Suspended Black Stars midfielder Sulley Muntari has denied slapping a referee during a friendly match last week in Accra.

Muntari stands accused by Accra-based referee John Terry of dishing-out a slap to him after he handed the former Portsmouth midfielder a yellow card during a friendly game between Laryea Kingston XI and Muntari XI.

The preparations of Ghana’s female Under-20 team, the Black Princesses, towards their 2018 Women’s World Cup (WWC) qualifiers could be greatly hampered as they may not be able to begin early camping due to lack of funds.

The Princesses begin the qualifiers away to Algeria in September, and new head coach, Yusif Basigi, has invited 30 players to begin the initial camping at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence in Prampram today, but reports the Graphic Sports has picked is that it has been called off following the caterer’s insistence that she would not cater for them if funds were not made available.

Ahead of his much touted bout against heavyweight brawler Braimah Kamoko alias Bukom Banku on September 30 at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra, heavyweight fighter Bastie Samir and colleague boxers held a public training exercise in Accra last Saturday.

The training and shadow-boxing exercise held at the old UTC building adjacent Rawlings Park, drew a large number of onlookers and traders to the scene.

Maxwell Konadu, the assistant coach of Ghana’s Black Stars B, says the team will not undertake or take Burkina Faso for granted, when they clash in Ouagadougou on Saturday.

The Stars will be the guests of the Burkinabes in their Championship of African Nations (CHAN) qualifier and the Ghanaians are wary of the threat their hosts pose and are thus being cautious, despite being optimistic of their chances.

Maxwell Konadu who has handled the team for a greater part of their preparations due to other assignments of head coach, Kwasi Appiah, told the Graphic Sports that they have prepared well for the game and are hopeful of their chances.

“Technically, our preparations have been very good. I think we have made steady progress and we are hopeful of our chances, but that is no reason why we should be complacent or over-confident. The Burkinabes are a good side and they definitely would want to take advantage of them playing at home,” Konadu said.

“Ghana mis

The effort of the Ghana Armwresting Federation to popularise the sport seem to be paying off as the latest competition held at the homecoming of the Accra Academy Old Students drew an impressive participation.

Though it was on a non-scoring basis, the fact that most of the old boys also registed for the competition, helped the GAF achieve its target.

Clearly, we are now entering that very last interesting and competitive part of the season, where many matches will take on extra importance.

This is because of promotion, relegation or participation in continental cup competitions and even our Top Four tournament.

As usual, this is also the time when our referee managers take crucial decisions in respect of referee promotions and retention at all levels on the feared Referees Lists, including even FIFA.

There is, therefore, an added pressure on referees and other match officials. More scrutiny than ever before will be on our league referees as they go out to handle matches throughout the country. Perhaps the greatest pressure will be on the committee of the referee managers who have the sole assignment of appointing match officials.

Already, there are too many rumours and allegations of a few referees following some particular teams. As we have as many as 40 referees on the referees list, this coul

Sprinter Janet Amponsah carries the heavy burden of Ghana’s hope as she goes into action tomorrow, in the women’s 200m heats at the Athletics World Championships ongoing in London.

Amponsah remains the only man individual athlete out of the eight-team delegation Ghana has at the London Games, after teammates, Nadia Eke, Emmanuel Dasor and Alex Amankwah all failed to make it past their heats. The other four will be competing in the women’s relay event.

Visiting Accra Hearts of Oak defied an off the pitch heckle to hold arch rivals, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, 1-1 in their 23rd week outstanding Premier League match at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on Sunday.

Arguably the best player on the day, Winful Cobbina, delivered an impeccable through pass for lurking Kwame Kizito to finished off in the 60th minute in a thrilling encounter watched by a packed stadium.

The wait is finally over, with two of the country’s glamorous clubs, Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak, literally shaking the foundation of the Baba Yara Stadium when the two come face to face in their much anticipated Ghana Premier League (GPL) fixture.

The only recognised venue for Division One, MTN FA Cup and possibly Premier League matches in the Upper East Region - Bolga Stadium - is no longer recognised by the GFA Licensing Committee because "it's a grassless pitch which is no longer accepted for modern football at the highest level of football."

For those who don't know, clubs like Tanga FC and Japan Stars collapsed because of the demand by the powers that be that they use either Tamale or Wa as home grounds due to the lack of a grass park in the whole of the Upper East Region! How can you continue to travel 32 times playing matches at the Tamale stadium or Utrecht park at a cost of, at least, GH¢800.00 beside other expenses (transport, food and drinks, health etc) without supporters and survive?

Records are tumbling during the transfer window as clubs across the world spend big in order to bolster their squads for the challenges to come.

Neymar's shocking move to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona for an eye-watering €222 million deal made headlines around the world, smashing the world transfer record, and there's still much more business to be done before the window closes at the beginning of September.

Accra Hearts of Oak have replied Kumasi Asante Kotoko with equal force, promising to throw Oseikrom into a ‘state of mourning’ in Sunday’s Premier League super clash at the Baba Yara Stadium.

Kotoko skipper, Amos Frimpong, fired the first salvo last Wednesday by warning the Phobians to prepare for a battle of their lives since they were fully prepared for a win, having recovered from the trauma of their recent misfortune.

Handlers of Ghana’s senior football team B, say they are in good shape for their 2018 Championship of African Nations (CHAN) qualifier against Burkina Faso, but are worried that they could soon lose most of their targeted key players to the exodus train.

The Stars B, since reassembling under the reconstituted technical team headed by Kwasi Appiah, are yet to lose a game as they gear up for the August 12 date with the Burkinabes in Ouagadougou, but the concern is that there may never be a permanent regular team, given the rate of movement of the players in search of greener pastures outside the shores of Ghana.

The Deputy Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA) in charge of technical, Saka Acquaye, says preparations have reached a fever pitch towards the upcoming National Sports Festival slated for August 31 to September 7, in Kumasi.

He was confident that the games would be staged successfully at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.

Ex-Accra Hearts of Oak skipper, Mahatma Otoo, has disclosed that he is close to signing a new deal with an European club before the August transfer window closes.

The 25-year-old who completed his loan spell with Turkish side. Umraniyespor last season told Graphic Sports over the weekend that his manager was finalising negotiation and would soon sign a new contract.