Home Blog Page 8

Fatawu Issahaku provides assist on Premier League debut against Tottenham

The youngster lived up to the expectations as he created the Foxes’ equaliser against Tottenham on Monday night

It was a dream come true as Ghana international Abdul Fatawu Issahaku made his Premier League debut for Leicester City in their 1-1 stalemate against Tottenham Hotspurs on Monday night.

The 20-year-old played the entire duration of the game and capped his historic night with an assist which was scored by veteran striker Jamie Vardy.

Fatawu had 54 touches of the ball and made two key passes as well as four crosses with two being successful.

Also, the former Ghana Premier League star made six dribbling attempts and succeeded on three occasions. He was fouled three times and committed two fouls, as well as made 21 ground duels and won 12.

In total, Fatawu had 14 accurate passes out of 19 and was rated 7.8 which was the highest rating in the Leicester squad.

Leicester will travel to Craven Cottage next weekend to lock horns with Fulham who suffered a slim defeat to Manchester United on opening day and Fatawu will be expected to repeat a similar performance in a game this would be his first-ever away match in the Premier League.

He became the fourth Ghanaian player to feature for his club on first week of the Premier League after Arsenal’s Thomas Partey, Antoine Semenyo of Bournemouth fame and Jordan Ayew who was a second half substitute when Crystal Palace lost 2-1 away to Brentford.

In other related news, Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew is still heavily linked with a move to Leicester as coach Steve Cooper wants to reunite with his former player before the transfer window closes.

Ayew features as Crystal Palace suffer opening day defeat to Brentford

The forward was thrown into the game to help snatch a later winner but things did not go as planned

Ghana forward Jordan Ayew was a second half substitute when Crystal Palace suffered an opening day 2-1 defeat to Brentford in the Premier League at Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday.

Ayew, who has been heavily linked with a move to Leicester City to join former boss Steve Cooper whom he played under at Swansea City, came on by the 70th minute for Japanese star Daichi Kamada when the scoreline was 1-1.

With Palace coach Oliver Glasner pushing men forward in pursuit for the winner, a 76th minute goal by Brentford’s Yoane Wissa meant Palace left the stadium empty handed.

Fellow countryman Jeffrey Schlupp was an unused substitute in the game.

Kotoko terminate contract with defender Mohammed Nurudeen over ‘nursing career’

Asante Kotoko has agreed to mutually part ways with defender Mohammed Nurudeen.

The club entered into a three-year employment agreement with Nurudeen before the commencement of the 2023/24 football season. However, management notes that Nurudeen also has a contract with the Ghana Health Service as a practicing enrolled nurse. The club explored all possible options to convince him to focus on his football career, but Nurudeen remained committed to his career in nursing.

In light of this, an emergency meeting was convened on Sunday, August 4, 2024, where the Interim Management Committee (IMC) agreed to part ways with the player in the best interest of both parties. This decision was made to maintain the cohesion the team is building for the new season.

The IMC would like to assure our supporters that the club will not suffer any financial or sporting penalties due to this decision and wishes Nurudeen the best for the future.

The club will not be making any further comments on this decision and considers the matter closed.

-KotokoCommunications

Kofi Agbesimah joins Samartex from Hearts of Oak

The Phobians former skipper has put pen to paper until 2026 and will be playing in Caf Champions League next season

After struggling to find his feet at Hearts of Oak due to several factors including superstition, sabotage and family pressure, defender Kofi Agbesimah seems to have finally found peace as he joins Ghana Premier League champions Samatex, the two clubs have confirmed.

Agbesimah was highly rated in Accra after joining the Phobians from Bechem United and even became the captain of the club, however, he surprisingly tendered in a proposal to mutually terminate his contract citing personal reasons.

After several round table discussions, Hearts have opted to sell him to Samartax who are fine tuning ahead of their maiden participation in CAF Champions League.

“We are delighted to announce that experienced center-back Kofi Agbesimah has joined us permanently on a two-year deal from Accra Hearts of Oak,” an official statement from Samartex read.

“His acquisition will ultimately invigorate the defense with unmatched experience and add a new dimension to the team,” the statement added.

Kotoko announce King’s Project with ultramodern facilities to be financed Otumfour Osei Tutu II

The king of Asante Kingdom, Otumfour Osei Tutu, is obviously not happy with the ‘Container project’ done by erstwhile Asante Kotoko CEO Nana Yaw Amponsah as the club announces The King’s project’ to lift the image of the club.

The new project at Adams-Jachie, off the Kumasi-Accra road, is expected to be financed by the club’s owner and it will boast of seven training pitches comprising of natural and artificial types as well as hostel facilities.

Also, conference rooms and swimming pool is expected to be built in the near future.

“We are delighted to announce the commencement of the transformation of Adako Jachie into a state-of-the-art training facility,” a club statement read.

“This ambitious project, fully funded by His Royal Majesty, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, will be executed in multiple phases. Today marks the beginning of Phase One. Stay tuned for updates as we progress in building a world-class training hub. Fabulous!” The statement added.

Breaking News: Ghana FA fines RTU only $6,400 (GH₵100,000) for fielding unqualified players against Dreams

The Giants of the North have been handed a lenient punishment despite fielding unqualified players in a Premier League fix and bringing the game into disrepute

The Disciplinary Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has imposed a fine of GHc100,000 on Real Tamale United FC (RTU FC) for behaving in a way that brings the game into disrepute contrary to Section 34(6)(d) of the GFA Premier League Regulations.

The Disciplinary Committee found that during the Matchday 28 game against Dreams FC at the Theatre of Dreams, Real Tamale United FC did intentionally deceive the match officials during the said game by using unregistered players to impersonate officially registered players of the club.

Real Tamale United FC pleaded guilty to the charges and pleaded for leniency. The Statement of defence filed by the club explained that the club were in a difficult situation and officials thought their actions on the day were intended to alleviate an already bad situation of the club as the club’s registered players refused to make the trip.

In its ruling on the matter, the GFA Disciplinary Committee found Real Tamale United FC guilty of the charge and fined the Club for misconduct.

Officials of RTU FC who led the team to the said match have each been handed a one-year ban from all football-related activities with immediate effect.

The Real Tamale United FC officials banned are Iddi Manzah Alhassan, Abdul-Samed Iddrisu, Abdul-Gafaru Salifu, Tanko Jentumah and Sylvester Yaw Apanka.

Djiku to play first UEFA Champions League game under Jose Mourinho

The defender will have the opportunity tonight to impress Jose Mourinho in the UEFA Champions League second round playoff

Ghana 🇬🇭 defender Alexander Djiku will play his first official game under Jose Mourinho tonight as Fenerbahce face Lugano in the Uefa Champions League first leg of the second round playoffs at the Arena Thun in Switzerland.

Mourinho, after his exit from Serie A side A.S Roma, turned his attention to Turkey and signed for The Yellow Canaries in an attempt to bring them continental glories.

Djiku has been one of the players tipped to excel under Mourinho especially since the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United coach is a fan of tough-tackling defenders.

“I am happy with the decision to come to Fenerbahce. I have enjoyed working a lot with the team since the first day and Alexander Djiku is one of them,” Mourinho said in the pre-match interview ahead of the game.

Lugano, who finished finishing bottom in a Europa League group consisting of Club Brugge, Bodo/Glimt and Besiktas during the 2023/24 season, turned their campaign around as they finished second in the Swiss top flight last season.

However, many people believe this tie could be termed as a mismatch especially with the inclusion of Mourinho in the visitors’ technical staff and also how the Portuguese’s coach side dispatched Strasbourg 4-0 and Hull City 5-1 in a friendlies recently.

Referee Tiago Bruno Lopes Martins stadium from Portugal will be in the centre of affairs to ensure fairness and the return fixture has been slated for August 10 at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

Osei-Fosu joins Al Merriekh technical team for tournament

The fast-rising young coach will be in Nigeria for scouting purposes as well technical duties for the Sudanese giants

Sudan 🇸🇩 assistant coach Ignatius Osei-Fosu has joined Al Merriekh technical team to offer support to the club ahead of the 8-team Value Jet Cup, set to begin on July 24 to August 31 at the home ground of Remo Stars in Nigeria.

With international football currently on break, the Ghanaian coach who is assistant to Kwesi Appiah, will use the opportunity to assist Al Merriekh while closely monitoring players who can help Sudan in their bid to qualify to 2026 FIFA World Cup to be staged in United States, Canada and Mexico.

Al Merrikh touched down in Ikenne, Ogun State as part of four clubs who have officially confirmed their participation including defending champions Shooting Stars, Remo Stars, and Kwara United.

Also, current Nigeria Professional Football League champions, Rangers International, Abia Warriors, Ikorodu City and former NPFL champions Rivers United are expected to be confirmed participation.

Asante Kotoko sign defender Ablorh until 2026

The Porcupine Warriors have secured the services of the defender as Prosper Ogum seek to bolster his defence ahead of the new season

Asante Kotoko have officially unveiled the signing of defender Joseph Ablorh on a two-year contract which will see him at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium until 2026.

Ablorh, who joins from Guinean side Haifa Club, has thus become the sixth signing by the Porcupine Warriors ahead of the start of 2024/25 Ghana Premier League season.

He could be a surprise introduction tonight when Kotoko lock horns with Hearts of Oak in the Democracy Cup at the Accra Sports Stadium

Official: Leicester City sign Fatawu Issahaku until 2029

Ghana midfielder Abdul Fatawu Issahaku has signed a five-year deal with Leicester City which will keep him at the King Power Stadium until the summer of 2029.

The 21-year-old initially joined the Foxes on a season-long loan deal from Sporting but the club has opted to make his move permanent after becoming a cult hero.

Fatawu was instrumental in Leicester’s qualification back to the Premier League last season following series of inspiring performances in the Championship. He scored six goals and made 13 assists as Leicester won the Championship and secured an automatic promotion.

He joins Thomas Teye Partey, Kudus Mohammed, Jordan Ayew, Jeffrey Schlupp and Kamaldeen Sulemana as the Ghanaians to play in the 2024/25 Premier League season.