Over the past week or so two Chinese Super League clubs have committed more than £100million in transfer fees and £180m in salaries to some of the most accomplished players in Europe.

What is most eye-catching is that Jackson Martinez, Ramires and Alex Teixeira, who was linked with Liverpool but has also made his way to China, are all in their prime.

So what is it about the Chinese Super League that has convinced players to move to the other side of the world to play football? Mind-boggling salaries of £250,000-£300,000 a week?

"You can’t take away the fact that money is the primary factor,’ admitted former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson, now in charge of Shanghai SIPG, following deals that saw Ramires move from Chelsea to Jiangsu Suning for £25million and Martinez swap Atletico Madrid for Guangzhou Evergrande for £31m.

Last season Eriksson led Shanghai SIPG, who are backed by the owners of the biggest port in China, to second place behind big sp

Wonder club, Accra Great Olympics, appeared for another entry into the Ghana Premier division, following the renewal of the committment of their three most experienced players, Godwin Attram, Dan Quaye and goalkeeper Osei Boateng for the club’s campaign for a return to the elite league.

Oly were relegated to the lower tier league last season despite some spirited performances they posted.

Attram confirmed to the Graphic Sports in an interview last Wednesday that “Myself, together with Dan Quaye and goalkeeper Osei Boateng have decided to play in the Division One League and help the team to come back to the premiership but I cannot say the same for Olele”.

Premiership clubs intending to take on Kumasi Asante Kotoko in pre-season friendlies are in for disappointment as the Porcupine Warriors have decided not to play any more high-profile friendlies.

The Operations Manager of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, George Kennedy, disclosed this to the Graphic Sports last Friday when the team paid a courtesy call on their sponsor's, Herbalife at their premises in Accra.

 Kennedy contended that high-profile matches against premiership sides were very competitive and exposed their key players to potential injuries which could put paid to their plans of recapturing the league title even before the season gets underway on February 20.

The Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Joe Kpenge, has hinted that if his outfit does not receive financial assistance from government and corporate organisations in the shortest possible time to facilitate preparations towards the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, the nation might pull out.

Mr Kpenge made the disclosure in an interview with the Graphic Sports last Wednesday as he reacted to complaints by officials of some national federations that their activities, especially participation in the qualifiers for the Rio games, had been stalled by financial constraints.

According to him, a Tripartite Committee, comprising the NSA, Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports had held a meeting and were preparing to meet the Parliamentary Select Committee on Sports to find a lasting solution to the many financial challenges facing Ghana sports, particularly the Rio campaign.

Come Sunday, Premier League winners, Ashgold, will square up at the Accra Sports Stadium against FA Cup winners, Medeama SC, in their Super Cup match.

The encounter is to serve as a curtain raiser to the commencement of the much-awaited domestic football season scheduled to kick-start on February 20.

In the last season, Medeama, who finished 11th on the log, suprised the Obuasi lads with a 2-0 first-leg win at their favourite T and A park at Tarkwa but lost 1-2 in the return leg at the Obuasi Len Clay Stadium.

That, notwithstanding, Ashgold won the league while Medeama also stunned Kumasi Asante Kotoko to lift the MTN FA Cup to the suprise of many.

The much-delayed Premier League faces another potential legal tussle as Techiman City FC have threatened to place an injunction on the competition if the Ghana Football Association does not give a favourable ruling to their appeal against a decision to demote them over alleged bribery and match-fixing.

Following the FA’s Ethics Committee ruling last Wednesday to demote both Techiman City FC and Wa African United to the third-tier league over their complicity in the alleged bribery case in respect of their Week 22 division one fixture in Wa, Techiman City have hinted they would use every legal means available to overturn the verdict and participate in the 2015/16 Premier League which kicks-off on February 20.

The death of Madam Janet Yaa Biamah has occurred at the Holy Family Hospital. Nkawkaw, She was the mother of Kennedy Agyapong, a former director of Kumasi Asante

Kotoko and the president of the Kenpong Group of Companies. She was 68.

Funeral arrangements will be announced later.

League Champions, Ashantigold and FA Cup holders, Medeama SC, are gearing up for a thrilling encounter at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, in the 2015/2016 Edition of the GFA Super Cup.

According to the Ghana Football Association (GFA), entry to the match which serves as a curtain-raiser for the upcoming league season is free.

 At yesterday ‘s unveiling of the Cup, Coach Bashir Hayford, head coach of Ashgold, who was seated by his skipper, Eric Opoku said he expected a tough challenge from his former side, Medeama, and hoped the better side carried the day.

Ashanti regional hockey league leaders, Silver, were given the shock of their lives last Saturday  when  they were thrashed 4-1 by Seniors in their crunch match at the Baba Yara Stadium.

The results put  brakes on Silver  in their quest for the league trophy this year. Now tied with 16 points with Seniors, Silver need to play above themselves in their next games to be able to realise their ambition.

 Ebenezer Darko, Roger Adwetaa, Felix Serbeh and Wallace Ababio scored for Seniors, while Adu Brobbey netted  the consolation goal for Silver.

Ghana’s UK based weightlifter, Forrester Christopher Osei, won bronze and  set a new national record in the 94 KG body weight category at an English Weightlifting Championship held at Crystal Palace.

Cote d’Ivoire will attempt to keep their momentum going when they face arch-rivals Mali in the second semi-finals of the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Rwanda this afternoon.

The match at Kigali's Stade Regional Nyamirambo will mark the 33rd clash between the two nations.

The Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) schedule for 2016 will offer local- based athletes 11 qualification events to meet the standards required to participate in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

The GAA schedule of local competitions, which include five National Open Championships, five National Championship Circuits, as well as the Grand Prix, was released last Monday and designed to offer local athletes opportunities to qualify for the Olympics, which starts on August 5.

The local athletics season is scheduled to start on February 13 with the National Open Championship One in Kumasi before moving to Bolga on February 27 for the National Championship Circuit Two.

The Chef de Mission for Ghana's 2016 Olympic Games campaign, Chris Essilfie, says the choice of the nation's pre-games camp will be decided by the type of athletes that meet the qualification standards for the games.

According to Mr Essilfie, the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) is yet to settle on a location for a preparation camp ahead of the August 5 games because most of the nation's athletes will only begin the qualification process between February and March.

He was reacting to reports that Ghana had settled on Colombia for camping in an interview with the Graphic Sports.

"It is a very interesting story, this is news to me. Because nothing of that sort has come to the table of the GOC and it hasn't come to the table of the Chef de Mission as well," Mr Essilfie stressed.

Accra Hearts of Oak risk being sanctioned by football’s world governing body, FIFA, for their failure to fulfil their financial commitments to South African star, Shaun October, who is owed outstanding signing-on fees and salary.

The defender returned to his South Africa base at the end of the last season after making bit-part appearances for the Phobians and declared surplus to the club’s requirements after being transfer-listed by the Phobians alongside other players who failed to make their mark.

In a telephone interview with the Graphic Sports from his South Africa base yesterday, October indicated that he had instructed his solicitor to write to FIFA to assist him retrieve his money from Hearts. He is owed an outstanding signing-on fees of $5,000 and two months’ salary arrears, as well as a refund of his air ticket to South Africa at the end of the season four months ago as stipulated in his contract with the club.

After coming under severe criticisms for his team’s lackluster performance, Hearts coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi responded to his critics with a 2-0 victory against visiting Nigerian side, FC Ifeanyi-Ubah, in an international friendly at the Accra Stadium Tuesday.

It was the first major win for the Phobians under the guidance of the Americo-Japanese trainer following a string of successive defeats in pre-season matches, and with three weeks ahead of the commencement of the Premier League, yesterday’s emphatic win must have brought some relief to Yatsuhashi as he hopes to win over the club’s fans.

A goal in each half sealed victory for the Phobians in a physical encounter which saw referee Maxwell Hanson dish out so many yellow cards in an effort to stamp his authority on the match.

Hearts started off in a business-like manner, launching early onslaughts and succeeding in keeping the Nigerian side at bay and on the back foot, even though they lacked the finesse and