by Silas Boahene | Jul 19, 2024 | Africa, Ghana, Soccer
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has announced that the 2024/25 Ghana Premier League season will commence on September 6, 2024. The GFA’s Competitions Department has also set deadlines for the submission of team kits and squad lists. Clubs participating in the Ghana Premier League (GPL), Women’s Premier League (WPL), and Division One League (DOL) must submit their strips by August 15, 2024, and their squad lists by August 17, 2024.
An official statement on the GFA website stated: “The start dates for the 2024/2025 Premier League season have been confirmed, with the campaign starting on 6 September 2024, 82 days after the 2023/24 Premier League concluded on June 16, 2024.” Additionally, the closure of the Competitions Management System (CMS) for squad list uploads is scheduled for August 30, 2024.
Samartex, the reigning champions of the 2023/24 league season, will aim to defend their title against 17 other clubs. Young Apostles, Basake Holy Stars, and Vision FC are the newly promoted teams to the top flight, replacing the relegated Great Olympics, Bofoakwa Tano, and Real Tamale United.
by Silas Boahene | Jul 19, 2024 | Africa, Europe, Ghana, International, Soccer
Brandon Thomas-Asante has acknowledged that he should have scored more goals for West Brom last season and is determined to increase his tally in the upcoming season. The 25-year-old striker, who made his international debut for Ghana in June, has been West Brom’s top scorer for the past two seasons since joining from Salford City for ÂŁ300,000 in August 2022.
In his two seasons at the club, Thomas-Asante has been the main striker for extended periods, largely due to injuries to teammates Daryl Dike and, more recently, Josh Maja. In his first season, he scored nine goals in all competitions, and last season he netted 12 goals, with 11 coming in the league.
Despite criticism at times for not scoring more, Thomas-Asante emphasized on the Albion website that he is aware of the need to improve his goal-scoring record. “I’m really grateful to have won the top goalscorer award last season, and it was really exciting to do so,” he said. “I’ve managed to do it twice in a row now, and I was able to better 2022/23’s tally in 2023/24, which I was pleased about. It’s always encouraging.
“I know there was criticism regarding not scoring more goals, and as a striker, you have to take that on the chin, but nobody knows I could have scored more than myself. Nobody sets higher standards for me than myself, and I’m always driving myself forward to improve in all aspects of my game. The target for this year will be to build on last season.”
Thomas-Asante wasted no time in starting strong this pre-season, scoring in under two minutes during Albion’s opener against Bolton Wanderers at St George’s Park on Saturday. The match featured new signings Ousmane DiakitĂ©, Torbjørn Heggem, and goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith.
Thomas-Asante described how the new players have integrated well into the team and mentioned his efforts to communicate with midfielder DiakitĂ© in French, as he has been trying to learn the language. “The boys are always really good when new lads join us. We’ve had Ousmane (DiakitĂ©), Torbjørn (Heggem), and Joe (Wildsmith) join the group so far, and they’ve all settled in.
“With Ousmane, even though there’s a language barrier there at the moment, his character shines through. I’m close with Torbjørn too, but he obviously speaks a lot more English at this stage than Ousmane. I love languages myself as well. I tried to learn Spanish last year, and I’ve given French a go too. Ousmane takes the mick out of me more when I try to speak French than I do him when he speaks English. They’re really good players as well, and I’m really excited to play with them. This week here at St. George’s Park will only help to strengthen relationships both on and off the pitch.”
by Silas Boahene | Jul 19, 2024 | Africa, Ghana, International, Soccer
Ghana’s senior men’s national football team, the Black Stars, have held steady at 64th place in the latest FIFA Coca-Cola world rankings.
After temporarily rising due to successful FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Mali and the Central African Republic in June, the Black Stars saw no further movement in July. Their inactivity, while other nations competed in major tournaments like the European Championship 2024 and Copa America 2024, prevented any additional progress in the rankings.
Globally, Argentina retained their top spot following their Copa America victory, while Spain climbed to third place after winning Euro 2024. On the African continent, Morocco, Senegal, and Egypt are the top three teams, with Ghana currently ranked 12th.
The Black Stars aim to improve their ranking in the coming months as they prepare for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Angola and Niger in September, with the ultimate goal of qualifying for the tournament hosted in Morocco next year.
The global rankings have experienced significant changes due to over 125 international matches played in June and July. Argentina (1st) solidified their dominance by defending their Copa America title, while France (2nd) remains a close challenger. Spain (3rd) rose five places following their European triumph, pushing England (4th) past Brazil (5th), who dropped one spot.
Elsewhere, Belgium (6th) fell outside the top five, with the Netherlands (7th) and Portugal (8th) close behind. Colombia (9th) re-entered the top ten despite a narrow Copa America final loss to Argentina, while Italy (10th) maintained their position.
Several teams made impressive jumps after reaching the quarter-finals of their continental tournaments, including Turkey (26th, up 16) and Venezuela (37th, up 17).
In the Americas, Panama (35th, up 8) and Canada (40th, up 8) showed strong performances on U.S. soil. Oceania celebrated as OFC Men’s Nations Cup winners New Zealand (94th, up 13) returned to the top 100 after a seven-year absence. Other Pacific nations like Fiji (153rd, up 13) and Vanuatu (162nd, up 8) also enjoyed significant climbs in the rankings.
by Silas Boahene | Jul 19, 2024 | Africa, Ghana, Soccer
Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, expressed concerns about the quality of the pitch at the Accra Sports Stadium. He made these comments after participating in a curtain-raiser match between a Ghana Parliament select team and former Black Stars players during the Democracy Cup, part of the celebrations marking 30 years of democratic rule in Ghana.
Vanderpuye echoed criticism from Deputy Sports Minister Evans Bobie Opoku regarding the state of the pitch. As the Member of Parliament for the Odododiodio Constituency, he pointed out the challenges posed by the poor playing surface.
“The pitch is not as friendly as we would have wished, and it was a struggle to control the ball. But to some extent, it’s okay; we managed. We should thank God that there has not been any serious injury…it was fun, and we all enjoyed ourselves.”
In the main event, Accra Hearts of Oak suffered a 2-1 defeat to their rivals Kumasi Asante Kotoko, marking their third consecutive loss to Kotoko after two defeats in the 2023-2024 Ghana Premier League season.
by Silas Boahene | Jul 19, 2024 | Africa, Europe, Ghana, International, Soccer
Black Stars goalkeeper Joseph Wollacott has officially joined English League Two side Crawley Town after leaving Scottish club Hibernian. The 27-year-old’s time in Scotland was frustrating, as he made only eight appearances in his sole season with Hibernian.
Wollacott had originally signed a three-year deal with Hibernian, but a thigh injury sidelined him for a significant period, and he was unable to reclaim his starting spot upon his return. This led to his departure from the club.
Now moving back to League Two, Wollacott returns to familiar territory, having previously played for Charlton Athletic before his stint at Hibernian. Commenting on Wollacott’s exit, Hibernian Sporting Director Malky Mackay said, “First of all, I would like to thank Jojo for his efforts during his time with us. Unfortunately, we couldn’t guarantee Jojo as much game time as he would like, so we agreed it was best for him to continue his career down south, in a league that he knows well.”
“Everyone at the club wishes Jojo the best of luck for the future.”
