Ghana’s fiercest football rivalry roars back into life this weekend as Asante Kotoko SC welcome sworn adversaries Accra Hearts of Oak to the Baba Yara Sports Stadium for another chapter of the Super Clash, a fixture steeped in history, splits domestic football loyalty and title-defining consequence.

Only one point separates the two heavyweights on the league log, but in reality, far more is at stake tomorrow in Kumasi.

For Kotoko, the stakes are very high, with more than three points at stake. They arrive bruised after back-to-back defeats in all competitions, the most painful of which was their MTN FA Cup exit at home to Aduana FC on penalties in the Round of 16.

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will take place in June and July next year, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) president Patrice Motsepe has announced.

Fourteen second-cycle institutions are locked in a four-day battle for medals, pride and regional supremacy as the 50th Volta Region Central Zone Inter-School Sports Festival burst into life in Ho last Wednesday.

The competition has drawn together some of the region’s most competitive schools to contest for honours in football, handball, volleyball, table tennis, basketball, netball and athletics.

Opening the golden jubilee edition of the festival, the Ho Municipal Director of Education, Dr Esther Yeboah-Adzimah, rejected the notion that sports was a distraction from academic activities, insisting instead that it rather reinforced the values cultivated in the classroom.

Black Stars team doctor, Prince Pambo, has travelled to France to personally check on two injured members of the squad, Francis Abu and Mohammed Salisu, reinforcing both medical oversight and team solidarity as Ghana fine-tune preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Last Wednesday, Dr Pambo met Abu in Toulouse, where the 25-year-old midfielder is recovering from the fractured leg he sustained during Ghana’s international friendly against Japan in Nagoya last November.

Abu has been in rehabilitation for three months and is making steady progress. He is currently undertaking structured gym-based drills and is working towards a return to individual field sessions before rejoining full group training. 

Two razor-close bouts delivered high drama as Issah Okine and Precious Akai Nettey secured split-decision victories to book their places in the finals of the 2026 National Individual Amateur Boxing Championships set for February 27 at the Bukom Boxing Arena, Accra.

In front of an expectant crowd at The Gym in Accra yesterday, Okine of Wisdom Boxing Gym edged Rafael Lokko of The Gym by a tight 2-1 split decision in a bout that swung with every exchange. The judges returned the same narrow verdict in favour of Nettey, who overcame his stablemate Robert Tagoe at the famed Attoh Quarshie Gym at Jamestown, in another evenly balanced contest.

Ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup have surged on FIFA’s official resale platform, with seats for many matches listed at several times their face value, even though most tickets were only recently distributed following the end of the main sales phase in January.

Weeks after FIFA President Gianni Infantino warned that tickets appearing on resale sites were likely to carry exorbitant price tags, those concerns have materialized — on world football’s own platform.

As of Wednesday, a Category 3 seat — located in the upper tier of the stands — for the tournament’s opening match between Mexico and South Africa at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium on June 11 was listed at $5,324, compared with its original price of $895.

An Alabama circuit judge on Monday denied Alabama basketball player Charles Bediako’s motion for a preliminary injunction, ending the 7-foot center’s collegiate eligibility and his season with the Crimson Tide.

County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Pruet cited that Bediako “failed to demonstrate that he is entitled to the injunctive relief that he seeks,” according to court documents.

Bediako was playing under a temporary restraining order that allowed the former NBA G League player to join Alabama in the middle of the season despite questions regarding his collegiate eligibility.

Thomas Partey, the former Arsenal midfielder, has been charged with two new counts of rape.

Nottingham Forest have opened talks with former Wolves boss Vitor Pereira after Sean Dyche was sacked following just 114 days in charge.

Asante Kotoko’s interim coach, Prince Yaw Owusu, will be handed a baptism of fire this weekend when he leads the Porcupine Warriors into a fierce Super Clash against arch-rivals Hearts of Oak at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Sunday.

Owusu assumes temporary charge of the Kumasi-based giants following the resignation of Head Coach Abdul Karim Zito earlier this week. 

Zito stepped down after mounting pressure from sections of the club’s supporters, following Kotoko’s elimination from the MTN FA Cup at the Round of 16 stage by Aduana FC at the Baba Yara Stadium last weekend.

The Head Coach of the National Women's U-20 team, Black Princesses, Charles Sampson, insists his team will be ready to rise to the occasion and defeat South Africa in the second leg of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifier on Saturday at the Mbombela Stadium in South Africa.

Ghana took the lead twice but were pegged back both times as the first leg ended 2-2 last Sunday at the Accra Sports Stadium, leaving the tie delicately poised ahead of the decisive return encounter in South Africa.

The winners on aggregate earn through to the final round of African qualifying to the 2026 FIFA Women's U-20 World Cup, slated for Poland in September.

Abdul Karim Zito has resigned from his position as head coach of Asante Kotoko with immediate effect, the club has confirmed.

The decision was announced via the club’s official social media channels on Monday, where Kotoko stated that Zito had stepped down from his role and that management had accepted his resignation.

The club thanked the coach for his service and said details regarding its new technical direction would be communicated in due course.

African female sports journalists have been urged to take ownership of women sports in order to promote and narrate it from their perspective, in order to move beyond traditional biases which have hindered women sports from reaching the level of prestige and commercial viability as men’s sports.

Speaking at the 8th African Sports Journalists Association (AIPS) Africa Congress in Banjul, Gambia on Saturday where Ghana's Minister of Sports, Kofi Iddie Adams had cautioned African media professionals to uphold credibility and responsible reporting, General Secretary of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), Charles Osei Asibey advocated for a radical shift in the media’s approach to women’s sports on the continent.

ick Ball lost his WBA featherweight title after a knockout defeat to Brandon Figueroa in front of his home crowd in Liverpool last Saturday.

The fight appeared to be heading for the scorecards when 29-year-old American Figueroa produced a left-handed shot to drop the champion to the canvas in the 12th round.

Although home favourite Ball got back to his feet, Figueroa made sure the fight did not go to the scorecards when he put his opponent between the ropes and the bout was waved off by the referee.

Emma Raducanu's quest for a first title since 2021 ended with a whimper as she lost in straight sets to Sorana Cirstea in the Transylvania Open final.

The 23-year-old was thrashed 6-0, 6-2 on the hard court in Cluj-Napoca in a final marred by health and fitness issues, leaving her needing a medical timeout.

Reaching her first final since her 2021 US Open triumph is a step forward for Raducanu, particularly after her sticky start to the season.