I doff my heart to South Africa and the USA for making the just ended Confederations Cup all that exciting. When South Africa failed to qualify for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, the feeling in football circles was that they were going to waste everybody’s time by hosting the World Cup. But Brazilian coach Tele Santana’s explanation that his boys would soon mature has been proved right at the Confederation Cup when they exhibited good brand of football only to miss the bronze medal by a whisker. more »

If the ongoing Confederation Cup in South Africa is a dress rehearsal for the FIFA World Cup in 2010, then we should expect a lot of surprises in FIFA’s first football fiesta in Africa. It is accepted that football is a most unpredictable game that knows… more »

I have on several occasions referred to a famous quotation by my late secondary school headmaster C.J.Bannerman of blessed memory that says “were teachers’ magicians no pupils would ever fail examinations but where native intelligence is lacking even the gods are powerless”. I would like to paraphrase it to read; “were coaches magicians, no teams would ever lose matches but where the players lack commitment even the greatest coach cannot deliver”. more »

The Black Stars’ date with Sudan this Saturday in a World Cup/Africa Cup qualifying match quickly brings to mind a similar fixture in Omdurman eight years ago as both nations were seeking a place on board the 2002 Japan/ Korea World Cup and Cup of Nations in Mali. more »

I must say I am completely baffled that some jealous people are making so much noise about the money Real Madrid has dished out to secure the services of the multi talented Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United fame. In my local parlance we call jealous people “skin pain”. The truth of the matter is, Real Madrid President Florentino Perez appreciates the value for money and as an astute business tycoon he knows how to recoup the colossal 131 million dollars invested in the Ronaldo transaction. End of matter. more »

Supporters of Accra Hearts of Oak strongly believe that the month of June is their lucky moment and despite the current highly improved form of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, they are poised to beat the proverbial Porcupine Warriors at the Ohene Djan Stadium in the crucial league match on Sunday. more »

I really sympathize with the concerns expressed by Brazil football legend Carlos Alberto that the way top European clubs are poaching teenage footballers from Brazil could destroy the game in the home of the five times world champions. In fact he wants FIFA to intervene and stop the exodus. more »

The Ghanaian media had painted such a gloomy picture of the Black Stars’ readiness for the World Cup/ Africa Cup qualifying match against Mali that the Stars victory came as a shock and national jubilation was rather muted. Most people were shocked into disbelief and actually doubted what they were seeing on television as the media’s highly underrated Black Stars tore the Malians into pieces with two stunning second half goals by newcomer Kwadwo Asamoah and unstable striker Mathew Amoah. more »

It is unfortunate that just as the unnecessary debate as to why national skipper Stephen Appiah opted out of the Black Stars impending international matches seems to have abated, we should have on our hands serious financial practices against the Minister of Sports Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak. more »

The thick crowd that filled the Chinese built 20,000 capacity stadium in the northern regional capital of Tamale on Sunday night was unanimous in their verdict that Uganda had given the Black Stars a fitting trial for their impending World Cup assignment against Mali. more »