Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Sepp Blatter, the head of the world football body Fifa.

The attorney general's office said he was being investigated "on suspicion of criminal mismanagement as well as - alternatively - on suspicion of misappropriation".

It said Mr Blatter was currently being questioned.

Earlier, Fifa cancelled a press conference at its Zurich headquarters.

The Swiss attorney general's office said the investigation surrounds a TV rights deal Mr Blatter signed with former Caribbean football chief Jack Warner in 2005.

Mr Blatter is also suspected of "a disloyal payment" in 2011 to UEFA president Michel Platini, the statement said.

Fifa said it was co-operating with the Swiss attorney general and had complied with its requests for information.

"We will continue this level of co-operation throughout the investigation," it said.

Special Olympics Ghana will tromorrow honour the four athletes who won four silver medals for the nation during the Special Olympics World Games held in Los Angels between July 23 and August 3.

The reception, which will be held at the AKNAC hotel at East Legon in Accra, forms part of the sixth annual worldwide celebration of the founder of the Special Olympics movement, Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

One of the country’s emerging bodybuilders, Oliver Rockson Prempeh, is confident of emerging ‘Man Ghana’ in this year’s competition after a vintage performance at the Mr Physique Ghana held at the Golden Tulip in Kumasi two weeks ago.

A former bronze medalist in the muscle-building competition, Oliver was adjudged the overall most muscular body in the competition and was the runner- up in the final competition of the ‘Mr Physique Ghana’.

Some coaches of the National Sports Authority (NSA) are unhappy about the performance of Ghana at the just-ended All Africa Games.

One of them, Mr. Albert Nukpezah, who lamented the poor performance of the Prof. Francis Dodoo-led administration, blamed the professor for all the challenges that the Ghana Athletics Association(GAA) and the team are facing currently.

“Why should Prof. Dodoo select athletes for us when we have a technical team?” he queried.

It must be a welcome news the revealed collaborative initiative by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Retired National Footballers Association of Ghana (RENFAG) to set up a pension scheme for retired national footballers.

The pension scheme, which we are told will cater for all categories of retired players of the national teams (from the youth teams through to the senior sides of both male and female), will be drawn from a Special Endowment Fund (SEF) to be set up for the purpose.

Even though the proposed scheme is yet to see the light of day (as it is scheduled to be launched next week Wednesday), we cannot stop praising both the FA and the RENFAG for the thought or dream of it.

The just-ended First Capital Plus Premier League will be remembered for so many interesting and unusual spectacles, not least the struggle by traditional powerhouses, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko, s they battled against relegation at certain stages of the competition.

Good is bad, and bad is good. Therefore, do bad. For, in doing bad, you will be doing good.
That seems to be the alternate universe some administrators at the sports ministry live in, having fallen from the windfall of prudence into the pitfall of extreme bankruptcy.
Yet, some, bankrupt, keep getting the carrot instead of the stick, on account of being a member of the elite few. No wonder the poverty of the majority, i.e. peasants, has become an acceptable casualty, for the perpetuation of the prosperity of the elite.
Riding on their high horse, their heads way up in the clouds, they cannot have an ear to the ground to know, feel and fulfil the needs, concerns and benefits of peasant athletes such as the Black Queens, Ghana’s senior women's football team, who have dug in their heels, demanding their due, instead of accepting short change.
The Black Queens exerted their supremacy over their Camerounian nemesis in the final of the All Africa Games football competit

Ex-Ghana President, John Agyekum Kufuor, has described Black Stars ‘bad boy,’Sulley Muntari, as one of the most patriotic players in the national team and should not be overly flayed  for demanding his due.

He contends that the current crop of players are not money-grabbers, rubbishing widespread claims they have lost their sense of patriotism.

The Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) stands accused for sanctioning the Ayitey Powers-Joe Sarbah bout without the GBA certified medical doctor.

Some members of the GBA, who were present at the fight staged at the Kotobabi Wembley, are raising eyebrows over the absence of Dr. S.A Quaye, the certified Medical Doctor of the GBA.

Organisers of the Accra Milo Marathon last Monday adjudged Graphic Sports’ report on the 2013 Accra Milo Marathon as the overall Best Story in the Print category.

Peter Sarbah’s story was selected among a pool of stories that was submitted for the competition among media personnel was organised for the 2013 Accra Milo Marathon. He was presented with a crystal plaque and an undisclosed cash prize.

  Ghana's Under-20 female football team, Black Princesses, face a tricky test in Equtorial Guinea as they resume their quest for a ticket to next year's Women's World Cup (WWC) in Papua New Guinea.

On Saturday, the Princesses come face to face again with Equatorial Guinea almost a year after edging them out of the final round of qualifiers to qualify for the 2014 WWC in Canada.

Nana Kobina Nketsia V, Omahen of Essikado Traditional Area, will be the Special Guest of Honour at the 40th MTN-SWAG Awards, scheduled for the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra on Saturday, October 3.

The traditional ruler will make his second appearance at the prestigious event, after playing a similar role in the 36th edition of the awards in 2011.

He will also use the opportunity to speak on the theme: "The search for sustainable funding for sports the role of the private sector".

The theme was chosen by SWAG as the nation currently grapples with funding challenges confronting the development and promotion of sports in Ghana.

 Newly-crowned Accra Milo Marathon champion, Kassim Mohammed, has hinted about plans to move out of his comfort zone to seek bigger challenges on the international scene in the coming months. 

After winning the country’s most revered marathon for the second consecutive time last Monday, the 31-year-old disclosed to the Graphic Sports that he was preparing to participate in a competition in Italy.

Owusu Bonsu and Jessica Bearls Tei last Monday claimed the men and ladies titles respectively at the 83rd Airtel Ghana Amateur Golf Open held at the Achimota Golf Course in Accra.

The three-day tournament saw 26-year-old Bonsu, the 2013 men's Scratch Group A winner, win his second title in two years with a gross score of 225, pipping Yao Dogbe of the Achimota Golf Club who finished with a score of 226 to the flagship trophy. Daniel Ntim of the Royal Golf Club clinched third place with a gross score of 227.

In the ladies Scratch Group A, experienced campaigners such as Mona Myers Lamptey and Felicity Gyeabour could not prevent 23-year-old Jessica from winning the trophy.

Jessica of the Achimota Golf Club, on the opening day scored 81, ending day two with 84, before blowing away her rivals on the final day with an impressive score of 78 to finish with a gross score of 243.

 Accra Hearts of Oak, after a close shave with relegation at the just ended Premier League season, are in the process of embarking on a massive transfer excercise with the likes of burly striker Gilbert Fiamenyo, defender Philip Boampong and South African import, Shaun October, as the major casualties.