German side Schalke 04 have loaned Ghanaian attacker Bernard Tekpetey to Bulgarian giants Ludogorets.
The 22-year-old will be with the Belgian Champions for the next two seasons after Fortuna Düsseldorf decided to cut short his loan spell at the Club.
Tekpetey joined Fortuna Düsseldorf on a two-year loan deal from Schalke before the start of the 2019/20 season. The player’s failure to make an impression at the Club forced the relegated Bundesliga side to release him.
Schalke have hence decided to lease him out to Ludogorets until 2022.
The former German Champions re-signed the Ghana U23 star from SC Paderborn after the player excelled.
Meanwhile the forward will be getting an opportunity to play in the UEFA Champions League with Ludogorets after the Club finish first in the Bulgarian top-flight.
Brentford beat Swansea City 3-1 in the second-leg of the Championship semi-final play-off at Griffin Park Wednesday evening to book a ticket to the final scheduled for first week in August.
After a slender 1-0 defeat in the first-leg, the hosts showed their intention early in the encounter as Ollie Watkins finished off a swift counter-attack for the opener and Emiliano Marcondes nodded in Brentford’s second from Said Benrahma’s pass, to record a 2 nil lead just in four minutes.
Bryan Mbeumo’s well-struck second-half volley from Rico Henry’s left-wing cross put the game beyond Swansea.
A Pontus Jansson error let in Rhian Brewster to reduce Swansea’s aggregate deficit to one. Brentford thus, quality on 3-2 aggregate.
Brentford will lock horns with the winner of Fulham-Cardiff City game on 4 August, 2020 at Wembley to fight for a slot into the Premier League.
Ayew netted 18 goals in 47 appearances for Swansea City this season.
Former Ghana international Rahim Ayew has waxed lyrical about his younger brother, Jordan after the Crystal Palace player dominated headlines on Tuesday.
Jordan scooped three end of the season awards at Eagles’ gala night. Ayew, who scored nine goals this season, bagged the Player of the Season, plus Players’ Player of the Season as well as Goal of the Season awards.
His achievements have been widely praised. Rahim, who played seven times for the Black Stars, has said in an interview with Kobby Stonne on Adom TV, that Jordan has taken over the mantle as the country’s best striker from Asamoah Gyan.
He attributed the younger Ayew’s success to hard work, professionalism and discipline.
Rahim has suggested that his brother be given an important role in the senior national team. According to him, Jordan, who has been in the team since 2010, deserves to be deputy assistant captain.
Although he admits Black Stars coach Charles Akonnor has the power to decide, he feels the 28-year-old has the needed qualities to lead in the absence of substantive captain and brother Andre.
Rahim Ayew (left) with Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew and their father Abedi Pele
Former Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah made Andre captain in the lead up to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, with Kwadwo Asamoah named as deputy.
“What I know personally, apart from Dede [Andre Ayew] and Jonathan Mensah, I think Jordan should be the next captain because he has been there for long, but coach has the power to decide.
However, I feel he deserves to be the assistant captain for now, because has the character and he is a leader as well,” Rahim said.
Jordan made his Black Stars debut in 2010 against Swaziland. He has since played 61 games and scored 17 goals.
Ahead Friday Eid Al-Adha of Muslims around the globe, Asante Kotoko SC board member kofi Amoa-Abban has donated food items to all Muslim players at the clubs.
Kofi Amoa-Abban
The items presented to the players included One bag of Rice each, cooking oil, mackerel, Tomato paste among others.
Players who received the items were Osman Ibrahim and Danlad Ibrahim – who returned from their loan spells from King Faisal and Berekum Chelsea respectively, Mudasiru Salifu and Naby Keita.
The presentation took place at their base at the Sports Hotel, Kumasi. The players expressed their gratitude to him after receiving the items.
The Executive Council of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), in the exercise of the powers prescribed under Article 42(2) of the Statutes 2019, has appointed an Ad-Hoc Compensation Committee.
Article 42(2) of the GFA Statutes provides that “the remuneration of members of the Executive Council shall be propon ad-hoc compensation committee and approved by Congress.”
The Committee is chaired by Frederick Nana Kweku Moore, the Chief Executive Officer of Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club.
The other members of the three-member Committee are Wilfred Kweku Osei, President of Tema Youth Sporting Club and Eric Delali Sanaye, Chief Executive Officer of Inter Allies Football Club.
The mandate of the Committee, as provided under Article 42(2) of the GFA Statutes 2019, is to propose to the GFA Congress the remuneration of members of the Executive Council.
The Committee is expected to submit its work in time to form part of the Congress documents that will be sent to members of Congress as the formal convocation of Congress under Article 31(3) of the GFA Statutes 2019.
Currently, the GFA has been using the sitting allowance approved by the previous Executive Committee before the coming into office of the Normalization Committee.
Former Asante Kotoko Ugandan striker George Abege has disclosed that the two-time CAF Champions League winners is not a big club as anticipated by many.
Abege – who joined Asante Kotoko on a two-year deal from Kariobangi Sharks was farmed out of the club in six months following his failure to command first team play.
According to the Ugandan International, looking at the club’s training complex at Adako Jachie and other structures, the Porcupine Warriors does not merit the ‘big team’ tag.
“Not really Kotoko is a big club, there’s some loopholes in Kotoko but from outside if you look at it you can admire a lot but once you go deep inside the club, you will find out that there’s a lot of loopholes,” Abege told Kumasi-based radio station Wontumi FM.
“Why am I saying this, because they need to invest a lot in youth football rightnow, if you look at their U20, they’re only few people, U17 never existed when I was there and they don’t give enough time to for those youth to have the courage to carry on and believe that after one, two, three seasons I will be able to deliver in Kotoko.
“Football is not spoken, football is played on the pitch and not at the office nor the road side so whatever you do on the pitch will determine whether what you’re doing was right from outside or not because what they display on the pitch shows that Kotoko is not big enough.
“But in terms of facilities I think it’s good, they have a bus and somehow organised club, they’ve got training pitch but the training pitch lacks a lot so there’s a lot of things this team need to do to be called a big team because I was there and saw it SO for it to be at pal with the so called big teams in Africa, there are a lot to be done on the ground before they come on the pitch.
“I always wish Asante Kotoko the best but I also wish they could do something about that because it’s not good for a club to always boost itself with their past history than to look at the future.”
Abege is currently unattached after his contract with Asante Kotoko was terminated after the club’s last campaign in the CAF Inter-club competition.
Local giants, Accra Hearts of Oak are reported to have appointed former player, Micheal Hesse-Odamtten, as assistant coach of the club.
According to sources close to the Phobians, the Premier League club settled on Hesse-Odamtten as deputy to Edward Nii Odoom ahead of next season after several deliberations.
Coach Odoom has been without an assistant since his appointment as replacement to Kim Grant in January this year.
Since his appointment, Coach Odoom has engineered a major transformation of the team leading to some impressive performances in the Ghana Premier League (GPL) until the season was cancelled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
When confirmed, Hesse-Odamtten, who is a staunch Phobian, is expected to come to the table with a wealth of experience including a CAF license A certificate to support the technical prowess of Coach Odoom.
He was a coordinator of Aspire Dream Academy in Qatar, a former player of Africa Sports of Ivory Coast and Dragons of Benin.
As a brave defender during his heydays, Hesse-Odamtten is expected help address the fragile defensive set up of the Rainbow club in the coming season.
AshantiGold SC Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel Frimpong has announced the departure of star striker Shafiu Mumuni after his contract expired.
The Black Stars ‘B’ captain has decided against extending his stay with the Miners after his contract came to a close last month.
Speaking in an interview with Kumasi-based Fox FM, Frimpong disclosed that head coach of the side Reborto Landi has declared Shafiu Mumuni as surplus to requirement.
“Shafiu [Mumuni] is not in our plans. The head coach claimed Shafiu is not needed in the team [[AshantiGold] because we have signed his replacement. His contract has ended”, Frimpong told Kumasi-based radio station Fox FM.
Shafiu has been heavily linked to Asante Kotoko, and reports indicate that the Porcupine Warriors are through with the personal talks with his representatives.
Shafiu Mumuni was crowned top scorer for the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations after netting four goals after the tournament.
He made history to become the first-ever player to register a hat-trick at the tournament held in Senegal last year
A popular Ghanaian blind historian Malik Afari Duodu popularly known as Bulgaria has revealed that he nearly committed suicide when former president Kwesi Nyantakyi was ousted as president of the Ghana Football Association.
In an interview with Don Summer on the Floodlight Show on Monday night, he said“the day I was very sad was not even the day my mother passed away, but on the day Kwesi Nyantakyi was stripped off his position as the GFA president”.
The level 100 University of Ghana student reiterated that Mr. Nyantakyi is the best thing that has ever happened to Ghana football. He further revealed that he nearly took his own life on the 6th June, 2018, the day Nyantakyi was made to step down as president of the football association.
Bulgaria is well vested in politics, sports, music, chieftaincy and culture. The native of Akyem Esiakwa who predicted the May 9th Accra Sports Stadium disaster said he hopes to become an MP for Akyem Abuakwa constituency one day.
In politics, He further predicted that if the forth coming general elections is held on Saturday, 7th November, 2020, John Mahama and his opposition National Democratic Congress will win but if it is held on Monday, 7th December, 2020, nothing will change and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and his ruling New Patriotic Party will retain power. He said he has predicted that based on the days on which previous elections were held.
Hmmm the Blind Historian_ Akwasi Burger's unconditional love for Ex GFA Capo KWESI NYANTAKYI…. I nearly kill myself pic.twitter.com/jyoe3mPO2G
Ghana’s national carrier, Intercity STC Coaches Limited, has agreed to support referees in three flagship competitions of the Ghana Football Association (GFA).
After accepting a GFA proposal for a symbiotic relationship, Intercity STC has offered a 50% reduction on all referee travels for the upcoming season.
The agreement was reached on Tuesday, July 28, 2020, when Executives of the GFA, led by President Kurt E.S Okraku called on the management of the state-owned transport operator at their Headquarters in Accra.
Executive Council member Nana Sarfo Oduro and Referees Manager Alex Kotey accompanied the President to the meeting with support for referees in the Premier League, National Division One League and the Women’s Premier League being top of the agenda.
Intercity STC Coaches Limited were represented by Managing Director, Hon. Nana Akomea, Deputy Managing Director (Operations), Kwabena Sintim-Aboagye and other senior management members.
“This is our contribution towards the development of football in our country,” Managing Director Hon. Nana Akomea said during the meeting.
This deal will ensure that the cost burden on our referees is lessened and they will travel on the safest Intercity STC Coaches which is very comfortable and has good Wi-Fi connectivity.
