Why Ghanaians need not to rely solely on numerology & coincidence to win 2019 Afcon

By: Evans Gyamera-Antwi (@AshesGyamera on Twitter)

There has been a sudden strange optimism among many Ghanaians that the country is destined to annex the Africa Cup of Nations amid the Black Stars’ poor showing in their opening two games at the tournament

After forging a huge reputation as one of the finest sides in Africa over the years, Ghana, without a doubt, is one of the favourites to win the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations but when this feeling is currently mainly backed with superstition and sheer coincidence instead of quality football displayed by players and tactical ingenuity of the coach, it becomes a thing of worry.

According to a section of Ghanaians, the Black Stars seem to completely have similar fate, luck and trend just like during 1982 edition held in Libya, where they won their fourth and last major trophy in a fashionable manner. To even some of them, the last trophy won was on an Arabian soil and since current hosts Egypt is also an Arabian country, everything is in order.

Again, the Black Stars’ first two games in this year’s tournament (2-2 vs Benin, 0-0 vs Cameroon) have produced similar results to that of 1982 when they shared the spoils 2-2 with Libya and also had a goalless draw against Cameroon but defeated Tunisia 1-0 in the final group game and went on to win the trophy.

Also, some have argued that since George Alhassan who hailed from the Northern part of Ghana scored the country’s first goal in 1982 and with Andre Ayew having the same root equalling it as he netted the country’s opening goal against Benin, the chart will definitely repeat itself.

But without even digging deeper, a lot of incidents that happened in 1982 and few years before had several similarities in 2015 but Ghana still lost that year’s Afcon and that means coach Kwesi Appiah and his players rather have to step up their performances because what they’ve produced so far is an eyesore.

Before Ghana lifted the 1982 Afcon, Asante Kotoko had won three consecutive Ghana Premier League titles (1980, 1981, 1982) just like they won in 2012, 2013 and 2014 but the Black Stars failed to win the 2015 Afcon after reaching the final under former coach Avram Grant.

Interestingly, Kotoko during that period of conquering Ghana, had a player called Opoku Nti who later returned to the club as General Manager in 2015 but Ghanaians did not have the Afcon trophy that year despite a lot of superstitious beliefs linking his return to the club.

Furthermore, in 1982, there was a player called Kwesi Appiah (who is the current coach) in the Black Stars squad and another Kwesi Appiah (currently active) from Crystal Palace emerged in 2015 but the country ended the tournament in pain as the latter even scored against Guinea to propel Ghana into the semi-finals.

Identically to the 1982 tournament, there was also a player called Abedi “Pele” Ayew in the setup just like we had Andre Ayew and Jordan Ayew who happen to be his sons in the 2015 squad presented by the Black Stars but Ivory Coast defeated us to emerge as champions.

Once again, Andre Ayew scored Ghana’s opening goal in 2015 as many people are comparing it to Geroge Alhassan of the 1982 squad, yet we lost the title so for Ayew to score the first goal in this year’s tournament should not be a yardstick to measure anything.

Nigeria won the Afcon in 1980 and Ghana won it in 1982. In 2013, Nigeria defied all odds to win the Afcon again under Stephen Keshi of blessed memories but Ghana could not win it two years later despite several incidents repeating.

The last time Ghana won in 1982, Brong Ahafo United were in the Ghana Premier League and they returned from relegation after a decade in the lower division in 2015 but nothing better happened to the Black Stars’ quest to end the trophyless run.

Now, with only two points in the bag at the tournament and elimination starring at the faces of the Black Stars, they cannot afford dropping even a point in the crucial fixture against the Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday but must manage to score full marks.

Ghana need a victory now than ever and all attention should be on team preparation, tactics, substitutions while the game kicks off and of course winning bonuses since we have a precedent not superstition. Kwesi Appiah is expected for once to have tactics that would rip his opponents into shreds, having failed against Benin and Cameroon.

The 59-year-old gaffer is the most fortunate indigenous coach for the senior national team in the 21st century and must prove at this crucial stage why he deserves the whopping $35,000 paid into his account every month. His tactics and player selection must be apt, game management superb and substitution at the right time or he will face the wrath of Ghanaians since he is still yet to convince many even in his second coming as a coach.

In the Black Stars’ last four games under his watch, he has failed to win any and it is interesting to even know that Appiah has picked only four wins out of his last 11 games in all competitions, pathetic.

With only 21 wins in 46 games — 45.6 per cent winning rate — since his return as the Black Stars boss, it brings about the feel of pessimism among a section of Ghanaians that the ‘national project’ of winning the Afcon after going trophyless in 37 years may not be achieved.

Appiah, personified as a lion (coach) with small penis (poor game plan) must compensate with a mighty roar (improved tactics with variations) to save the blushes of the four-time champions who have made it to the semi-finals of the last six tournaments and finishing as runners-up in two of those.

Commey defeats Beltran, awaits new opponent to defend IBF World title

Richard Commey started fast, Ray Beltran managed to hang in, and in the end, Commey’s power was too much for the weight-drained and aging Beltran.

Commey improved to 29-2 (26 KO) with an eighth round stoppage of Beltran (36-9-1, 22 KO), having already dropped Beltran twice in the opening round and again in the fifth.

Beltran, who missed weight on Friday, gamely scrapped and hung around in the fight, with Bad Left Hook having Commey up 67-63 on two separate cards going into the eighth round, meaning that Beltran had won — on our cards, at least — three of the first seven rounds, and that the knockdowns were making the significant difference.

But when Commey caught Beltran with a left hook early in the eighth, it was over. Beltran got up and was ready to continue, but referee Eddie Hernandez Sr called a halt to the fight, which was fair enough.

Commey, who holds the IBF lightweight title, will now await what’s next. It could be the winner of the July 19 fight between Teofimo Lopez and Masayoshi Nakatani, which is an IBF eliminator, or it could be the winner of the Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Luke Campbell fight on Aug. 31. If it’s the latter, Commey against the winner would be a full unification at 135 pounds.

As for the 38-year-old Beltran, he’d already moved up to 140 for his last fight, but took the chance at another world title shot for this one. It didn’t work out, on the scales or in the ring, but there’s still some fight left in the old warrior, too, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he still has a few good nights left in him at 140.

-BadLeftHook

Habiba Sinare-Ex-Wife of Ghanaian Footballer-Majeed Waris Talks About How Tribe, Illiteracy and Abuse Ended Her Marriage Just After 16 Months

Habiba Sinare, the young woman who married a Ghanaian footballer, Majeed Waris when she was 21 years—and claims to have ditched her medical school education to become a wife to the footballer has openly spoken to me in relation to what caused the collapse of her marriage, and more importantly why she made the trending absurd comments on air a few days ago.

A friend’s wife called me on Tuesday morning while driving to the office to ask for permission to give my number to Habiba and to also plead that I give her an audience.

Before this, I had made a post on social media, calling Habiba bitter and slamming her for her comments that she made a huge mistake by marrying Majeed Waris, who she called an illiterate, a man below her standard and a man from a ‘nobody family’.

Soon, a new number started calling me on Whatsapp and as I expected, it was Habiba—her rusty voice was pleasantly unique, and as the conversation drove on, I also noticed that her intermittent butchering of the Queen’s language was somewhat a distinguishing trait too. I wouldn’t blame the latter on her dropping out of school to become a young wife but rather, the haste with which she wants to deliver her words.

The opening of our conversation would come off as hostile to her, but that’s common when dealing with me. After the usual opening greetings, she said: “I hope you are not recording me or this conversation.”

To the above I replied: “If you do not trust me, why did you call me? I didn’t call you and neither did I asked you to call me so if you are not comfortable talking to me, you can just cut the call.”

She backed down, and responded: “I trust you…I was just asking.”

The opening remarks itself is fairly a prima facie evidence of a woman who jumps in at things or with comments without proper evaluation and when chased out, would coil down like the proverbial sick cat—to settle in.

Habiba had called with two folds of flawed intentions: to explain her unfortunate comments she made on radio which was fetching her an avalanche of unfettered social media criticisms and insults, and to make it even worse with new shocking comments, wrongly placed, as her net of restitution.

In-between these two layers were her glaring innocence and immaturity. Somehow, when I asked her why she would marry at the age of 21 and even ditch medical school for that, she managed to tell me and herself that she thinks she is too mature for her age even. Her conduct and the word maturity in a sentence is a classic example of an ‘oxymoron.’

But she was candid, a hallmark of most innocent and immature people. She told me that she is bitter, very bitter and she is constantly hurting because of what Majeed Waris and his family have done to her.

Asked about what they did, she stated, inter alia, that, the family largely caused her marriage to end as they would flood her matrimonial home in their numbers as much as 7, to spend as long as they want in ‘her house’. She accused Waris’ mother of constantly invading her matrimonial home with a bunch of family members and that her bedroom was not even spared.

She said the marriage was suffocating—and when she complained, her then husband told her that in their tribe, her in-laws could visit anytime. She summarized the relationship between Waris and his family with her in the middle as one that was symptomatic of a man who placed his family before her. She felt she was not her man’s priority.

Habiba may have a point but she is offensively childish, and I am going to cite a comment she made to support my claim of immaturity. I hope this comment will only be regarded as coming from a woman who has falsely convinced herself that she is intelligent and mature when she even lacks basic use of euphemism.

She said Majeed Waris was the one who kept chasing her at the beginning of their relationship and that she was not interested in him because of his tribe. With interest and tribe mentioned, I probed further. She explained, innocuously, that because he is a certain tribe (I have intentionally omitted the tribe) she was just not interested—despite she also coming from the northern part of Ghana.

However, after some time of pursuit from the footballer, she suddenly fell in love with him—I didn’t ask about how that became possible and whether gifts were showered on her. She only knew him for about 2 years as long distant pal, prior to their marriage, she mentioned.

She said in her radio comments that Waris was illiterate, below her standard and his family is a ‘nobody’ family. So I asked, “you knew the man was illiterate and below your standard—yet you proceeded to marry him. Did you do so because of his money?” She replied, “it was not about money for me because he never gave me any money even as a wife—it was about love.”

On how spiteful Majeed Waris’ mother and the other family allegedly treated her, I asked this: “when you people were dating him, did you not see any sign of the family being deeply involved in his life and always visiting? If you did and you were not in for that, why did you marry him as you seem to suggest the family’s cruel invasion is somewhat of his tribe or culture and wouldn’t have just started after the marriage?”

She said she did not experience that. Then again, it does not seem to me Waris and Habiba knew themselves very well, let alone to know their families inside out, before even getting married.

This ties into the fact that Habiba claims her entire family was against her marrying Majeed Waris but she snubbed them and proceeded to marry the footballer. Why was her family not in support of the marriage? I should have asked—right?

When questioned on why she would quit medical school just to get married to a footballer as she stated on radio—especially at the age of 21, she said, that comment was misinterpreted. Perhaps misrepresented by herself rather.

She stated that while Majeed Waris’ family insisted a woman does not need to go to school or be educated, she was unwavering, and said she would only get married to the footballer on the condition that she would be allowed to continue her medical school. However, things changed after she got married.

She was promised of a transfer of her education to France. But it became apparent after the marriage that the transfer wasn’t possible from a Ghana medical school to another in France. So, she opted to study a management course at a university in France, a little far from a football club her husband was to play football at. This also did not materialize as her husband didn’t continue with that club.

Habiba believes she has been unfairly treated and told me about how when she went to give birth to her child in America, she became depressed because her husband or nobody really came to visit her in the United States.

“You got married to a footballer, you shouldn’t have expected a lot of family time in a different country at the peak of his career or during the football session,” I said. She rebutted, “he could have taken time off if he really wanted—but he didn’t care and wasn’t there for me.”

A man pays for his wife to go and deliver in the United States of America and pays all the bills—that’s a privilege, some will even call it a blessing. But Habiba thinks she deserved more. And of course, she deserved to have her man around.

Pockets of online reports suggested in the past that Habiba’s pregnancy at the time was not for her husband—and she confirmed that her husband’s family accused her of adultery. But she said, “the child looked exactly like Waris when he was born” so all those accusations are untrue.

Habiba told me that Waris does not take care of his child and it has been months since he even saw the child. In fact, she blocked Waris, the father of her child on Whatsapp to prevent him from contacting her because of unending hurt, anytime he called.

She mentioned that on two occasions, she bought plane tickets with her own money for the child and herself to travel to France so that Waris would spend time with the child but the footballer refused and they did not even see him.

“Why would you buy tickets and fly to France without having a prior arrangement with Waris,” I asked. She said, “all I wanted was for him to be there for his child and for the child to grow up knowing his father but Waris has shown that he is not interested.”

The child is currently in school and Habiba said she foots the school fees and every bill alone—Waris does not give a fuck.

Habiba mentioned that Waris was somewhat abusive to her but she does not want to dwell on that or even call that domestic violence—and that she even has photo evidence which she does not want in the public domain.

Before ending my conversations with Habiba, I asked whether it would ever be possible for her to return to her marriage. And she said, only under one condition—and the condition is that Waris’ family wouldn’t be allowed to come to her matrimonial home and poke their noses into her marriage.

Of course, Habiba is disappointed, childish, bitter and deeply hurt—and her words reflect these. If not, why would she still have a condition under which she will return to marry an illiterate, useless, below her standard man from a ‘nobody’ family?

Habiba mentioned that she is currently working as an actress and a model–and I believe back to studying midwifery

By: Chris-Vincent Agyapong (Ghanacelebrities.com)

Cheetah FC to mark 10-year anniversary with regional tour

The fast-rising lower-tier side have laid down plans to celebrate their anniversary in a grand style

As part of Cheeteh FC’s 10-year celebration, the club will like to announce a three regional tour dubbed, Tour2019 which will see the team visiting the Ashanti, Western and Central regions of Ghana from June 20 to July 5.

Over the years, Cheetah FC have established itself as a club that is known for producing young talented players and have been ran professionally with lot of followers around the country.

As part of the club’s 10 years celebration, the management has decided to embark on this three regional tour (Kumasi, Takoradi and Cape Coast) where some of their ambassadors hail from.

Last year, the team embarked on a similar tour in Abuja, Nigeria but has opted to stay within the confines of Ghana as part of the golden celebration to further solidify their connections with locals.

We believe this tour will be is of great benefit to a club of this stature as it will offer us the opportunity to test out strength against clubs from other regions and also serve as an exposure to most of our young talents.

Cheetah Tour 2019 will be completely unique in many ways because it will not only centre on the sporting side of the club but, also on other recreational and fun-filled aspects as we shall visit the Manhyia Palace, Cape Coast Castle, Kakum National Park and other exciting places in the selected regions.

Our ambassadors and some former players in the likes of Kofi Kinanta, Emmanuel Toku, Yaw Dabo, Keche, Teephlow among others are partly involve in the tour.

Match schedules during the tour are as follows;

KUMASI – 22nd June, 2019
Gihoc Babies , 9:00am -Ahinsan Park
24th June,2019
JK Sampdoria FC
King Faisal Babies, 3:00pm -OWASS Park
25th June, 2019
Lafia Talent stars FC, 3:00pm – KASS Park
26th June, 2019
Kumasi Ebony FC
Asorkwa Deportivo, 3:00pm – OWASS Park.

In the Western region, all matches will be honored at the Gyandu Park at 3:00pm as follows;
Team Move FC
Apremdo FC – the 28th June.
Western select side – 29th June.
Skky FC – 1st July

Asante Kotoko supporter Seidu in Police grips over kidnapping of Canadian citizens

The outspoken supporter is reported to be part of a gang that have been arrested to help in the investigation of the kidnapping of the foreign citizens

Asante Kotoko’s notorious supporters, Seidu Mba, has been arrested by the Ghana Police Service in connection with the kidnapping of the Canadian ladies, AshesGyamera.com understands.

Seidu, who was alleged to be part of the Delta Force squad that stormed the Kumasi High Court to manhandled a judge and free their members, has also been causing troubles at various stadiums and even chased away former Kotoko coach Zravdko Lugarusic from the club’s training grounds.

More to follow….

AC Master’s sports agency sign Black Queens’ Adams

The midfielder has put pen to paper with the Chinese-based football agency ahead of the new season

Ghana winger Grace Adams has signed a long-term contract with AC Master’s of Sports Management in an undisclosed fee ahead of the 2019-20 season, AshesGyamera.com can confirm.
The former Black Princesses skipper completed the deal with the Sports representative agency owned by Martin Tawiah on Wednesday, June 5, and they will manage and promote her football career henceforth.
AC Master’s of Sports Management is an agency engaged in the representation and integral management of sportsmen across the globe.
Adams, 24, led Ghana during 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup held in Canada and caught the eye of many scouts through his consistent performance. She scored one goal in nine appearances in both the qualifiers and the World Cup finals.
Adams, who is currently a member of the female senior national team of Ghana and holds a bachelor’s degree in Art and Baccularrate from University of South Florida, scored three goals and assisted twice in 27 appearances during the American Athletic Conference and NCCA Tournament in 2018.

”Lil Win’ unveiled as Brand Ambassador for eBet

eBet, one of Ghana’s leading gaming systems provider, has unveiled popular Ghanaian actor and musician, Kwadwo Nkansah ”Lil Win”, as their new Brand Ambassador.

eBet sealed a one-year mega deal with the Ghanaian star, as they look to reach greater heights in a very competitive gaming industry.

”Lil Win”, as part of the deal would spearhead the company’s commercial endeavours across the country in order to project them to Ghanaians.

Licensed under the Gaming Commission of Ghana, eBet is a leading gaming system provider that develops and markets a range of technology solutions for electronic gaming machines for clubs, pubs and hotels and many other places.

Revealed: Five-man committee to manage Black Stars ahead of 2019 Afcon

The interim body in charge of running football in the country has appointed a committee to manage the Black Stars

Ghana Football Association’s Normalisation Committee has announced a five-man body headed by former Asante Kotoko C.E.O Dr. KK Sarpong.

With the country failing to win a major title since 1982, the committee is expected to help the Black Stars technical team and playing to annex the Africa Cup of Nations trophy holding in Egypt in June.

“The GFA Normalization Committee (N.C) has set up a five-member committee to manage the activities of the senior national team, Black Stars,” a GFA statement read.

“The Committee is headed by former Kotoko Chairman and GNPC boss, Dr Kofi Koduah Sarpong, with the Honourable Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Perry Okudzeto as vice.

“The committee will among other things, supervise the activities of the Black Stars, and collaborate with the technical team to facilitate all arrangements to ensure the team gets the best of preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.”

The statement added: “This forms part of the N.C’s grand agenda to ensure Ghana’s successful participation at the tournament scheduled for later this year.

Other members of the committee are former Ghanaian footballer, Ibrahim Sunday, Mr. Francis Asenso-Boakye and Madam Abena Osei Asare.

“In the aftermath of the Anas’ exposé   management committees of the various national teams were disbanded.”

I deserve the Black Stars call-up; expect hunger & passion against Kenya – Kwasi Appiah

Exclusive: The Dons striker is confident to prove his worth after being handed another opportunity for the upcoming qualifier against Harambees Stars

Ghana striker Kwasi Appiah has insisted that he deserves his place in the Black Stars squad for the upcoming Africa Cup if Nations qualifier against Kenya on March 23 at the Accra Sports Stadium.

A 24-man squad was released on Monday by coach Kwesi Appiah included several new faces like Kotoko duo of Amos Frimpong and Kwame Bonsu and the AFC Wimbledon forward’s fine form especially in the FA Cup did not go unnoticed.

Appiah scored two goals -including one against West Ham – as his side reached the fourth round of the competition for the first time in their history.

“I deserve this opportunity. They [Ghanaians] should expect to see hunger and passion to do well for the team and country,” Appiah told AshesGyamera.com

“This is a great opportunity Which I have been working towards for some time now. So I will show my worth to the team and hopefully build towards another Afcon tournament.”

After missing Wimbledon’s last three games due to injury concerns, Appiah has declared himself fit.

“My injuries are healed and I am training. I’m currently fit for the task ahead,” he said.

Appiah is likely to be named in Wimbledon’s squad to face Peterborough in the League Two fixture on Tuesday night as they aim at avoiding the drop with a home win.

He was part of the Black Stars squad that reached the final of the Afcon in 2015 under Avram Grant.

Ghana names squad for Afcon qualifier against Kenya; Bonsu & Frimpong handed maiden call-up

Ghana coach Kwasi Appiah has officially named a 24-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Kenya on March 23 at the Accra Sports Stadium.

With Ghana already booking their place at the tournament ahead of this game, coach Kwesi Appiah has rewarded several players including Amos Frimpong and Kwame Bonsu of Asante Kotoko with their debut call-ups and and also recalled his namesake Kwesi Appiah of AFC Wimbledon.

The Black Stars will begin camping on March 15 with series of friendlies.

Full Ghana Squad:

Goalkeepers: Richard Ofori (Martizburg, South Africa) Lawrence Ati (Sochaux, France), Felix Annan (Asante Kotoko, Ghana)

Defenders: Kwadwo Asamoah (Inter Milan, Italy) Lumor Agbenyenu ( Göztepe S.K, Turkey) Andy Yiadom (Reading Football Club, England) Amos Frimpong (Asante Kotoko, Ghana) Nuhu Kassim (1899 Hoffenheim, Germany) Nicholas Opoku (Udinese, Italy) John Boye (Metz,France) Joseph Aidoo (Genk, Belgium)

Midfielders: Andre Ayew ( Fenerbahçe S.K, Turkey) Mubarak Wakaso (Alaves, Spain) Christian Atsu (Newcastle, England) Kwame Bonsu (Asante Kotoko, Ghana) Ernest Asante  ( Al Jazira, UAE) Thomas Partey (Atlético Madrid) Alhassan Wakaso ( Vitória S.C, Portugal) Jeffery Schlupp ( Crystal Palace, England), Alfred Duncan (Sassuolo, Italy)

Forward: Caleb Ansah Ekuban (Trabzonspor, Turkey) Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace) Emmanuel Boateng (Dalian Yifang, China)  Kwasi Appiah (AFC Wimbledon, UK)