GFA Announces Black Stars Pre-tournament Camp To Be Pitched In Dubai.

The senior national football team of Ghana - the Black Stars, is believed to have been handed a tougher group in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations which is slated  in Gabon, from January 15 to February 5, 2017. Ghana is grouped with Egypt, Mali and Uganda in group D. The rest of the groups are, Group A: Gabon, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinea Bissau
Group B: Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal, Zimbabwe and
Group C: Ivory coast, DRC, Morocco, Togo.

The Black Stars of Ghana has been on a major competitive tournament winning drought especially, the Africa cup. The last glory of the Black Stars is as far back as 1982 when it won the most coveted trophy on the African football stage in Libya. Since then, the Black Stars has struggled on many occasions to come up tops in its AFCON campaigns.

Though, the Black Stars has chalked quite enviable successes in its recent appearances  in the FIFA World Cup finals. The closest it has come in the Africa Cup of Nations after 1982, is the first runner-up position in Senegal 92, Angola 2010 and Equatorial Guinea 2015.

But, Ghanaian football enthusiasts are unsatisfied with the empty records of the senior national team and want it bring the jinx or better still, the thirty-four year old trophy-less virginity to an end. The cabinets of the GFA have been starved of trophies for far too long!

The Black Stars has suffered widespread lack of interest and confidence by Ghanaian supporters. This is as a result of the 2014 World Cup brouhaha and the issues that emanated from that fiasco. Nonetheless, members of the playing body, the technical men and fans of the Black Stars are upbeat about the upcoming football festival in Gabon. Without key players like Kwadwo Asamoah and others, the rest of the players should work hard and give out their utmost best for success in Gabon. If they are able to do so, they will immediately win back their respects, especially, when Ghana has just come out of general elections where many hearts were wrecked. At least, if not a trophy, but good and entertaining games by the Black Stars will give some solace or consolation to this section of Ghanaians.

Despite the above hopes, some Ghanaians have expressed worries of varying degrees about the reason in a season like this, for the management of the Black Stars to pitch camp for pre-training and trial matches in UAE. Some Ghanaians believe that, the Black Stars is not going to engage in any serious camp training exercises when they leave Ghana for Dubai, after January 1, 2017. While, their contenders in group D will be camping on the continent, they will be "chilling off" far away in the Middle East of Arab Gulf. This is evident in the pronouncements of the GFA spokesman's media briefing yesterday. That, whilst in Dubai, they will not engage in high profile friendly matches, for possible fears of injuries and exhaustion. If what Mr. Sani Diara said is to be believed, then, I think the Black Stars has no business for camping in Dubai. And, again, Ghanaians should demand answers to the budget of their pre-tournament camping in Dubai. Especially, when Uganda, one of the group members who are said to also, pitch camp in UAE and have submitted a whopping sum of $ 1 million to cater for their hotel bills and expenses in the tournament.

On the other hand, Mali is said to be setting camp in Casablanca, Morocco and in line for pre-tournament friendlies, is Burkina Faso - a participant for AFCON 2017. Egypt Football Association also says, they will camp in Egypt play friendly matches with other participating countries and leave for Gabon three days to the tournament. So, what prevents the Black Stars from taking same or similar austerity measures most essentially, after the GFA was rocked with 2014 World Cup $ 5 million scandal. I am just thinking aloud!

So far, if history is anything to go by, the Black Stars has the least records for the last encounters amongst the group D competitors. In not less than four months ago, the Black Stars hosted Uganda for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Tamale and performed abysmally disgracefully. Days afterward, traveled to Cairo for a trashing 2:0 defeat in the hands of the Pharaohs. Remember the Black Stars camped in Dubai before that match. For Mali, the last time the Black Stars came face-to-face with them was the 2013 AFCON, where they beat Ghana 3:1 to pick up the second runner-up position in that tournament. So, what at all is the motivation for Black Stars' camping in Dubai? Is it to acclimatise themselves with the weather conditions in Gabon or the sheer luxury of it. I do not understand this! If it is for acclimatisation purposes, then, they are equally less expensive cities or countries in Africa where the Black Stars can have its pre-tournament preparation, training and trials. Why do we want wanton dissipation of the poor tax payer's money like me?

With the hazy harmattan weather conditions in Ghana, one is unsure about the weather conditions in Gabon. But a quick search on the internet reveals that, around this time, "Gabon has the moist, hot climate typical of tropical regions. The hottest month is January, with an average high at Libreville of 31 °C and an average low of 23 °C". This meteorological information is in sharp contrast to the weather conditions in Dubai within the period of the tournament.
"Throughout November and December, Dubai experiences an autumn of sorts when the rainfall vastly increases. This is massively enhanced come January and February, which are the wettest months of the year".

With the above history, is the GFA ready to write a better story for itself? Well, let's wait and watch, your supposition will be as good as mine.
Thnx!!!

Naa Gbewaah Sidiq's folder.

Viasat1's Jigwe Award To Rasheeda "Black Beauty"

In the wake of this "Rasheeda episode", I would want to sincerely register my displeasure and utmost disgust on our parenting and educational  systems and the Ghanaian media.

I think some Ghanaian parents and guardians have miserably failed in bringing up their children and wards in a way that is acceptable and conforms with the norms and culture of our society.

Taking Rasheeda's Facebook video as a case in study, one would like to find out the kind of parenting or guardianship given to our future leaders by parents. As a case in study, was Rasheeda reared or nurtured? I believe the former is the answer. If that's the situation, then I think the parents did not have any business in bringing forth a child onto this earth. Through their irresponsibility, this girl has become a laughing stock, a menace and a subnormal intelligence individual in the society, and if I were they, I would bow down my head in shame. Gone are the days when children were deemed property of the society. Issues like these were nipped at the bud. But, today, some people will jump to the defence of a rot such as this. Some people might argue that, she did this with an ignorant mind. But, this will be misplaced because, she deliberately recorded the video clips in several multitude and posted the best ones on Facebook.

Not to hold brief for the parents and this imbecile, but on a more serious note, our educational system has not helped us in any way in terms of morality. To under score this drift, a subject such as Religious and Moral Education (R.M.E), that has been designed to secure issues of moral aptitude and imbue in the youth good teachings if not religious faith, has in each year, except other subjects, leaked during the B.E.C.E examinations. So, if all this goes on in our educational set up, how can we begrudge a girl who completes J.H.S and can not construct a single sentence in English, not even a simple pronunciation of these two word slang which are associated with lower class native speakers of English and are considered offensive ie, mother and f***er. But, can boast of her prowess in sexual escapades, her mastering and acumen in that act publicly, as a matter of fact, to the whole wide world. If these kinds of products are churned out from our educational system, then it is a serious indictment.

Again, the mainstream media should be blamed squarely for glorifying issues that are unworthy, immoral and acts that have the tendency to corrupt the minds of people especially, the young ones. Look at the kind of programmes that are aired on both public and private TV stations. Programmes that are not in tandem with our traditions. These programmes defile our sense of morality as a people. Telenovelas and movie series that do not represent our culture but consume productive and precious working and learning hours. These outrageous fairy tales are outright snare, subterfuge and grandiosity. These contents do not meet standards elsewhere but they immediately gain currency here. What is wrong with us? From soft pornographic materials to hard core sexual intercourse without editing such scenes. Even on the radio, we have lost our sense of cultural proverbs that are used to cover up explicit statements or sexually suggestive comments. And, these are often done without any cautionary discretion. These have indeed affected our society negatively. Morality is the fabric with which our culture and societal aspirations and inspirations clothes. But, today, can we count the number of sex leaked videos, in circulation, of Ghanaian youth and the so-called celebrities? I believe some names ring bell in your ears.

Social media is not absolutely absorbed from this condemnation in all this. But I think Viasat1 is the worst culprit in relation to this Rasheeda thing and this television station should be condemned in no uncertain terms. They should render unqualified apologies to all Ghanaians, especially, the parents of this girl. How do you award and idolise a useless and senseless Facebook video clip of a hopeless girl such as Rasheeda a.k.a "Black Beauty" adjudged it as "The Most Viral Video of The Year" and even played the said video on a national television and gave her air time to repeat this stupidity. What garbage is this? What message are you sending out to the youth who are very gullible and vulnerable? Do you have this country at heart? Would you have done that if she were your daughter, sister or relation? What a great shame! When human beings are served with dung as dinner, what will the dogs eat? You do this in the name of content and not taking into account the poison you are feeding into the minds of the young ones. I will not be surprised due to your ignominious foolhardiness, if tomorrow this girl is seen as a heroine by her contemporaries and begin to take selfies of themselves and circulating them in social media as she has done. What is the motive behind Viasat1's award to Rasheeda? Making celebrity out of idiocy and mediocrity. Is that what we want? I cannot gather my head around this! You want the youth to take the easy, lazy and crazy way of immorality to fame right! Come to think of it, raining insults and casting aspersions on albinism and you (Viasat1) do not condemn this but rather, condone and celebrate this, then what else do you stand for, as a media house? What a mockery of media practice. You brought this girl all the way from Brong Ahofo to Accra just to grant her interview and give her Ghc 2000.00 at your "Jigwe" awards night for what? For insulting her  ex-boyfriend in a way that brings shame to albinism? Get this right, sensationalism is not journalism. It is outright mendacity, mediocrity and lowering of journalistic standards. I have seen this nauseating video but I vowed not to share or forward it because it does not merit any attention. I understand that business investment is driven by profit as audienceship is driven by content. But, the two are not same. It is not true that audience determines content. If you have a good product/programme market it and it will become the toast of audience and favourite of many. This is better than jumping onto the bandwagon.

I have heard some people make reference to portions of the said video ostensibly to make fun of each other. But I will entreat well meaning people not to share or forward this video or associate themselves with it in anyway so that it will not gain currency. And, to Viasat1 I hope and pray that you will come out and immediately render an unqualified apology to Ghanaians, rescind the award and disassociate yourself with this girl and her video. Thanks!

Naa Gbewaah Sidiq's folder.