Former Chelsea midfielder, Claude Makelele, says there is promising potential in Manchester United’s youngster, Kobbie Mainoo, that reminds him of Michael Essien.
Mainoo was an integral part of the Red Devils team in the just-ended season as he recovered from an injury setback to become a pivotal player for Erik ten Hag.
The 19-year-old made significant contributions, tallying three goals in 24 Premier League matches and adding two more in the FA Cup including a crucial goal in the final against Manchester City in the final of the cup competition.
Not only has he gotten recognition in the Premier League, but Mainoo is also on England’s plane to Euro 2024 in Germany after his blistering performances.
Speaking to Daily Mail, Makele picked the Man United midfielder as part of a preferred midfield three for the Three Lions.
“[To complete England’s midfield], I will go for Rice, Bellingham, and this boy in Manchester [Mainoo]. He is very good, so young, but he demonstrated that he can play. He is young but he has quality. I think he will give some spice in midfield,” said the former Chelsea midfielder.
“Good dribbler, running, fighting—he can be very good for the national team.”
“I will say Michael Essien,” Makelele added when quizzed about comparisons between Mainoo and his former teammate Clarence Seedorf.
“He needs to learn more from Michael Essien. He is young, you know, and he has a great future in front of him.”
Organisers of the Ghana Football Awards have announced the full nominees for the 2024 edition of the award scheme.
The award ceremony will be held for the sixth time since its inception.
Mohammed Kudus, Osman Bukari, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku and Inaki Williams headline the 2024 edition of the Ghana Football Awards which is set to be staged at the Dome of the Accra International Conference Centre on Saturday, June 29.
The event which will be live on Joy Prime TV will see the quartet battle for the prestigious Footballer of the Year Award which is the flagship category of the awards scheme.
The four players made the final shortlist of the category after deliberations over a long list.
While the Football of the Year is the icing on the cake, other exciting categories include the Home-based Footballer of the Year which honours Ghanaians and foreigners who play in the domestic league.
The unveiling of the nominees took place at Big Leagues Sports & Lounge, Osu, on Wednesday, June 12.
Here are the full nominees for this year’s awards:
Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp FC have announced the signing of highly-rated Ghanaian youngster Obed Agyapong.
The 19-year-old pens a deal with the club from Oud-Heverlee Leuven joining Antwerp’s Under-23 side for the upcoming season.
The talented winger played for OH Leuven’s U-23 and will now continue his development with Antwerp’s academy looking to break into the first team
Known for his technical prowess as well as his pace on the flanks, Agyapong is also versatile and has the ability to play on either side of the wings. He is also capable of filling in the void as a right-wingback.
Having played in Belgian for the last few years, Agyapong will be hoping to have a significant impact with the U-23 side and grab opportunities in the first team when they come calling.
The youngster is among a host of young Belgium-based Ghanaians who are looking to make a name for themselves in the coming years.
Badamosi brace powers Gambia’s dominant victory over Seychelles
Gambia unleashed a goal-scoring frenzy as they clinched their first victory of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, defeating Seychelles 5-1 in a dominant display at the Stade Municipal de Berkane on Saturday.
The resounding triumph sees Gambia rise in Group F, while Seychelles remain pointless after three matches.
The hosts wasted no time in asserting their authority, with Muhammed Badamosi opening the scoring in the 10th minute, nodding home from the center of the box after a precise cross from Omar Gaye.
Seychelles briefly threatened a comeback when Ryan Henriette finished clinically from the center of the box in the 14th minute, but the first half ended level at 1-1, with Gambia appearing the more dominant side.
The second half, however, saw Gambia shift into an unstoppable gear. Just three minutes after the restart, Musa Barrow converted a penalty with a powerful shot to the high center of the goal, restoring Gambia’s lead.
Yankuba Minteh extended the advantage in the 55th minute, rifling a right-footed shot from the center of the box, with Barrow providing the assist.
Gambia’s relentless attack continued to bear fruit in the 66th minute when Badamosi headed home his second of the match, this time assisted by Barrow, making it 4-1.
The final nail in Seychelles’ coffin came in the 78th minute, with Adama Sidibeh nodding in from the center of the box after a well-placed cross from Alasana Manneh.
Despite their efforts, Seychelles struggled to contain Gambia’s onslaught, and several substitutions by both teams did little to change the momentum of the match.
Gambia’s comprehensive victory provides a significant morale boost as they prepare to face Gabon on Tuesday, while Seychelles will need to regroup quickly as they host Burundi, seeking to earn their first points of the campaign.
Liberia 1-0 Sao Tome and Principe: Late Sesay strike secures vital win
Liberia secured a crucial 1-0 victory over Sao Tome and Principe on Sunday in Group H of their 2026 World Cup qualifier, courtesy of a late goal by Sheikh Sesay.
The win, in the first match of Matchday 4 of the qualifiers, moves the Lone Star to third in the group with seven points, while Sao Tome and Principe remain at the bottom without any points after four matches.
The first half saw both teams struggle to find a breakthrough, with few clear-cut chances created. Sao Tome and Principe’s Denilson Silva was booked for a foul just before halftime, which ended goalless.
The second half continued in a similar vein, with Liberia making several substitutions to inject fresh energy into their side.
Peter Wilson and William Gibson were brought on early in the half to replace Lawrence Kumeh and Sheku Sheriff, respectively.
As the match progressed, it seemed destined for a draw, with both teams battling hard but unable to convert their efforts into goals.
Sao Tome and Principe also made several substitutions, bringing on Eba Viegas and João Silva to replace Rogério Fernandes and Mauro Vilhete.
In the 89th minute, Sao Tome and Principe’s João Silva received a yellow card for a foul, highlighting the physical nature of the contest.
Liberia then made a decisive change, bringing on Sheikh Sesay for Terry Sackor.
The substitution proved to be a masterstroke. In the 90th minute, Sesay found himself in the right place at the right time, slotting a right-footed shot from the center of the box into the goal, giving Liberia a dramatic late lead.
Despite a late push from Sao Tome and Principe, Liberia held on to secure the three points.
This victory propels Liberia to third place in Group H, ahead of their next match, while Sao Tome and Principe will need to regroup after another disappointing result.
Second-placed Namibia will host group leaders Tunisia later on Sunday in a top-of-the-table clash, while Equatorial Guinea and Malawi are set to face off in the other Group H match on Monday.
Ghana coach Otto Addo is expecting a ‘difficult’ encounter against the Central African Republic in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Black Stars beat Mali 2-1 in Bamako and are hoping to replicate that result against CAR at the Baba Yara Stadium on Monday at 19:00 GMT.
However, Addo remains wary of the visitors.
“It’s going to be very difficult. For everyone who thinks we can just play them, I don’t think it will happen,” he said at the pre-match conference.
“They’re doing well, especially in the offensive transitions. They’re very dangerous; they showed that in the 1-1 draw against Mali.” The Black Stars sit third in Group I with six points, and a win will be a real shot in the arm in their quest to qualify for the global showpiece.
Otto Addo’s Black Stars rebuild begins tonight in Bamako.
Despite training for only five days, the Black Stars coach sounded confident in Tuesday’s press conference.
“Surely, I think we are ready for the game. I am very satisfied with how the players understood how we want to play,” he said. “This is going to be a tough match away in Mali but we also have the quality to compete against them although we didn’t have a good AFCON.
“We have the players to get three points from Mali.” He concluded.
His optimism, while encouraging, was strange. Strange because of the current state of affairs.
The players Otto Addo mentioned are not as good as he says at least not in the context of their Black Stars performances.
In 2024, Ghana is yet to win any football match, competitive or friendly.
Ghana started the year with an abysmal 0-0 draw with Namibia in an Africa Cup of Nations preparatory match. At the tournament itself, the Stars lost to Cape Verde (2-1), drew with Egypt (2-2) and drew with Mozambique (2-2).
Post-AFCON 2023, Ghana’s malaise has continued. A 2-1 loss to Nigeria was followed by a 2-2 draw with Uganda in Marrakech. Those were Otto Addo’s first two games in charge.
In the past five years, Ghana has failed to beat teams like Madagascar, Angola, the Central African Republic, and Comoros – twice, first in the 2021 AFCON and last year in the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers.
AFCON-wise, Ghana has won only one match; 2-0 over Guinea Bissau, across the last three tournaments. Moreover, Ghana has not won a match at the AFCON in a run stretching back to 2019 against Guinea-Bissau.
When Otto Addo announced his squad last week, he reminded Ghanaians that he ought to fix the team’s broken culture, and work ethic, and build cohesiveness.
But for his oath of secrecy, Otto Addo could have explained the extent of the cultural decay in the Black Stars. He kept quiet in keeping to himself. That is a position I am happy to take.
What should not be hidden or downplayed, is the extent of work that needs to be done. Cohesiveness is not forged in a day. Or in five training sessions.
It takes time.
By 2026, Otto Addo would have managed eleven competitive matches as Black Stars coach; the eight remaining World Qualifiers, and three AFCON 2025 group stage games.
At the moment, he has yet to coach a competitive game since returning. The five training sessions are all there is to draw from.
Veteran coach and current Heart of Lions manager, Bashir Hayford, has advised Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak to build their own stadiums or risk facing difficulties in winning the Ghana Premier League.
The country’s two most prominent clubs have historically used government-owned infrastructure — Accra Sports Stadium and Baba Yara Stadium — as their home venues.
Both clubs have secured just one Premier League title each since 2014.
“As Ghanaians, we must learn to tell the truth, it will be very difficult for teams who do not have their own stadium facility to win the league,” he said in an interview with Akoma FM.
“Kotoko and Hearts of Oak don’t play at their own venues, but the likes of Samatex, Nsoatreman and Bechem all play at their own stadium facility. When you travel to these privately owned facilities, you really go through a lot of intimidation and the referees can’t be independent.
“Your chances of winning at such private venues are very slim, unlike the state-owned venues like Accra and Kumasi where security is assured and level playing grounds exist for all competing teams. Hearts and Kotoko must get their own stadium, otherwise winning the league will become difficult.”
With six games to, Samartex are seven points clear on top of the Ghana Premier League table with 52 points.
Nigerian Chess Master Tunde Onakoya has shared that his parents have been rewarded with a generous gift.
The parents of Nigerian chess prodigy and founder of Chess In Slum, Tunde Onakoya, have been gifted a brand new house – a gesture Onakoya has described as the “single greatest thing anyone will ever do” for him.
Onakoya, who recently broke the world record for the longest hours playing chess without losing, took to social media to express his immense gratitude for the life-changing gift bestowed upon his family.
“Someone gifted my parents a new house today. It’s the single greatest thing anyone will ever do for me in this lifetime. Thank you,” the 30-year-old chess master wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Onakoya, who grew up in challenging circumstances, revealed that his mother worked as a cleaner in the same school he attended, allowing him to get an education.
Meanwhile, his father worked as a Danfo driver/bus conductor to ensure the family could make ends meet.
“My greatest joy in life is to be able to give them both the life they truly deserve,” Onakoya added, showcasing his heartwarming desire to uplift his parents after years of hardship.
The generous gift comes on the heels of Onakoya’s remarkable achievement, where he played chess for 60 consecutive hours in a bid to raise $1 million to have a transformative impact on the lives of children in Nigeria.
This inspiring story of Tunde’s journey from humble beginnings to becoming a chess master and philanthropist is a testament to the power of perseverance and the profound impact one can have on the lives of others.
