Prosper Ogum names Justice Blay on the bench as Kotoko face Elmina Sharks; Check starting XI

The midfielder could make his second debut for the Porcupine Warriors as he has been named on the bench

Asante Kotoko coach Prosper Ogum Narteh has named his starting XI to face Elmina Sharks in Ghana Premier League matchday sixteen fixture at Nduom Sports Stadium in Elmina.Midfielder Justice Blay who rejoined Kotoko a fortnight ago as a free agent from Medeama is on the bench.

Young goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim has maintained his place in the squad as well as Augustine Agyapong who starts once again ahead of Christopher Nettey. Skipper Abdul Ganiu, Mubarik Yussif and Imoro Ibrahim complete the defensive setup.

In midfield, Richard Boadu ‘Agadas’ has been left on the bench for Sherrif Mohammed to start alongside Mudasiru Salifu, Richmond Lamptey and Dickson Afoakwa, while Cameroonian strikers Etuoga Mbella Frank Thierry and Georges Mfegue Rodrigues led the attack.

Asante Kotoko XI vs Elmina Sharks:

Video: Watch how Sulley Muntari nearly scored a goal from corner kick against Great Olympics

The midfielder finally made his much-anticipated bow for the Phobians on Sunday in the Ga Mantse derby and his wife and kids could not believe their eyes

Hearts of Oak midfielder Sulley Ali Muntari made his official debut for the club in the 1-0 defeat to Great Olympics in Ga Mantse derby at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.

Muntari was brought on by coach Samuel Boadu by the 77th minute to replace William Dankyi and his wife and kids were happily supporting him from the VIP section of the stadium.

After coming on, Muntari immediately showed what he has to offer Hearts as began to cause troubles for Olympics with his long passes.

At a point, the former AC Milan and Inter Milan star nearly scored the equalizer from a corner kick only for a Great Olympics defender to clear the ball from the first pole.

https://youtu.be/CMKqqjqPg74

Although, Hearts lost, Muntari’s performance has been hailed by the club’s supporters and neutrals who watched the game.

Muntari’s wife Menaye Donkor and kids also got some of the attention as they were captured in high mood cheering him on when he walked down to the fourth official to be ushered into the game.

Video: Watch the reactions of Sulley Muntari’s wife Menaye Donkor & kids as he marked his debut for Hearts of Oak

The midfielder made finally made his much-anticipated bow for the Phobians on Sunday in the Ga Mantse derby and his wife and kids could not believe their eyes

Hearts of Oak midfielder Sulley Ali Muntari made his official debut for the club in the 1-0 defeat to Great Olympics in Ga Mantse derby at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.

However, his wife Menaye Donkor and kids also got some of the attention as they were captured in high mood cheering him on when he walked down to the fourth official to be ushered into the game.

Muntari was brought on by coach Samuel Boadu by the 77th minute to replace William Dankyi and his wife and kids were happily supporting him from the VIP section of the stadium.

Although, Hearts lost, Muntari’s performance has been hailed by the club’s supporters and neutrals who watched the game.

Hearts of Oak 0-1 Great Olympics: Sulley Muntari tastes defeat on his debut for Phobians

The Phobians poor start to their title defence continued as they were pipped at home by their city rivals on Sunday

Hearts of Oak were defeated 1-0 by city rivals Great Olympics in the Ga Mantse derby in matchday sixteen of Ghana Premier League at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.

Ahead of the game, the Phobians announced that former AC Milan midfielder Sulley Ali Muntari will be available to make his bow and he was handed jersey number 10 which was previously worn by Emmanuel Nettey.

The Phobians had a shaky start as Olympics began to cause problems to their backline with Abbey Quaye leading it for the series of threats for the visitors.

Hearts were handed a golden opportunity to go in front by the 20th minute as Kwame Obeng Junior met a James Serwornu’s cross but the striker couldn’t direct his header on target.

Olympics found an opening by the 30th minute as Razak Yussif connected a long pass, raced through Hearts’ midfield and perfectly slotted the ball beyond the reach of onrushing goalkeeper Richmond Ayi.

https://youtu.be/WD80yBtE_Zk
How Yussif Razak scored the only goal of the game for Great Olympics

Four minutes later, Obeng Junior had another glorious opportunity to level the score for Hearts but instead of hitting the target, the young striker opted to lay a pass to which was timely intercepted by Razak Kasim to save the situation.

After the break, Hearts improved their performance and Gladson Awako came close to equalising by the 49th minute but his shot narrowly missed the target.

Hearts finally brought on Muntari for William Dankyi by the 77th minute while Fatawu Mohammed replaced Gladson Awako as they pushed men forward for the equalizer.

How Muntari made his debut for Hearts of Oak

Muntari quickly announced his presence with a log pass to Daniel Afriyie Barnieh but the youngster failed to make the most out of it to the frustration of the home supporters.

Hearts continued with their search for the all-important goal but Olympics were resolute at the back and prevented the Phobians from having an opening to slot home the equalizer.

The defeat means that Hearts are now ten points behind Asante Kotoko who have two games in hand.

Watch Razak Yussif’s first half goal for Great Olympics against Hearts of Oak

The youngster teared away from his marker and perfectly sent the Wonder Club ahead in the Ga Mantse derby on Sunday

Great Olympics had the best of laughs in the first half of the Ga Mantse derby as youngster Razak Yussif shot them ahead by the 31st minute.

The youngster was played through by his teammate on the halfway mark as Hearts opted to defend highline and he did not waste time to put them in front with a wonderful finish.

Razak after connecting the pass, calmly slotted his last ditch effort beyond the reach of onrushing goalkeeper Richmond Ayi.

https://youtu.be/WD80yBtE_Zk
Yussif Razak’s wonderful goal

Sulley Muntari to wear jersey #10 for Hearts in Ga Mantse derby against Great Olympics

The 37-year-old is named as part of the matchday squad as the Phobians host their city rivals in the Ga Mantse derby

Hearts of Oak midfielder Sulley Muntari has arrived at the Accra Sports Stadium with his teammates ahead of the Ga Mantse derby against Great Olympics in matchday sixteen of Ghana Premier League.

The 37-year-old is expected to make his bow for the Phobians as they hope to silence their city rivals this afternoon in the all-important game which could go a long way to determine their title defence.

Hearts are currently ten points behind Asante Kotoko as they have suffered a slow start to the season but they are hoping to have a turn of events with the arrival of Muntari.

The former AC Milan and Inter Milan star will be wearing jersey number 10 which became vacant following the departure of Emmanuel Nettey.

Also, Hearts have been able to secure the services of former Ebusua Dwarfs captain Dennis Korsah and are hoping to WAFA defender Konadu Yiadom to their squad in the coming days.

Hearts Starting XI vs Great Olympics:

Kotoko & Hearts board chairmen arrive in Cameroon ahead of African Super League meeting

The Porcupine Warriors and Phobians chiefs have touched down in Yaounde to take part in the all-important meeting on the maiden Africa Super League

Asante Kotoko board chairman Kwame Kyei and Hearts of Oak board chairman Togbe Afede XIV have both arrived in Cameroon ahead of the imminent discussion on the African Super League competition which is expected to start this year.

A lot of powerhouses from Africa including Al Ahly, Al Hilal, Esperance are expected to partake in the competition but Kotoko and Hearts are the only two Ghanaian clubs expected to be part of the maiden edition.

In November last year, the Executive Council of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) approved the ‘African Super League’ at its Extraordinary Assembly in Cairo.

According to Caf president Patrice Motsepe the competition would contribute to making Africa’s soccer becoming more competitive in the near future.

“The super league for Africa is a new competition because all of those other competitions are locked into agreements and the money they get is not enough,” Motsepe said while speaking at a news conference in Ghana.

“There have to be fundamental changes in how we do things in football so that African football can be noticed across the world. We do not want aid from anybody. We can work on our own and that’s what I am here to do,” he added.

Although, similar tournament in Europe could not materialize as clubs like Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid were forced to bow out at the eleventh hour or face sanctions from Uefa, Motsepe believes “Africa will learn from their experience and pitfalls” since such tournaments will bring additional revenue to “contribute to African soccer becoming competitive and self-sustaining.”

As at now, only 20 clubs are expected to compete in the maiden edition of the Super League including Kotoko and Hearts. However, there will be qualifiers for participation by other clubs through a regional play-offs in the offing.

Shocking: Former Kotoko players sent on loan to Moroka Swallows after joining Sekukhune for just one week

The duo were expecting to play for Sekukhune in the second half of the Premier Soccer League but they have been farmed out to another club

Former Asante Kotoko striker Abdul Fatawu Safiu and defender Habib Mohammed will have to fight for a place at struggling South African club Moroka Swallows after failing to make the cut at Sekukhune FC, AshesGyamera.com can report.

The duo arrived in South Africa a fortnight ago and sealed a deal with Sekukhune through the help of Club Consult led by Yussif Chibsah, however, things didn’t go as planned.

Sekukhune coach insists their services are not needed at the moment and with the club exhausting their slots for foreign players, they have been farmed out and will likely return after the season in July.

Habib, in particular, signed a three-year deal from Dreams FC where he had been very instrumental in the club’s fight for a top four finish this season in Ghana Premier League while

He became the fourth player to be signed by Sekhukhune United in the second half of the season after they unveiled former Orlando Pirates and Cape Town City striker Justin Shonga alongside Luckyboy Mokoena and former Supersport United striker Evans Rusike.

Fatawu, on the other hand, joined from Swedish lower division side FC Trollhattan after bagging just a goal in 14 games.

Now, both Habib and Fatawu will have to help Moroka who are fighting to avoid relegation as they are without a win in their last four games, conceding six goals in the process.

With the PSL resuming next month after going on a break since December last year, Swallows will host TSG Galaxy in the Nedbank Cup and Habib as well as Safiu will likely be in the stands to watch their new club.

“Gov’t can only check expenditure,” Caf warns Ghana government to stay away from Black Stars coaching race

The continent’s football governing body has reiterated to Ghana government to stay away from the day-to-day activities of Kurt Okraku’s led FA

Confederation of African Football General Secretary of CAF, Veron Mosengo-Omba has advised Ghana government to stay away from daily running of football in the country insisting that they have no right.

Recent reports have suggested that Ghana FA were compelled to sack Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac last week following an order by government through the ministry of Youth and Sports.

Following Ghana’s poor performance at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations where they failed to win any of their three group games, the ministry of Youth and Sports held a meeting with the Football Association’s top hierarchy and advised them to sack the Serbian since a lot of Ghanaians are not happy with his output.

Although, the FA were adamant to such calls, they later budged to the growing demands but Veron says government can only check the expenditure of FA and cannot partake in key decision making.

As it stands now, Ghana is without a coach but rumours suggest that former Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United coach Chris Hughton may be given the nod since government believes he has the technical know-how to manage the current crop of players.

“Ghana has to concentrate on the World Cup, they have important game and they have to concentrate on this. Everybody has to be behind the Black Stars because they have important game coming up in March,” Veron said in an interview with Ghanaian journalists in Cameroon.

“To lose the game, to lose the cup is part of football. Ghana was eliminated [in the AFCON] and this is the rule of the game. The government, financially, they put the fund for them to prepare for the competition, that I have to thank the Government of Ghana on behalf of CAF President, thank you very much and this is the way of cooperation we want for our members and the government.

“The money that the government put forward for the Black Stars, the government has to check with the GFA how you spend each penny, they have to do that, we encourage them to do that but the redline is the government cannot involve in the management of the federation.

“Even if they lose you cannot say change the management, you have to change the coach. This will be very dangerous. we don’t want to come back on that again because this looks like interference.

“I beg the government that if tis is the intention, stop it. They can coerce them to monitor the funds that are put in , that is normal , I don’t think the GFA is against this , the President of CAF is not against this but please not involved in the management of the Federation,” he added.


Ghana will face Nigeria in the final round of the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers in March. The first leg has been slated for either Cape Coast or Accra Sports Stadium on March 26 with the return fixture set to take place a week later.

Bechem United 2-0 Ashanti Gold: Okrah & Annor help Bechem to close in on Asante Kotoko

The midfielders handed the Hunters another victory as they reduced the point gap between them and leaders Asante Kotoko

Bechem United defeated Ashanti Gold 2-0 on matchday sixteen of Ghana Premier League at the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem on Friday.

After shocking Aduana Stars last weekend in Dormaa Ahenkro, Bechem came into the game with the aim of continuing their ten-game unbeaten run.

Forward Augustine Okrah who missed the game against Aduana due to suspension returned and was handed a starting place.

Okrah benefited from a poor kick from Ashanti Gold goalkeeper Kofi Mensah and fired Bechem in front by the 16th minute and that goal marked his eighth of the season.

The 28-year-old could’ve doubled the lead nine minutes later but his effort this time around was blocked by defender Frank Akoto.

https://youtu.be/nhpBnqNDDkY
Watch Augustine Okrah’s eighth goal of the season

After the break, Bechem doubled their advantage through substitute Emmanuel Annor by the 60th minute. The substitute connected a pass from his teammate Essel and sent in a powerful shot.

Bechem have closed in on Asante Kotoko after the win as they are now on 29 points, four points behind the Porcupine Warriors