authority (NSA) has done to football nudged me to my writing pad. In two months, I have not been here but there are matters to be spoken about because they paint a sad picture for Ghana sports.

“What the NSA has done to football and sports this month should NEVER happen again. It’s just not acceptable!” Kurt Okraku wrote. I am sorry, it will happen again if the visionless NSA leadership is in the office. Under the uninspiring leadership of Prof. Peter Twumasi, December is a money-making period for the NSA from other entertainment.

They milk the fat-showbiz season to grow their lean bank accounts since football, we know, gives them peanuts. The problem is neither with giving the stadium to musicians nor is it with making money. How the ever-suffering pitch at the Accra Stadium is not covered ahead of the entertainment shows and how there seems not to be a mutual ground for operation between the NSA and the GFA is problematic.

That the NSA is financially constrained is no secret. Also, the NSA leadership’s utter contempt for all who disagree with them over the mismanagement of the state sports facilities is public knowledge. Hence, a breaking point is necessary lest sports, which are already underdeveloped here, suffer more.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has not offered any hope in this regard, and it is either the government is careless or unaware of these issues. State sports infrastructure must be for the benefit of all. The quality of leadership in any organisation is linked to the outlook of the things that the organisation presides over.

If our sports infrastructure is in disrepair and others are being mismanaged, the plausible assumption is that the government either does not know or is careless. Why do we erect structures yet leave them to rot like Essipong or mismanage them like the NSA is doing to the Accra Sports Stadium and others?

The leadership is boldly incompetent but sadly, the government looks on. The politicos would not care. This is how they have treated Ghana sports except it is about self-serving matters like the unconscionable dissipation of World Cup funds.

So, I understand the disappointment of Kurt Okraku, the GFA President. I shed no tears, however, with him. His association, conspiring with our governments since 2006, has been part of the rot – the lack of priorities and wastefulness that has ensured that we do not have modern football facilities today.

Ghana does not have infrastructure that national teams can use yet we have had millions of dollars to camp in luxurious hotels abroad. And the ones we have, we are not taking diligent care of it because those charged with its stewardship are just clueless about their mandate. This is the reality of sports in Ghana. It is the sad case of Ghana Sports.

Source: jeromeotchere.com