Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Ghana coming to Wembley

England will play host to Ghana in the first ever meeting between the two nations in March.

Three days after the first Euro 2012 qualifier of the year, away to Wales, Fabio Capello's side will face the Black Stars at Wembley.

Ghana achieved the highest place of all African teams at the World Cup in South Africa last year, and were a penalty shoot out away from the semi-finals.

There will be a number of familiar faces on show with the likes of Michael Essien, John Pantsil, Asamoah Gyan, Richard Kingston and John Mensah all currently plying their trade in the Premier League.

There have been a handful of meetings at youth level, Ghana beat England convincingly 4-0 at the FIFA U20s World Cup two years ago, while England U18s emerged the victors in 2007 in a friendly at the Priestfield Stadium. The meeting on Tuesday 29 March will however be the first meeting at Senior level.

It has also been confirmed that England will not face Thailand in June. Although an informal agreement had been reached for a friendly match following the qualifier with Switzerland, no formal details in terms of match date or venue had ever been established and following discussions by The FA Board it was decided not to go ahead with the fixture.

Tickets for Ghana at Wembley will go on sale to englandfans members on Friday 28 January, and to the general public on Tuesday 1 February.

ECOWAS REJECT PRESIDENT MILLS CALL TO MEDIATE IN COTE D’IVOIRE

Deputy Minister of Information, James Agyenim-Boateng says ECOWAS has rejected President Mills’ call to mediate in the ongoing political crises in Cote D’Ivoire.
He explained that after their emergency meeting in Nigeria ECOWAS took a firm decision not to elect any official whose country shares boundaries with Cote d’Ivoire to mediate.
Speaking to Adakabre Frimpong Manso on Dwaso Nsem today, Mr. Agyenim Boateng said ECOWAS has also ruled out any intervention by chiefs and diplomats from nearby countries.
The African Union and ECOWAS have nominated Raila Odinga and Thabo Mbeki to mediate alongside the heads of states of Benin, Sierra Leone, and Cape Verde.
Mr. Agyenim Boateng explains the rationale for the rejection of President Mills.
CUE IN: ECOWAS REJECT MILLS
Meanwhile Ghana is not contributing troupes to the intended ECOWAS Military Mission to Cote d’Ivoire, and Mr. Agyenim-Boateng the decision was based on consultation between President Mills and his Minister of Defence, Lt. General J.H. Smith.
Ghana is already contributing 500 troupes to the UN Mission protecting President Elect Allasane Ouattara in Cote d’Iviore, and the minister of defense says Ghana’s army would be overstretched if it sent another batch of troupes to that country.

POLITICIANS PLAY IN THE MIND OF THE PEOPLE IN THEIR PROMISES

A Political Analyst, Lawyer Osei Kwadwo says politicians are hiding behind the political immaturity of Ghanaians in shifting blames to their predecessors for their inability to fulfill their promises.
He explains that it has now become a habit of Ghana politicians especially the NPP and the NDC to shift blame whenever they cannot meet their promises.
Speaking to Adom news Lawyer Osei stress that because politicians wants power at all cost they tend to use manipulative methods which includes unachievable promises.
He says because politicians play politics on any issue in the country, they are caught in the trap when they come to power.
This issue came to light when President Mills blame former Kufour administration of mismanagement of the economy for his administration inability to fulfill their promises
Commenting on whether politicians are aware of the state of the country the political analyst says in most cases they are aware of the situation but only want to deceive the people in other to win elections.
He explains that when they come to power and realize there is no opportunity for their campaign promises to be materialized they try to smart by issuing the blame on their opponents.