2024-12-23

Games

Mohammed Kudus gets 5th Premier League assist as West Ham hold Liverpool

Ghana international Mohammed Kudus registered his fifth Premier League assist of the season in West Ham United’s game against Liverpool on Saturday.

The midfielder teed up Jarrod Bowen for his 20th goal of the season as the Hammers and the Reds played out a 2-2 draw at the London Stadium.

West Ham grabbed the lead in the 43rd minute when the Englishman headed into the net a cross from Kudus to open the scoring.

ut the visitors were much improved in the second half and Andy Robertson equalised when he scored from Luis Diaz’s low pass into the penalty area.

They were then rewarded for their pressure when Cody Gakpo’s effort from a corner ricocheted off Angelo Ogbonna, Tomas Soucek and Alphonse Areola before finding the back of the net.

It looked like they were on their way to bouncing back from back-to-back defeats in the league until Antonio’s thumping header put the Hammers back on level terms.

Liverpool sit third in the table with three games remaining, two points behind leaders Arsenal, who face Tottenham on Sunday, while Manchester City are second but have two games in hand.

With his contribution against Jurgen Klopp’s side, Kudus has now been directly involved in 12 league goals, scoring seven and setting up five.

Mathew Anim Cudjoe’s Dundee United promoted to Scottish Premiership after Championship win

Ghanaian youngster Mathew Anim Cudjoe will play in the 2024/25 Scottish top flight following Dundee United’s Championship success.

Friday night’s 0-0 draw against Airdrieonians meant the Tangerines secured promotion to the Premiership with a game to score.

Dundee United are currently seven points above second-placed Raith Rovers after 35 games played.

Anim Cudjoe has featured in 21 league games for the club so far this campaign scoring four goals and providing two assists.

The youngster joined Dundee in 2021 after playing for Asante Kotoko in the Ghana Premier League.

He enjoyed two seasons with the club in the Scottish top flight before they suffered relegation at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.

Nigeria’s Boniface reveals motivation to improve after seeing Alonso’s impressive skills in training

Nigeria’s Boniface reveals motivation to improve after seeing Alonso’s impressive skills in training

Bayer Leverkusen have secured their first-ever Bundesliga title thanks in large part to the impressive work of manager Xabi Alonso. 

At the heart of this success is Nigerian striker Victor Boniface, who has praised Alonso’s influence on the team.

Boniface, who has been a key player in Leverkusen’s title-winning campaign, revealed that Alonso’s skills on the training ground have been a source of inspiration for the players.

 “Imagine you are training and your coach is doing better than you. Then you want to step up your game,” Boniface said according to a post by Bundesliga on Instagram.

The 23-year-old’s comments highlight the impact Alonso has had since taking over the reins at Leverkusen in October 2022. 

The former Spanish international has overseen a remarkable turnaround, guiding the club from the lower reaches of the Bundesliga to the top of the table.

Boniface, who joined Leverkusen in 2023, has been an integral part of Alonso’s revolution. The Nigerian striker has scored 11 goals and provided eight assists in the Bundesliga this season, playing a crucial role in the club’s historic title triumph.

Leverkusen’s Bundesliga title is a remarkable achievement, and Boniface’s praise for Alonso’s influence highlights the importance of a strong, inspiring leader at the helm. 

As the club prepares to return Champions League campaign, Boniface and his teammates will be hoping to continue their impressive form under Alonso’s guidance.

Future Olympian: Yusuf Mohammed, the Fastest Man In Jos, Plateau at MTN Champs

Future Olympian: Yusuf Mohammed, the Fastest Man In Jos, Plateau at MTN Champs

It was a sunny day in Jos, Plateau state and the second day of the ongoing MTN Champs tournament in J-town when Kwara born athlete, Yusuf Mohammed Kabir, competed and won the 100 meters race along with a gold medal in the Senior Men 100 meters category at the ongoing MTN Champs tournament.

While MTN Champs is all about discovering and nurturing Olympics athletes to represent Nigeria on the international stage, what makes Yusuf’s win a little different from the everyday one is the fact that he recently made the decision to compete in the 100m set, to perfect his speed for his original competing category, the 110m hurdles.

His first taste in 100m was at MTN Champs Asaba, Delta where he came last but like the famous saying, “na who give up, spoil matter’. According to Yusuf, his dream of competing in the All Africa Games and the Olympics kept him going and cemented his decision to compete in the Jos tournament.

Another angle that makes his win more interesting is that he had initially sustained injuries in his quad, groin, and another in his knee during previous games. The odds were really stacked against him at this point but in the spirit of sportsmanship and victory mirroring what MTN Champs is all about, Yusuf chose to compete and clinched himself the enviable title of being the fastest man in Plateau and a gold medal to boast of.

The MTN Champs train will be making a stop in Calabar, and we can’t wait to see our future Olympians in action again.

Marco Arop’s message to Emmanuel Wanyonyi & co. after Xiamen victory

Marco Arop has fired warning shots at Emmanuel Wanyonyi and his other track rivals as he looks to make the 2024 season memorable.

Reigning World 800m champion Marco Arop opened his outdoor season with a bang, winning the Diamond League Meeting series opener in Xiamen in an astonishing time of 1:43.61.

The Canadian beat Kenyan Wycliffe Kinyamal in what was a sprint finish in the hotly contested race. As he was winning, track rival Emmanuel Wanyonyi, the reigning World 800m silver medallist was also dominating the men’s 800m Kip Keino Classic.

Wanyonyi, while winning the 800m race at the Kip Keino Classic, clocked a world-leading time of 1:43.57 to cross the finish line.

However, Arop remains unfazed by the crazy time Wanyonyi ran to win the race and he admitted to being hungrier for more, this being an Olympic season. After his win in Xiamen, Arop declared that he is leaving no table unturned as he looks to make a mark this season.

“I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. I know I’ve accomplished a lot up to this point, but I’m not satisfied with everything that I’ve done. I still have to work even harder to get to where I want to be,” Arop said.

“Tonight was great. It was great out there. The environment is awesome. The atmosphere is great. I only did a couple of indoor races to hold my body and know where we were at. Now it is great to finally open up in the 800 outdoors and get a good idea of where I am now,” he added.

I aim to help Ghana produce world-class athletes – Asamoah Gyan

A former Black Stars captain, Asamoah had indicated that he would deploy his resources and influence to help Ghana nurture talents in all sporting disciplines.

This he said stems from his vision of ensuring Ghana is well-represented in all sporting disciplines during the Olympics and other world sporting events, hence birthing the All Regional Games.

Mr Gyan was speaking at a media engagement in Ho during the regional torch relay of the All-Regional Games.

The All Regional Games is a multi-sports competition formulated to help unearth raw talents in nine sporting disciplines.

Teams would be constituted of athletes between the ages of 18-23 who would represent the 16 regions at the main event scheduled in November 2024.

The teams would compete in Football, Athletics, Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis, Table Tennis, Boxing, E-sports, and Arm-wrestling.

Former Black Stars Captain, Asamoah Gyan who is spearheading the organizing of the Games said it was his long-term dream to help produce talents in all sporting disciplines to represent Ghana.

“Thinking through, I just decided to do something beyond football to help the next generation to also benefit.

“So that some years to come we won’t see just a Ghanaian athlete participating in Olympic games or two. I just wanted Ghana to dominate all the sporting disciplines”, he said.

He said the Games would be held annually to help empower the younger generation, who have natural talents in sports, guide and help them develop it into a gainful venture to support their livelihoods.

The Dean of Municipal and District Chief Executive in the Volta Region, James Etornam Flolu entreated stakeholders in the sports fraternity to ensure the success of the All Regional Games.

Asamoah Gyan led his team on a float in the streets of Ho to create awareness of the All Regional Games.

GFA commissions first set of floodlights at Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has installed and commissioned the first set of floodlights at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence.

The commissioning of the lights was done on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, when the President of the Association, Kurt Okraku, was presented with the keys to the power plant supplying the floodlights.

He then ceremoniously activated the switch, marking the official inauguration of the floodlights.

This crucial project, financed through the FIFA Forward Programme, saw the installation carried out by OVI Enschede, a distinguished Dutch electrical installations firm.

Following the handover, Okraku shared his gratitude to FIFA for their consistent backing of Ghanaian football. He emphasized that FIFA’s continued investment in Ghana Football through the FIFA Forward Program is a testament to the trust and confidence the organization has in the Ghana Football Association (GFA).

“The installation of this first set of floodlights means that training programs at the Centre can be held both during the day and at night. Our players in camp can train at night and refereeing and coaching training programs can also extend into the evening,” said Okraku. “I am indeed very happy that this dream to enhance our facility at Prampram is gradually being realized.”

UEFA U-16 Tournament: Black Starlets bounce back with 5-1 win over Serbia

Ghana’s Black Starlets returned to winning ways after beating Serbia in the early hours of Friday in the ongoing UEFA U-16 international tournament.

Laryea Kingston’s boys responded with a commanding performance in their second game after losing their opener against Russia.

Ghana picked up a win with a 5-1 win in Zenit.

The West African side began the game strongly but had to wait until the 15th minute to open the scoring. Captain, Abdulai Nortey scored with a brilliant curler after Ernest Ofori had beaten his opponent to the ball.

The Starlets continued to press for the second goal which came in the 44th minute with Benjamin Hanson scoring from the penalty spot after Ebenezer Anane was fouled in the box.

David Kwame Koranteng made it 3-0 on the stroke of halftime as he connected well with Abdul Baaki Haruna’s cross.

Kingston made no changes at the break.

Anane, who won the penalty for Ghana’s second goal, scored the fourth goal of the day after a brilliant exchange of passes between him and Koranteng.

Serbia pulled a goal back in the 67th minute of the game to make it 4-1.

With just a few minutes away from the full-time whistle, Benjamin Tsevanyo came off the bench to score to wrap up the victory for the Starlets.

Ghana will now face Kazakhstan in their final game of the four-nation tournament on Sunday, April 28.

The tournament forms part of Ghana’s preparations for the 2024 WAFU B U-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers to be staged in Accra.

Seychelles: Seychellois Boxer Joshua Cousin Wins Gold At Mandela African Boxing Cup

Seychellois boxer Joshua Cousin has claimed a gold medal at the first-ever Mandela African Boxing Cup, after beating his opponent in the final on Sunday.

Cousin, who competed in the men’s 71-75kg category, went up against Ethiopia’s Neka Mitiku in the final and won the bout after the referee stopped the count.

To reach the final, Cousin had to defeat three boxers. In the round of 16 stage, he grabbed victory over Nkosinathi Dvuba of Eswatini and eliminated Jon William in the quarter-final.

In the semi-final, the Seychellois boxer got a walkover over David Tshama from the Democratic Republic of Congo to make it to the final.

Aside from Cousin, who won gold, Seychelles was represented by three other boxers, with Keddy Agnes winning the bronze medal in his +92kg category, losing in the semi-final to Anthony Bweluzey form the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Arshild David lost in the quarter-final against Alayu Mekonne in the 51-54kg weight class, while Dasheil Fanchette also his quarter-final bout in the 80-86kg category, against Peter Pita also from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The results placed Seychelles 10th on the medal table.

The Democratic Republic of Congo came out first on the medal table with 10 gold medals, two silver and six bronze followed by Mozambique with two gold medals and three silver. Neigbouring island nation in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius came out third with two gold medals and three bronze.

The introduction of the new tournament in memory of the late South African President Nelson Mandela was organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA), the African Boxing Confederation and the South African Boxing Organisation. It took place in Durban, South Africa, from April 15-21.

Monetary rewards will be given to winners and gold medallists will receive $5,000 (SCR68,000), silver $3,000 (SCR 41,000) and $1,500 (SCR20,000) for bronze, courtesy of IBA.

Five of the boxing giants from Africa did not participate in the competition namely Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, Zambia and Ghana.

Twenty-four countries participated in the tournament with around 101 competitors.

Angola: Luanda to Host African Swimming Championships

Luanda — The Angolan Swimming Federation (FAN) is to present this Tuesday, in Luanda Province, the 16th edition of the Absolute African Championships at the Sapiens Institute.

The event will be held for the first time in Angola, from the 30 April to 5 May this year at the Alvalade swimming pool in the country’s capital.

Angola is organising this competition after having taken part in six editions, namely in 1990 (Tunisia), 1998 (Kenya), 2008 (South Africa), 2012 (Kenya), 2021 (Ghana) and 2022 (Tunisia), thus marking its seventh participation in this year’s edition.

Angola becomes the second African Swimming Confederation (CANA) zone IV country to hold the biggest event in the sport on the continent, after South Africa, which did it again in 2008 in Johannesburg and in 2016 in Bloemfontein.

Overall, it is the ninth host nation of the African Cup of Nations (CAN), after Egypt (1974, 1982, 2002), Tunisia (1977, 1990, 2022), Morocco (2004, 2010), Kenya (1998, 2012), South Africa (2008, 2016), Senegal (2006), Algeria (2018) and Ghana (2021).

The national squad reached their highest point at the 1998 edition in Nairobi, Kenya, where they came third in the overall medals chart, due to the unprecedented display of Nádia Cruz, who won two silver medals and a bronze.

However, Angola’s highest number of medals came in 2021, in Accra, Ghana, where, in a single edition, the team won six bronze medals, one each by Salvador Gordo (junior), Catarina Sousa and four other swimmers.

The South African athletes, who have won the most titles on the continent with 10, are the champions of the latest edition held in Tunis, Tunisia.

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