C. K. Gyamfi – A true Ghanaian Soccer Legend!

Many soccer pundits in Ghana and the world over may remember Nana Kumi Gyamfi aka Charles Kumi (C. K.) Gyamfi for his coaching prowess that won Ghana three Cup of Nations trophies in 1963, 1965 and 1982.

It is only the 1978 victory that is not directly linked to him as a coach.

Others may also remember him for his influential roles with Kumasi Asante Kotoko, the then Republicans and how he left Kotoko to form Great Ashantis before joining Accra Standfast and latter, Hearts of Oak.

But I remember Nana Kumi Gyamfi for the few quality encounters I had with him. Of course, I count myself lucky to have interviewed him in his North-Kaneshie residence on two different occasions.

In May 2009, he granted me an audience when we went through his entire life as a player, coach and administrator, and I was amazed at the number of successes he chalked in the game.

At one point, Nana opened a big box full of medals and his candid words were simple: “I must tell you that I have forgotten when and how I got some of these medals; you know it’s been a long time”.

That pushed me to ask him if he had ever dreamt of writing a book to encapsulate all these numerous successes.

His answer: “I want to outdoor my autobiography as part of my 80^th birthday celebrations”.

His 80^th birthday was due in December 2009 but unfortunately, he could not accomplish that dream.

In fact, I was completely shattered when I got the news that he was in the process of putting his memoirs together – his cherished dream since 2009 – when he passed on peacefully.

Then, I asked myself why mother Ghana allowed such a great man to die with all his ideas?

This is a man who told me bluntly that “I carried my talents from my mother’s womb!”

I remember, Nana said in our special interview that he started falling in love with soccer when he was six years.

“I started my football career when I was about six years, I started playing in the junior leagues and in the school and we were even playing with orange and tennis balls and later we started playing what we called ‘Gutter to Gutter’. After that we learnt how to head the ball with tennis ball and it was a competitive game as well.

“I started as a goalkeeper and I realized it was too dull so I decided to go upfront and fight for the ball so that I can score goals”, he noted with some sort of nostalgia.

This is a man who totally believed in Ghanaian coaches. Even at the point of his death, he was still the patron of the Ghanaian Soccer Coaches Association.

I once asked his opinion about foreign coaches and he did not mince words at all.

“Going for foreign coaches is not the way. When we give our Ghanaian coaches the chance, they will do better. They have to learn; in this case they (FA) have to spend on them to help them take coaching courses outside. When we went to Libya, nobody gave us a dog chance but we won so I was thinking that the trend will continue when I left but it was not done.

“People were not happy to see me lead the Black Stars to the 1963 African Cup but I had the total support of President Kwame Nkrumah and we won the trophy and defended it in Tunisia. But after that there was a coup that saw Nkrumah out and the authorities also sacked me”, he recollected.

I can go on and on and on about my one-on-one conversation with this great man but I will also like to recount his advice to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) when I once accompanied President Kwesi Nyantakyi and some members of the FA to pay a working visit to Nana.

Let me quote his first advice to the GFA at that time.

“You have to be firm, bold and courageous in your decision making to ensure that Ghana football gets better and better.

“Ghanaians are fastidious and will always ask for more so you shouldn’t rest on your oars but strive to achieve a lot of successes for the nation in general and the FA in particular”

“Stand firm and do the right thing for posterity will judge us all”

He further stressed that the FA should not entertain elements of indiscipline if the association wanted to achieve a lot of goals.

Even at that point, his passion for the game of soccer was not in doubt as he was of the believe that he still had a lot of knowledge to impact on the game and was always ready to advise the FA if they called on him.

Nana Kumi Gyamfi lived for the game and surely, Ghana has lost a true legend!

He came, he saw and he conquered!

May he rest in perfect peace!!!

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MLS 2015: Contrasting results for Ghanaian players

Last weekend’s round of matches in the Major League Soccer (MLS) witnessed seven Ghanaians in action for their various clubs.

But it turned out to be a weekend of mixed results as far as our Ghanaian legions are concerned.

In a game dubbed as one of the marquee matches in the MLS, Kwadwo Poku and his New York City FC were cut to sizes after LA Galaxy hammered them by 5-1. Poku’s impact was not felt even though he played the entire duration of the game.

There were high expectations for the young Ghanaian to dazzle in the mix of the likes of Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard, Giovani Dos Santos, David Villa and Andrea Pirlo, but his day was relatively quiet and that surely contributed to New York City’s huge defeat. With a record of 7-12-7 and a point build up of 28, NYCFC currently occupy the seventh place in the Eastern Conference, which is a place below the cut off point for the playoffs.

Midfielder Gershon Koffie was on the winning side when Vancouver Whitecaps defeated FC Dallas by a lone goal. Koffie saw full action for the Canadians and are hopeful to make it to the playoffs. They are currently second behind LA Galaxy with 45 points.

David Accam played the entire game while Patrick Nyarko was in action for 63 minutes when Chicago Fire slumped to a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Colorado Rapids. Chicago Fire are languishing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table.

Striker Dominic Oduro played 90 minutes for Montreal Impact but not even the introduction of Didier Drogba could save them from a home defeat at the hands of Philadelphia Union. The 0-1 defeat means Montreal will keep the sixth position of the Eastern Conference with 28 points and a slim chance of playoff qualification.

Harrison Afful’s impressive 70 minutes output helped his side Columbus Crew to a 3-2 victory over Sporting KC. Columbus Crew are third with 38 points in the Eastern Conference.

Adam Larsen Kwarasey was the usual trusted pair of hands when Portland Timbers settled for a 2-2 draw with Houston Dynamo.

Portland, with 11-8-7 record are 4^th with 40 points in the Western Conference hoping to clinch a playoff spot.

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COLUMBUS CREW SC'S NEW GHANAIAN DEFENDER HARRISON AFFUL THANKS FORMER BLACK STARS DEFENDER JOE ADDO

Ghanaian defender Harrison Afful has shown appreciation to former Black Stars defender and current corporate affairs manager of Accra Hearts of Oak, Joe Addo for playing a bigger role in his move to the MLS.

Afful yesterday completed a move to Columbus Crew SC as a discovery signing and according to the Black Stars defender, it was Joe Addo who recommended him to head coach Gregg Berhalter.

"I think I have to give all the credit to Joe Addo, the former Black Stars defender; he was the one who made the move. I learnt he played with the coach before and they talked about me and he showed the coach some clips about me and he was also interested. I am just happy to be here and I want to enjoy some playing time". 

Columbus Crew are second behind DC United with 31 points in the Eastern Conference and are gunning for the MLS playoffs.

Afful joins the likes of Patrick Nyarko, Dominic Oduro, Gershon Koffie, Adam Larsen Kwarasey, David Accam and Kwadwo Poku in the league.

There are other players with Ghanaian backgrounds like Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Kofi Opare, C. J Sapong, Kofi Kwarteng Frempong Sarkodie, Gyasi Zardes and Lloyd Sam not forgetting Ishmael Yartey who joined the league in the middle of the season in a loan move for Portland Timbers.

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Ghana FA adopts FIFA TMS Intermediary Regulations Tool

Ghana FA adopts FIFA TMS Intermediary Regulations Tool

FIFA TMS announced today that the Ghana Football Association (GFA) is the first Member Association (MA) to adopt the FIFA TMS Intermediary Regulations Tool (IRT).

On 1 April 2015, FIFA’s new “Regulations on Working with Intermediaries” came into force. The regulations require all MAs to register intermediaries who are engaged in transactions involving players and clubs affiliated with their association and to annually publish aggregate figures.  

In line with FIFA TMS’s goal to support MAs in fulfilling their regulatory obligations, the IRT will enable the GFA to gather the necessary information in order to comply with FIFA’s regulations. The information to be collected includes: all agreed remunerations or payments that are made or will be made to an intermediary; intermediary declarations; representation contracts and consents and declarations about conflict of interests for all involved intermediaries. Most importantly, at the end of March each year, the GFA will be able to generate a report reflecting the necessary data for publication in accordance with the Regulations on Working with Intermediaries.

The IRT is integrated with the Transfer Matching System (ITMS and DTMS). As such, the GFA has the added benefit of being able to manage professional player transfers and related intermediary involvement in one system- increasing administrative efficiency and visibility over transfer and intermediary activity within their association.

More Ghanaians to play in 2015 MLS

 Adam Larsen Kwarasey

The 2015 Major League Soccer (MLS) season will witness more Ghanaian interest when the competition commences on the weekend of March 6, 7 and 8.

Apart from the usual torchbearers, Patrick Nyarko, Dominic Oduro and Gershon Koffie, the 20^th edition of the MLS will officially welcome Ghanaian stars Adam Larsen Kwarasey, David Accam and Kwadwo Poku into the league.

Majority of Ghanaians will shift focus on the Eastern Conference where old faces Dominic Oduro and Patrick Nyarko represent Impact De Montreal and Chicago Fire respectively.

Dominic Oduro

Eastern Conference will have new Ghanaian entrant David Accam doing battle for Chicago Fire while youngster Kwadwo Poku plays for New York City FC.

Western Conference will have their fair share of the Ghanaian representation when another old face Gershon Koffie represents Vancouver Whitecaps with goalkeeper Adam Larsen Kwarasey, another new entrant, representing Portland Timbers.

David Accam

Striker David Accam joined Chicago Fire from Swedish side Helsingborg while goalkeeper Kwarasey made a switch from the Norwegian League to the MLS.

Kwadwo Poku played for Atlanta Silverbacks in the North American Soccer League (NASL) before his audacious move to franchise NYCFC.

Kwadwo Poku

Meanwhile, some Ghanaian-born Americans will lighten up the season with their natural Ghanaian soccer flair.

Kwame Watson-Siriboe will feature for NYCFC with Kofi Opare doing battle for DC United. While C. J Sapong competes in the colors of Philadelphia Union, Houston Dynamo will parade Kofi Kwarteng Frempong Sarkodie while Gyasi Zardes continues his remarkable LA Galaxy story that has already caught the eyes of coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

Ghanaian-born English player, Lloyd Sam is also expected to represent Red Bull in the Eastern Conference.

FOR DETAILED INFORMATION ON GHANAIAN PLAYERS IN UNITED STATES AND CANADA, WATCH OUT IN A JIFFY FOR www.ghsoccerus.com

Mahatma Otoo makes a dramatic entry into Ghana's squad for AFCON 2015

Mahatma Otoo - A surprised inclusion to the Black Stars squad for Equatorial Guinea 2015

Ghana's coach Avram Grant has finally named his 23-man squad for the 2015 African Cup of Nations due to be held in Equatorial Guinea. 

Surprisingly, former Hearts of Oak and Black Satellites captain Mahatma Otoo earned a dramatic late call up into the team.

According to the official website of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Norway-based attacker Mahatma Otoo was given a late call-up to join the squad due to striker Abdul-Majeed Waris' failure to recover from an injury.

The squad sees several players named for their maiden appearances in African football's flagship event including Mahatma.

Youngsters Baba Rahman, Daniel Amartey, Frank Acheampong, David Accam and Kwesi Appiah will all be making their first appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations.

England-based defender Jeffrey Schlupp was also excluded from the squad because of an injury that will rule him out of action for about three weeks.

Defender Samuel Inkoom, midfielder Ibrahim Moro and Kwabena Adusei, who were part of the provisional squad were all left out of the final 23-man squad.

Among the experienced invited players are captain Asamoah Gyan, Andre Ayew, Jonathan Mensah, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu and Mubarak Wakaso who will provide the needed experience for the tournament in Equatorial Guinea.

The Black Stars have been drawn against Senegal, Algeria and South Africa in Group C. 

Ghana Squad for AFCON 2015

Goalkeepers: Razak Braimah (Mirandes, Spain), Fatau Dauda (AshGold) and Ernest Sowah (Don Bosco, DR Congo)

Defenders: Harrison Afful (Esperance, Tunisia), John Boye (Erciyesspor, Turkey), Jonathan Mensah (Evian, France), Awal Mohammed (Maritzburg, South Africa), Baba Rahman (Augsburg, Germany), Gyimah Edwin (Mpumalanga Black Aces, South Africa), Daniel Amartey, (FC Copenhagen, Denmark)

Midfielders: Rabiu Mohammed (Krasnodar, Russia), Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese, Italy), Afriyie Acquah (Parma, Italy), Solomon Asante (T.P. Mazembe, DR Congo), Christian Atsu (Everton, England), Mubarak Wakaso (Celtic, Scotland), Andre Ayew (Olympique Marseille, France), Frank Acheampong (Anderlecht, Belgium), David Accam (Chicago Fire, USA)

Strikers: Jordan Ayew (Lorient, France), Mahatma Otoo (Songdal, Norway) Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain, UAE), Kwesi Appiah (Cambridge United, England).

FIFA-CAF Confab singles out Algeria for praises

The desert Warriors of Algeria 

The senior national team of Algeria, the Desert Warriors, have earned plaudits from their fellow Africans for their outstanding performance during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

In what could be termed as an African soccer’s peer review mechanism held in Cairo, Egypt by head coaches and technical directors of Africa’s member associations, Algeria was praised by many participants at the conference for the level of football they displayed in Brazil.

Reflecting on the technical aspects of Brazil 2014, there was a general feeling among participants that African teams had played their part in the overall success of the World Cup. For the very first time two African representatives reached the second stage of the competition and the general level of football produced was of high quality. Particularly satisfying were the performances of Algeria, who lost narrowly, and in extra time, to eventual champion Germany in the Round of 16. Nigeria fell at the same stage thanks to two late France goals, while Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana both came very close to reaching the second phase.

However, a statement by the Algerian technical director in a FIFA newsletter has gone a long way to point out that it takes a lot of professionalism to achieve what the Desert Warrors achieved in Brazil.

“We have been successful because we have professionalised the structure around the team.        

“We look at every detail. The administration, the organisation and the technical aspects go hand in hand.”

The above statements were attributed to Algeria's technical director, Taoufik Korichi.

Bonus and other financial disputes

Head coaches and technical directors of Africa's member associations, in a discussion during the  September 30 and October 1 Cairo Conference organised by FIFA and CAF to review and learn from the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, highlighted the general progress of the continent's football and the improvements that were needed for an African team to win a FIFA World Cup™.

Analysing the example of world champion Germany, the top African technicians agreed that, despite having talented players, their nations still have a number of issues to address, particularly in organisation and administration.

“If we want to move forward we have to professionalise everything around the team," said Volker Finke, who coached for nearly 20 years in the German Bundesliga and is now national coach of Cameroon.

After a disappointing 2014 World Cup, Cameroon are seeking a fresh start with a new generation of young players and is currently leading its group in the 2015 AFCON qualifiers.

Both Finke and Ghana’s representative stressed that disputes around the payment of bonuses to players ahead of the competition had a negative impact in Brazil.

“The money issue affected players' concentration," commented Francis Oti Akenteng, technical director of Ghana.

Ghana's representative Francis Oti Akenteng (2nd from right) in a group picture with some participants

Youth Development and other technical issues

Among other issues that African football is facing, participants mentioned the lack of youth development programmes.

“The national team is not the place where you can teach the basics of technique and tactics; it has to come before," said Ephraim Mashaba, head coach of South Africa.

He pointed as well to the difficulty of working appropriately within the international match calendar, which only allows a few days ahead of and in between matches . This limitation is felt particularly keenly in Africa, where travelling between different countries can take several days.

Shawky Gharib, head coach of Egypt, also underlined the difficulty of having to play international matches during the national league season break, when players are out of shape.

Senegal's technical director, Mayacine Mar, was similarly upbeat. “We have progressed; we are not far from our objective," he said. "But we need more stability of coaches and technical staff to allow them to develop a project over at least four years."

The conference was also a very good opportunity to learn from the World Cup and analyse the tactical evolution of the game. “Football has changed”, said Finke. “In modern football everybody moves, every player has to give to the team and be responsible. The system can change, but what needs to always be there is pressing on the ball and playing collectively, move together”.

The two day event was a unique platform for the elite technicians of the African continent to exchange ideas and develop new strategies for the future. “We should stop thinking about winning today but think of winning tomorrow. We need to build very good foundations," was the view of Ghana's technical director, Francis Oti Akenteng.

Participant at the Cairo Conference