Under-fire GHALCA chairman, Alhaji Raji Ali, has described the derogatory ethnic remarks attributed to him as a calculated attempt by his opponents to run or pull him down (PHD) ahead of the upcoming elections.

Reacting to allegations linking him to a disparaging comment purportedly made by him against Aduana Stars and the people of Brong Ahafo during the G6 tournament in Sekondi, the sober-looking Raji perceived the whole issue as a clandestine move by some people mainly to discredit him since he never made any such comment.

“There is no truth in that allegation. All the three witnesses who were supposed to have heard what I said have come out to deny it,” he explained.

The president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr Amaju Melvin Pinnick, yesterday commended Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi for his consistency in leadership which led to his re-election as the President of the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Zone B.

He said Mr Nyantakyi’s leadership had made it possible for the zone to become pacesetters on the continent over the years.

He reiterated that under the leadership of Mr Nyantakyi, the seven-member countries in the zone had demonstrated strong abilities to lead the rest of Africa and that contributed to his reaffirmation for the next four years.

Mr Pinnick, who presided over the elections, therefore, pledged his country’s support as well as that of the entire WAFU Zone B members for the GFA president.

Ghana FA chief, Kwesi Nyantakyi, was yesterday re-elected as the President of the West Africa Football Union (Zone B) after he polled four out of seven votes to beat his only opponent, Djibrilla Hima Hamidou, from Niger.

Mr Nyantakyi pipped Mr Hamidou for a second four-year term during a close election during the WAFU Zone B congress held at the Movenpick Hotel in Accra.

Mr Nyantakyi, a member of the CAF Executive Committee, will now head the powerful football bloc which comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Togo between 2016 and 2020.

Newcastle United have agreed a £12m fee with Swansea City to sign England midfielder Jonjo Shelvey.

The 23-year-old passed a medical at St James' Park before the deal was completed yesterday between the Premier League relegation rivals.

Shelvey, who signed a four-year Swansea extension in 2015, is the first player to leave since Alan Curtis took charge.

Shelvey becomes Newcastle’s second January signing after Senegal midfielder Henri Saivet's arrival.

Former Real Madrid defender Roberto Carlos believes he could be key in taking Barcelona's Neymar to the Santiago Bernabeu.

The 42-year-old former Brazil international confirmed he was currently involved in talks to join new Real manager Zinedine Zidane's backroom staff at the Bernabeu.

The World Cup winner, who made over 500 appearances across an 11-year spell with the Madrid club, is confident he could persuade compatriot Neymar, who came third at Monday night's Ballon d'Or ceremony, to join Real from rivals Barca.

"I had a meeting with Real Madrid about my future with the club," he said in an interview on Punto Pelota.

The Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) has released the names of nominees of sportsmen and women who excelled in the year 2015.

The nominees, who will be honoured at the prestigious MTN-SWAG Awards on May 28 at the Banquet Hall, State House, Accra, were drawn from various sporting disciplines.

Leading the nominations is the Sports Personality of the Year category, which has Andre Ayew, Asamoah Gyan, Yusif Basigi and Bashir Hayford, with Ayew, Gyan and Harrison Afful vying for the Footballer of the Year Award.

Addressing a press conference in Accra last Monday, Mr Kwabena Yeboah, President of the SWAG, named Portia Boakye, Samira Sulemana and Janet Egyiri as nominees for the Female Footballer of the Year category.

UK Athletics has called for world records to be wiped clean and drug cheats to be banned for at least eight years in radical proposals aimed at heralding a new unblemished era for the sport.

Its document "A Manifesto for Clean Athletics" was published on Monday, three days before the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is due to reveal the second half of its independent report into widespread doping in the sport.

Kemar Roofe scored twice as League Two Oxford knocked Premier League strugglers Swansea out of the FA Cup.

The in-form hosts recovered from Jefferson Montero's sublime strike to score either side of half-time.

Liam Sercombe levelled from the penalty spot before Roofe curled into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique like his Bayern Munich counterpart, Pep Guardiola will be noticeable by his absence at today's FIFA-backed Ballon d'Or awards ceremony.

Enrique announced last Saturday he would skip FIFA's annual ceremony in Zurich despite his star player Lionel Messi being the hot favourite to be crowned Player of the Year.

Enrique, who guided the Catalan giants to five titles in 2015, is on the shortlist for coach of the year along with Guardiola, who is in Qatar at Bayern's winter training camp.

The third name in contention for manager of the year is Jorge Sampaoli, the Argentine who masterminded Chile's march to the Copa America title.

Novak Djokovic moved ahead for the first time in his long-running rivalry with Rafael Nadal when the world number one thrashed the Spaniard to win the Qatar Open in Doha last Saturday.

The Serb, appearing in his 16th consecutive final, won 6-1 6-2 in little more than an hour and now has 24 career victories over Nadal, compared to 23 for the former world number one.

Djokovic dominated 2015, winning three of the year's four grand slams, and already looks in the groove in the build-up to this month's Australian Open.

David Haye has ruled out fighting Tyson Fury this year and is instead aiming for a bout with Anthony Joshua as well as earning a shot at the WBC or IBF world heavyweight titles.

It has been three-and-a-half years since Haye (26-2, 24 KOs) last appeared in a professional ring and it was assumed he had retired after being forced to pull out of a fight against Fury in 2013 with a shoulder injury.

But Haye, 35, will fight again at the O2 Arena in London next Saturday, with claims that more than 14,000 tickets have already been sold for his comeback in a 12-round non-title bout.

Milos Raonic produced an impressive display to beat Roger Federer 6-4 6-4 in the final of the Brisbane International and avenge his defeat in last year's corresponding match.

World number 14 Raonic had won just one of his previous 10 meetings with the veteran Swiss ahead of yesterday's contest.

Yet Federer, who has battled illness this week, came out second best on this occasion as his opponent excelled at the net on his way to a notable scalp.

A solitary break in each set proved enough for the aggressive Raonic, who gave up just six points on his first serve at Pat Rafter Arena.

Excitement is mounting across the footballing world, with lively discussions and intense debates now a daily occurrence in every corner of the globe. The reason for all this anticipation is simple: the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2015 Gala is set to take place at Zurich’s Kongresshaus today.

Last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo faces fierce competition from Lionel Messi and Neymar in the final three-man shortlist to determine the 2015 world player of the year. It seems that everyone has their own view about which of the three superstars is the most deserving of football's most prestigious individual accolade.

The beautiful game’s biggest names have also been speculating and expressing their own opinions about the vote. Over the past few weeks FIFA.com has interviewed former recipients of the award, countless retired stars and several well-known personalities from other sports for exclusive interviews about the FIFA Ballon d’Or, while we have also been asking you to name your pe

The chairman of the Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Mr Mawuko Afadzinu, has promised his outfit’s support to ensure a befitting funeral for one-time national ping-pong star, Joseph Quansah.

Giving the assurance in the company of his vice, Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, during a visit by the bereaved family at the Graphic offices last Friday, Mr Afadzinu noted that Joe Quansah lifted the flag of Ghana high in his heyday and was an inspiration to many players, hence the need to give him a fitting farewell.

“Joe wasn’t an ordinary person; in his time he lifted the flag of Ghana high and was an inspiration to many table tennis players in the country,” he recalled.

Three of the candidates who will contest in next month's FIFA Presidential elections will be in Accra during the General Assembly of WAFU Zone B tomorrow.

HRH Prince Ali Al Hussein, Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and Gianni Infantino will be in Accra to present themselves to delegates of the sub-regional football body who will be at tomorrow's congress, while the other two aspirants, Jérôme Champagne and Tokyo Sexwale are expected to send their representatives.

Sheikh Al Khalifa was expected to arrive in Accra yesterday evening, while the two others will be in the country today.