Renowned sports journalist Christopher Opoku has passed on, Graphic Online has gathered.

He was said to have passed on Wednesday after a prolonged ill health.

Football fans have been urged to respect safety guidelines and precautions in order to save lives during crowd disturbances at the various national stadia and prevent the tragedy that hit Ghana on May 9, 2001, after a football game.

Speakers at the ceremony to mark the 16th anniversary of the May 9 stadium tragedy, including the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Isaac Asiamah, were unanimous in their conviction that more lives could have been saved if spectators knew of measures to take in the event of such disasters.

Frimpong Manso made an earlier-than-expected exit through Kumasi Asante Kotoko’s managerial revolving door yesterday as the club made the surprise appointment of Steven Pollack as their caretaker coach until the end of the season.

The former Berekum Chelsea Technical Director becomes Kotoko’s fourth technical head — the club started the season with Michael Osei who was sacked and replaced with Croatian Zdravko Logarusic who made way for Frimpong Manso last month.

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Isaac Asiamah, says his outfit is considering the closure of the Accra Sports Stadium to avert the loss of lives at the facility.

The Minister said. the nation’s premier stadium was “a potential death trap” which was in a far worse state than it appears.

A former Asante Kotoko Football Club chairman, Mr Herbert Mensah, has lauded the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for his guidance and support in caring for the victims and dependents of the May 9 Stadium Disaster.

He said from the first minute when he saw and carried the first body of a fan till presently, he had relied on the support and wise counsel of Otumfuo, who is also the owner of Kotoko, which had made it possible for him to cater for the victims and dependants of those who died on May 9, 2001.

ACTIVA Insurance, an international insurance firm and a long-standing supporter of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), has presented an amount for GH¢30,000 for this year’s SWAG Awards Night.

At a presentation ceremony in Accra yesterday, the Managing Director of Activa, Mr Solomon said the continuous support for the SWAG Awards was not only the company’s commitment to its corporate social responsibility but also because the event had proved to be very credible.

Seven years have passed but events of the Ghana-Uruguay match in Johannesburg, South Africa, are still fresh in the mind of ex-Black Stars Captain, Stephen ‘Tornado’ Appiah.

It is a memory that will hunt the Ghana skipper for life.

Juventus reached their second Champions League final in three seasons with a comfortable aggregate victory over Monaco.

Already leading 2-0 from the first leg, the Italian side extended their advantage when Mario Mandzukic stabbed in after his initial header was saved.

The FIFA Council has ratified that Africa will get nine automatic places when the World Cup expands to 48 teams in 2026 at its meeting on Wednesday in Bahrain.

The continent currently has five spots at the tournament. A tenth African country will take part in a six-nation play-off tournament to decide the last two spots.

Black Stars skipper Asamoah Gyan scored and laid on an assist for UAE giants Al Ahli who topped their group and moved into the Round 16 of the Asian Champions League after thrashing PFC Lokomotiv 4-0 in their final Group A fixture.

Tuesday night’s resounding 4-0 victory against Lokomotiv in the Asian Champions provided Al Ahli a double dose of delight.

A former Minister of Youth and Sports under. Nii Lantey Vanderpuye says racism has no place in modern day civilisation and in sports.

Congratulating the Pescara midfielder, Sulley Muntari for his fight against racism, Nii Vanderpuye said blacks must join hand in the fight against the menace.

An Iranian student had to be taken to a police station at the weekend - because he looks too much like Lionel Messi.

So many people in the city of Hamaden wanted a picture with Reza Parastesh that police took him to the station and impounded his car to stop the chaos.

A memorial service has been held at the Accra Sports Stadium in honour of the 127 football fans who lost their lives 16 years ago in the aftermath of a football match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

The lives were lost after Hearts scored two late goals to pip their bitter rivals Kotoko 2-1 in a Ghana Premier League mid-week tie on May 9, 2001.

The President of the Ghana Football Association Kwesi Nyantakyi,  has described his confirmation as the first vice-president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), as an honour, as well as a responsibility to ensure that the flag of Ghana is yet raised high in world football.

Ghana will commemorate the 16th anniversary of the May 9 Accra Sports Stadium disaster today with a wreath-laying ceremony which starts at 8.30am at the Accra Sports Stadium.

This will be preceded by a short memorial service at the RLG Hathiramani Sports Hall where the Minister of Youth and Sports, Isaac Asiamah is expected to be in attendance.