Football

Mohammed Salisu donates to Kumasi folk to mark Ramadan season

Black Stars and AS Monaco defender, Mohammed Salisu, provided support to orphans and the needy in Kumasi over the Eid period as goodwill to many in the Ramadan Islamic season.

The Ramadan season is a time of fasting and prayer with community involvement across the world for many Muslims in the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar.

Salisu has taken it upon herself to contribute to society in this Islamic season, particularly in Kumasi, and has donated money and foodstuff to the Malama Sadia Abdulai foundation to feed over 500 orphans.

Salisu also partnered with Hajia Sadia Asuame to feed over 300 poor and needy people in Kumasi, with the sick also granted medical attention.

The Monaco defender began his footballing career with Kumasi Barcelona Babies in Ghana and burst onto the scenes of Europe in 2017 with Real Valladolid in Spain, and he has gone on to make a strong case for himself with impressive performances including a three-year stint in England with Southampton.

However, Salisu now finds himself in France, and although he is yet to launch his own foundation which will be geared towards improving and contributing to society across many ways, his decision to help others in this Ramadan season is a stepping stone to attaining the goal he pursues.

Angola coach Marcos Antunes vows to stop favorites Morocco

The head coach of Angola Marcos Antunes says his charges will work towards stopping high flying Morocco when the two sides face each other in Group A of the TotalEnergies CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday, 11 April in Rabat.

The Portuguese coach was speaking from the Salle Prince Moulay Abdellah a day ahead of the big opening to the competition.

Angola finished third four years ago to reach their maiden FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania.

“We will fight with competence to stop the quality of Morocco and try to show our quality, that is the way we work. Morocco is one of the top ranked teams in the world. If we want to develop we have to play against the best teams and we’re ready to play against Morocco” said Antunes.

“We have been working with the new methods and ways of playing Futsal and now we’re trying to implement it on the field so that we can secure one of the World Cup spots.”

The coach stressed the need to integrate the young players who are eager to show their talent at the continent’s flagship Futsal competition.

“We have young players who are eager to show their qualities and we want to have an identity of play. Our expectation is to secure a place in the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan later this year and we will work and fight for that. We are part of the Futsal story because we have been to the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania and we showed a good image and now we will work towards confirming that image here”, concluded the coach.

TotalEnergies CAF Futsal AFCON: Morocco coach Dguig welcomes ‘positive’ pressure in title defence

Morocco coach Hicham Dguig says his team will be under positive pressure when they face Angola in Group A of the TotalEnergies CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations in Rabat.

The World Cup quarter-finalists will be playing behind an expectant home faithful when they open their account against Angola at the Salle Prince Moulay Abdellah on Thursady, 11 April, 2024 at 20:00 GMT.

Morocco have won the last two editions of the highly technical fast-paced indoor football competition.

“It’s a positive problem and a challenge which we have to face but when the matches are played here it helps us to improve,” Dguig said at his pre-match press conference.

“Angola is a strong team and the public have to know that, and they play without any pressure and they have a coach from Portugal who are one of the best, but we hope our strategies will help us win the match.”

The two-time African champions have enjoyed massive progress under the tutelage of experienced coach Hicham Dguig, they’re currently ranked eighth on the World Rankings.

“The preparations are going on very well and the objective is very well to defend our title and qualify for the World Cup for the fourth time in a row,” Dguig said.

“The pressure is very real and when we get into the competition we have only one objective which is to be in the top spot.

“We have a lot of players who are talented from the clubs in the championship but we need players with experience who have the habit of playing together. That’s why I selected these players” concluded the coach.

The Atlas Lions will be hoping the support from their home fans will be enough to secure them a record equaling third TotalEnergies CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations titles.

Paris 2024: Nigeria and Zambia to represent Africa at Olympic Games

Nigeria and Zambia have booked their slots at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to be staged in France later this year.

The Super Falcons won 1-0 on aggregate against South Africa to secure their ticket for the competition. Nigeria recorded a 1-0 win in Abuja last week before holding out for a 0-0 draw in Pretoria.

Nigeria will compete in their fifth Olympics women’s football tournament and return to the stage after failing to qualify in 2012, 2016 and 2020.

The Super Falcons will compete in Group C at the Olympics against world champions Spain, as well as past world champions Japan and Brazil. On July 25, they will meet the South Americans in Bordeaux for the tournament opener.

Zambia, on the other hand, overturned a first-leg deficit to book a place ahead of Morocco.

The Copper Queens lost 2-1 at home against the Atlas Lionesses last weekend.

However, they sealed a 2-0 win in the second leg to achieve a 3-2 aggregate score.

Orlando Pride striker Barbra Banda scored the opener for Zambia in the 38th minute and sealed her Olympic qualification with a penalty in the 105th minute.

Zambia will compete in a challenging Group B in France, with past champions the United States and Germany, as well as World Cup semi-finalists Australia. They will launch their campaign against the USWNT on July 25 in Nice.

All Regional Games is here to stay – CEO Tiana Addae

The Chief Executive Officer of the All Regional Games, Tiana Addae, says there is a long-term plan to ensure the competition goes beyond this year.

The first edition of the initiative is set to place in November 2024 as revealed during the press launch on Tuesday, April.

The idea of the Games is to help in the identification and development of young talents from all parts of the country.

Concerns were raised about the sustainability of the competition if the maiden edition becomes a success. However, Addae has revealed the competition is here to stay.

“[All Regional Games] is a long-term plan that we will be doing,” said the CEO.

“It’s not just for this year. It is continuous.”

The much-anticipated competition will feature athletes competing in nine sports disciplines; football, athletics, volleyball, basketball, tennis, table tennis, boxing, eSports, and arm-wrestling.

Addae also emphasised they are open to working with other professionals who are willing available themselves to ensure the success of the Games.

“We are open to other athletes [at the] regional. Old athletes, current athletes or anyone that is in a discipline that has been professional and wants to join us, we are more than happy to bring them on board.”

The regional activities will be held between June 9 and 30 with the national festival expected to be staged in November.

GPL 2023/24: Hearts of Oak suffer third consecutive loss in defeat to Medeama

Medeama Sporting Club handed Hearts of Oak their third defeat in the last three games in the Ghana Premier League.

The game, which was played at the Akoon Park on Wednesday afternoon, saw the Tarkwa-based side record a 2-0 win on matchday 25 of the league.

Kobina Amoah opened the scoring for the Yellow and Mauve side after 65 minutes as he blasted his free-kick into the net to give his side the lead.

Godfred Abban doubled the lead for Medeama with nine minutes away from full time with the midfielder sending his low strike past the Hearts goalkeeper.

The Accra-based side were second favourites in the entire period of the game and failed to recover from the two goals conceded.

The defeat now means the Phobians have lost the last three games they have played in the league after no defeat in the previous eight.

Abubakar Ouattara’s men now drop to 11th on the league table after 25 games played and face Karela United in their next game.

In other results, Samartex earned a point with their 1-1 draw with Legon Cities.

Here are the full results from matchday 25:

Medeama SC 2-0 Hearts of Oak

Bibiani Goldstars 3-2 Karela Utd

Berekum Chelsea 3-2 Dreams FC

Heart of Lions 2-0 Accra Lions

Bofoakwa Tano 1-0 Aduana Stars

Real Tamale United 1-0 Nations FC

Legon Cities 1-1 Samartex

Great Olympics 1-1 Bechem United

2024 Ramadan Cup: Ninth edition launched with 30 communities to battle for ultimate

The 2024 Sheikh Sharubutu Ramadan Cup has been officially been launched at the Accra Sports Stadium media centre with 30 Zongo communities set to participate in the competition.

Minister for Sports, Hon. Mustapha Ussif, The Chairman of the Ghana Hajj Board and representative of Vice-President, Ben Abdallah Banda, football administrator Awalu Angulu Mahama were among those who graced the occasion.

Ussif eulogised the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, thanked the organizers of the competition and urged the organizers to set an age limit to encourage the participation of promising talents.

The event’s founder, Tamimu Issah, also expressed excitement about the upcoming competition which is to ensure unity and bring togetherness in the Zongo Community.

He also urged the teams to select youngsters who have the prospect of excelling as professional footballers in the sport.

The competition has new entrants including Teshie Zongo, Akweteyman and Tuba.

The two-day championship is slated for April 20th at the Fadama Astroturf.

Mamobi are the current holders of the title after defeating Darkuman last year.

Kudus can win CAF Player of The Year – Kanoute

Former West Ham star Frederic Kanoute has said Mohammed Kudus has the potential to win the African footballer of the year award.

Kudus has won many admirers in his debut season for West Ham, scoring 13 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions. In his debut appearances at the African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, Kudus scored twice in a 2-2 draw with Egypt.

These performances have won him many admirers, including the 2007 CAF Player of the Year, Kanoute.

‘‘He is really, really talented. He has everything, he has strength, running forwards, he can play different positions. Still quite young and I think he is one of the most exciting African players around these days. So yes, he definitely has a chance for me,’’ Kanoute said on the Irons Podcast.

Frederic Kanoute scored 27 goals in 76 appearances for West Ham United from 2000 to 2003.

At international level, Kanoute scored 23 goals in 38 appearances for Mali from 2004 to 2010.

Ghana’s Maxwell Woledzi stars for Fredrikstad in first league win against Brann

Ghanaian defender Maxwell Woledzi impressed on his second appearance in the Norwegian top flight as his side picked up all three points.

The 22-year-old played all minutes available for Fredrikstad FK who defeated Brann to pick up their first win of the 2024 Eliteserien season.

A goal in each by Stian Stray Molde was enough to hand the newly promoted side an away win over the weekend.

For Woledzi, it was a performance to cheer about following defeat to Bodo Glimit in their opening game of the campaign.

The centre-back, playing as part of a back three, made seven clearances with five interceptions to his game as well as his side claimed a clean sheet.

Woledzi won four tackles, the most by any of the players who started the game for Fredrikstad. He also completed the most dribbles in the game.

The Ghanaian joined the club last season and helped them to secure promotion to the top flight.

CAFCC: Dreams FC guaranteed $750K for reaching semis

Dreams FC made history on Sunday night when they became the first Ghanaian club to make the semi finals of the CAF Confederation Cup in its current format.

Dreams drew 1-1 with Stade Malien of Mali in Kumasi to complete a 3-2 aggregate win, thanks to a 2-1 first leg victory.

The last time a Ghanaian club went this far in CAF’s second tier competition was back in 2004, when Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko made the final of the inaugural competition.

Along with the history, Dreams FC have also secured a hefty pay out of US$750,000 for reaching the last four.

The Dawn-based club will earn an extra US$250,000 if they can reach the final, which would bring their total earnings to US$1,000,000 even if they lose the final.

Winning the competition will double that figure to a whopping US$2,000,000.

These figures are based on CAF’s new prize money for the competition, which was announced in 2023.

Karim Zito’s men take on Egyptian giants Zamalek in the last four, with the first leg in Cairo on April 21, and the return leg in Kumasi 7 days later.