Sports
African handball pairings
The African Handball Confederation has released the pairings for the forthcoming Cup of Nations Handball tournament scheduled to take place in Luanda, Angola next month.Ghana, participating only in the women's division is in Group 'B' alongside Nigeria, Cameroun, Tunisia and Senegal. Group 'A' is made up of Congo, Ivory Coast, Angola and Egypt.
Ten countries will compete in the men's division. They are Angola, Algeria, said. Tunisia, Cameroun, Nigeria, Morocco, Congo, Egypt, Senegal and the Ivory Coast.
According to the pairings, Ghana will play her first match against Senegal on September 15, take on Tunisia two days later and sort things out with Nigeria on September 18. Ghana's last Group B match is against Cameroun on September 19.
The tournament ends on September 23. Meanwhile, the Ghana Handball Associa- tion has lined up a series of trial matches for the national team now camping at the University of Ghana, Legon.
PNDC member's view on Ghana sports
Mrs Aanaa Enin, member of the Provisional National Defence Council has described Ghana as a virile sporting nation that needed the encouragement of her citizens to assert her sporting prowess in Africa and the world.She said Ghana occupied a worthy position as a virile sporting nation in football, athletics and other disciplines and women could be counted among the stars of Africa and the world at large.
The PNDC member was inaugurating the Accra Athletics Union, a new club formed to revive the track and field event which is visibly on the decline in the country.
Mrs Enin rejected the notion that Ghana was a spent-force in sports and pointed to Azuma Nelson the nation's ruling world featherweight champion, as an example of the potency of Ghana sports.
She pledged the PNDC's commitment to the improvement of standards in all disciplines of Ghana Sports.
Chiefs plead for banned star
Two traditional rulers have appealed to the Ghana Football Association to lift the indefinite ban slammed on George Alhassan, top striker of the national ootball team, the Black Stars, and goal king of the 1985 national soccer league. Anuotei Kwakwranya II, La Mantse and Nana Addo Dankwa, Okuapemhene both patrons of Accra Great Olympics, Geroge Alhassan's club, have written to the Secretary for Youth and Sports, Amarkai Amarteifio, to use his influence to get the GFA to tamper justice with mercy. They assured the football authorities that they would personally see to it that the foot- baller obeyed orders. "We will be grateful if you will use your good offices to intercede on behalf of the patrons," they said.In another development, Alhassan has described his punishment as too harsh. He said it was not true that he left camp without permission.
Sallah blessing at boxing tourney
A state boxing coach in Nigeria ran helter- skelter for over thirty-minutes making frantic efforts to secure medical attention for his ill ward without luck.The boxer had developed acute stomach trouble minutes before his scheduled bout at the national championship in Lagos.
Incidentally, Allah in his infinite mercies thing' warmly extended enough of his sallah felicitations to the tournament to prevent severe ring disasters that would warrant serious medical aid.
Flying Eagles in World Cup quarter-finals
Nigeria seem to have come of age in football, undoubtedly, the world's most popular sport. After capturing the World Youth Cup in China, the football world of Africa's most popular nation is on the ascendacy.At the time of going to press, the Flying Eagles had carried the Nigerian flag to the quarter-finals of the junior world cup for the Coca Cola Trophy, currently taking place in the Soviet Union. They raced from 0-2 down at half-time to defeat a plucky Australian side 3-2 in a thrilling preliminary engagement. Monday Odiaka scored twice in this victory that took the Nigerians to the second spot with four points behind host nation Soviet Union who cruised to a comfortable 5-0 victory over Canada in Group 'C'.
Meanwhile, newly sworn in President, General Ibrahim Babangida has sent a message of goodwill to the squad.
Ivory Coast in 2-0 victory
The Ivorian national team, the Elephants, whipped Brazilian first division team Botafago 2-0 in their final warm-up engagement in Abidjan.Two second half goals by Koussi N'dri and Abdoulaye Traore settled this match and put the Ivorians in the right perspective for their second leg African Cup of Nations preliminary match with the Black Stars of Ghana scheduled for the Kumasi Sports Stadium.
The Ivorians won the first leg 2-0 in Abidjan in a match in which the Ghanaians labelled charges of biased officiating on the part of the referee and his linesman.
Ahwoi steps down
Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, Co-ordinator of Vetting and Tribunals, whose inclusion on the management committee of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, together with Capt. Pattington, has raised many eyebrows in Ghanaian football circles, has declined the offer. In a letter to the Ghanaian Times, Mr Ahwoi cited his numerous official duties as the reason for withdrawing from the management of a club, he 'would do everything his power to ensure its success.He said he had written to the life Patron of the club, Otumfuo Opoku Ware, to that effect.
Observers, however, believe that Mr Ahwoi's withdrawal could not be unconnected with widespread criticism of his appointment.
Sports writer's president quits Ghana's soccer body
Oheneba Charles, President of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana, has with- drawn from the membership of the Black Stars Technical Committee.A press statement published by the Ghanaian Times said the SWAG president had 'ceased to have anything to do with the technical committee since last June, for personal reasons'.
Oheneba Charles has been critical of the way and manner the Ghana Football Association was handling affairs of the game for which Ghana is credited with four times champions of Africa.
His latest attack had bordered on the GFA's handling of the relegation exercise, which according to the SWAG president, was concentrating first division clubs in the country only in the three cities of Ghana– Accra, Kumasi and Sekondi-Takoradi. In that part of the world where criticism is equated with subversion, it was obvious Oheneba Charles could not serve on a sub-committee of an association whose policies he had questioned
