Sports
When hearts stopped in Kumasi...
• Kotoko's speedy winger John Bannerman, who scored the winning goal against Hearts, is hemmed in here by Freeman Turkson and Kofi Abbrey, both of Hearts as he tries to make a move.Fabulous Asante Kotoko stopped the hearts of Ghanaian champion club, Accra Hearts of Oak, with a 2-1 defeat at the Kumasi Sports Stadium to bring the carnival to the ancient capital of the Asante kingdom. Alhassan Yusif (penalty) and veteran John Bannerman, back to the fold of the former African champions, got the homesters' goals.
Isaac Ayipey converted a spot kick for Hearts' lone goal.
Somehow, somebody at the National Sports Council Secretariat decided to print only 35,000 tickets for the match that took place at the over 80,000 capacity stadium.
In other developments, Olympics beat Corners 1-0, Vipers whipped Hasaacas 3-0, while new entrants Holy Stars defeated Kotoko 1-0 in a midweek engagement.
AFC warn 23 debtor nations
The African Football Confederation (AFC) has warned 23 football associations that they face suspension if they do not pay outstanding arrears and fines by March 31, AFC's Secretary General Mustapha Fahmi has said in Cairo.He told Reuters that failure to pay a total of 120,000 dollars would mean club members of the national federations would be unable to compete in Cup-Winners' Cup and Champions' Cup tournaments.
He said the arrears included fines imposed for crowd violence, failure to send air tickets to referees officiating at matches and fees for participation in the two club championships organised by the Cairo-based AFC.
He said the 23 federations were Algeria Burundi, Gambia, Central African Republic, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zaire.
Nigeria abandon volleyball contest
The Africa Zone Three volleyball contest between Ghana's league champions Cadbury Rangers of Allied Foods and Kano-based Super Stars of Nigeria, ended abruptly when the Nigerians walked off the court in apparent protest against the handling of the game by Ghanaian referee Lawrence Adjei.Both teams had tied at two sets and were due to play the fifth and final set to decide the winner when the Nigerians refused to line up. Ghana won the first set 15-11 but the visitors won the following two sets to take a 2-1 lead, winning 15-10, 15-10. The Nigerians had earlier won the women's encounter when the Ghana Police team crashed by three straight sets.
Prince Mama over-trained
Former World heavyweight boxing champion Ken Norton says Ghana's Prince Mama Mohammed lost his world light-heavyweight championship fight against America's J.B. Williamson due to overwork in the gym.Ken Norton, whose views were carried on the Voice of America's (VOA) programme "African Panorama", owns the Broadway Gym in Los Angeles where both Prince and J.B. train.
The former champion explained that the world light-heavyweight crown had been the life-long dream of Prince and when the opportunity presented itself he felt the only way to ensure it does not slip by was by hard training. In the process, Ken said Prince exhausted himself, sometimes in defiance of his trainers' advice.
End the IMC mania - Teye
The chairman of the Ghana Football Association, Mr Elias Teye, has called for an end to the present trend in football administration in which some clubs are run by Interim Management Committees (IMCs).Speaking at the launching of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Asante Kotoko in Kumasi, Mr Teye said by their nature IMCS are not in a position to plan effectively and this affects the clubs they are managing eventually.
Launching the celebrations, Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, the Asantehene, said it was significant that the jubilee should coincide with the Golden Jubilee of the Restoration of Asanteman.
He noted that the twice African champions should be imbued with the fighting qualities of the great Ashanti Warriors to reassert their domination of Ghana and African football.
Sanda defends title in Lagos
Ghana's African Boxing Union (ABU) middle- weight champion Abdul Umaru Sanda will be in Lagos to engage Nigeria's Hunter Clay in a return clash on January 17.LEAGUE TABLE
TEAMS P W D L F PtsOkwahu Utd 5 2 3 0 6 2 7
Vipers 5 2 2 1 7 4 6
Corners 5 2 2 1 6 3 6
Real Utd 4 2 2 0 6 3 6
Hearts 5 2 2 1 6 4 6
Warriors 5 1 4 0 4 2 6
Kotoko 4 2 1 1 7 2 5
Olympics 5 1 3 1 5 5 5
Wise 5 1 3 1 3 4 5
Zebi 5 1 2 2 4 6 4
Hasaacas 5 1 2 2 3 5 4
H. Stars 5 1 1 3 2 5 3
Dwarfs 5 0 3 2 1 8 3
Goldfields 5 0 2 3 1 7 2
