A total of three members of the National Weightlifting Team, Black Cranes, and a coach are currently in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualifier.
The squad, is made up of Ghanaian and African Games medallists, Forester Osei, Christian Amoah and David Akwei accompanied by their coach Nii Darku Dodoo.
Christian Amoah and Forrester Osei would compete in the 96kg bodyweight category while David Akwei would compete in the 65kg bodyweight category.
The Uzbekistan competition is the 6th Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) Weightlifting Championship sanctioned by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) as an Olympic qualifier.
Their trip with a budget of $12,000 was co-sponsored by the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) and the President of the Ghana Weightlifting Federation (GWF), Ben Nunoo Mensah.
GWF management believes that Christian who was at the last Olympics in Rio, together with Forester would be able to pick enough points to secure qualification to Tokyo for the Summer Games.
Ghanaian boxer Patrick Allotey has pleaded not guilty to charges of causing harm after beating a co-spectator following a brief misunderstanding during the Accra Hearts of Oak versus Asante Kotoko Premier League fixture at the Accra Sports Stadium in January.
Patrick Allotey was captured in a viral video beating up a fan during the Super Clash game which has since received widespread condemnation.
The video shows Allotey asking the fan to move away since he appeared to be blocking his view.
The fan who was later identified as Michael Siaw refused, at which point Allotey was seen removing a headset around his neck and begun to push the spectator.
Patrick was captured in the video giving three quick stiff jabs to the face of the fan. This plunged the Siaw to the ground where he struggled to get back up.
Also in the video, some women in the stands could be heard urging the pro-boxer to stop the attack on the spectator. The fan sustained a gash under his left eye and had to be stitched. During his first appearance in court, the defendant pleaded not guilty and has however been granted bail of GHC100,000 with three sureties.
The court has also seized his passport.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) has banned him for six months as a result of misconduct after facing the Disciplinary Committee last Wednesday.
The study, by Glasgow University and commissioned by the FA and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), found former professional footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of degenerative brain disease than people of the same age range in the general population.
The FA’s new guidelines, expected to be issued later this month, will only apply in training and not in matches.
In December, two months after the release of the study’s findings, the FA’s head of medicine Charlotte Cowie said: “The FA’s independently chaired research taskforce has instigated a review of possible changes to heading coaching and training at all levels to decrease overall exposure to heading without compromising technique.
“It is imperative that football now does everything it can to further understand what caused this increased risk and what can be done to ensure that future generations of footballers are protected.”
A ban on children heading the ball has been in place in the US since 2015.
Peter McCabe, chief executive of Headway – the brain injury association – said: “We are encouraged to hear the Football Association is set to restrict the amount of heading allowed by young players.
“In light of the recent study undertaken by the University of Glasgow, this is a positive, common sense approach to take. After all, it will not prohibit young people participating in the game or impact their enjoyment.
“Further research is urgently needed in order to remove any uncertainty about how often a player can head a ball and at what age – if any – it is safe to do so before damage is caused.
“What is clear, however, is that we cannot afford to wait for further evidence to be published before taking action on this.”
The inquest into the death of former West Brom striker Jeff Astle found heading heavy leather footballs repeatedly had contributed to trauma to his brain
The study began after claims that former West Brom striker Jeff Astle died because of repeated head trauma.
Former England international Astle developed dementia and died in 2002 at the age of 59. The inquest into his death found heading heavy leather footballs repeatedly had contributed to trauma to his brain.
The long-awaited study was commissioned by the FA and PFA after delays in initial research had angered Astle’s family.
It began in January last year and was led by consultant neuropathologist Dr Willie Stewart, who said that “risk ranged from a five-fold increase in Alzheimer’s disease, through an approximately four-fold increase in motor neurone disease, to a two-fold Parkinson’s disease in former professional footballers compared to population controls”.
It compared the deaths of 7,676 former players to 23,000 from the general population.
The sample was taken from men who played professional football in Scotland, and were born between 1900 and 1976.
The chairman of top-flight French football club Angers was on Wednesday charged with sexual assault, a prosecutor said, in the latest scandal to rock sports in the country.
Said Chabane was detained for questioning after three employees and one former employee filed complaints against the 55-year-old, prosecutor Eric Bouillard said.
Chabane was charged with sexual assault as “a person who abuses the authority conferred on him by his role”, Bouillard added.
The investigation was opened in January after three women – one an employee of the Ligue 1 side, the other former staffers – came forward with allegations against the club’s chief.
A fourth woman, who had been identified by investigators as a potential victim, also filed a complaint on Wednesday.
The four were all aged between 20 and 25 at the time of the alleged assaults, which took place between 2014 and 2019, Bouillard said.
Some of the women allege they were caressed in a forceful way in intimate areas by Chabane.
The club had earlier issued a statement saying Chabane rejected all the allegations against him and would fully cooperate with investigators.
“He will offer the judicial authorities all the elements needed to re-establish the truth and preserve his honour,” it said.
Angers are currently placed 13th in Ligue 1.
The case comes as the sport of ice skating in France was rocked by claims from former world championship bronze medallist Sarah Abitbol that she was raped by coach Gilles Beyer from 1990 to 1992, starting when she was just 15 years old.
An investigation into those allegations has also been launched.
Beyer, 62, has admitted to having had “intimate” and “inappropriate” relations with Abitbol, and told the AFP he was “sincerely sorry”.
There was little late drama as the January transfer window closed on Friday, but Premier League clubs still spent over £200 million ($261 million) over the past month on new players.
AFP Sports looks at five of the biggest moves of the January window.
Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United)
United’s long-running interest in the Portuguese international midfielder finally materialised in a 55 million euro (£47 million, $61 million) deal that could rise to as much as 80 million euros if performance-related add-ons are met.
Fernandes, 25, has been a prolific goalscorer for Sporting over the past two seasons and will offer a much-needed goal threat to a United side devoid of the creative talents of Paul Pogba and top scorer Marcus Rashford for the next few weeks due to injury.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed Fernandes will make his debut when Wolves visit Old Trafford on Saturday and the Red Devils need an instant impact from their latest big money buy as they trail Chelsea by six points in the race for a top-four finish.
Steven Bergwijn (PSV Eindhoven to Tottenham)
Spurs’ manager Jose Mourinho did not get the striker he desired to deputise for Harry Kane, but he does have another option in attack with the arrival of Dutch winger Steven Bergwijn.
The highly-rated 22-year-old already has nine caps for the Netherlands and scored 31 goals for PSV in winning three Eredivisie titles.
Takumi Minamino (Red Bull Salzburg to Liverpool)
Liverpool are cruising towards a first Premier League title for 30 years in large part thanks to their smart recruitment over the past few years and Minamino could be another bargain for the European champions.
The Japanese international impressed Jurgen Klopp as Salzburg pushed Liverpool despite twice losing narrowly to the Reds in the Champions League group stages and was available for just £7.25 million due to a buyout clause in his contract with the Austrian champions.
Sander Berge (Genk to Sheffield United)
Sensing the chance to qualify for Europe for the first time in the club’s history, the Blades have splashed £22 million on talented Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge.
Chris Wilder’s men are eighth in the table, but just one point behind United in the Europa League places.
Mbwana Samatta (Genk to Aston Villa)
Also leaving the Belgian champions this month was Samatta, who will become the first Tanzanian to feature in the Premier League.
A season-ending injury to Brazilian Wesley left Villa without a natural striker and Samatta will be hoping to make a better impact at Bournemouth on Saturday than in his debut against Leicester on Tuesday when he missed a glorious chance as Dean Smith’s men progressed to the League Cup final.
