Asamoah Gyan receives 2017 Calcio Trade Ball Award

Black Stars skipper, Asamoah Gyan, was last Tuesday night honoured with the Order of the Star, the topmost award of the 2017 Calcio Trade Ball (CTB), an event which celebrates the footballing ties between Ghana and Italy.

The second edition of the CTB which was held at the residence of the Italian Ambassador, Giovanni Favilli, and organisers, Arthur Legacy Sports, presented Gyan with a citation praising his immense contribution to the senior national football team as well as other sectors of the country.

The citation on Gyan's shield read, "For being captain of the Black Stars, Africa's highest scorer in FIFA World Cup history, the highest scorer in Ghana's AFCON history, highest national team appearance record. Asamoah Gyan stands out among his generation as a true star of the game.

"Beyond football, Gyan's forays into boxing promotion, music and philanthropy have redefined what stardom is all about".

In an emotional response, the 31-year-old who last Sunday scored his 50th goal for the Black Stars, paid tribute to the trailblazers of Ghana football who first played in Italy and nurtured him when he first arrived as a youngster at Italian Serie A club, Udinese.

"I will like to thank all my colleagues that I played in the Black Stars with, talking about Stephen ‘Tornado’ Appiah and Mohammed Gargo, I didn't get the chance to play with him, but Gargo has been my mentor since day one and the maestro himself, Abedi Pele.

"They are the people who paved the way for me to be here today."

Asamoah Gyan (middle) with his award, joined by the Italian Ambassador (1st right), Mohammed Gago, Stephen Appiah, Kwasi Appiah, Abedi Pele, Oliver Arthur and Humberto Mariano.

Two former captains of the Black Stars, Abedi Ayew Pele and Stephen Appiah, were also presented with the Legend of the Year awards for their impressive stints in the Italian Serie A.

Abedi received an autographed jersey from current Torino star, Afriyie Acquah, in honour of his 49-game stint with Torino from the 1994-1996 Serie A seasons while Appiah received a crystal trophy for his time with six different clubs, including Udinese, Parma and Juventus.

Torino star, Acquah, was handed the Humanitarian of the Year award by the Benkumhene of Konongo, Nana Kwame Badu-Yeboah II, in recognition of his charitable donations to some communities in the country.

Other winners on a glitzy night included Kwadwo Asamoah who took home the Inspiration of the Year award for his career path which saw him start out with Liberty Professionals in Accra to winning five Scudetto with Juventus while Godfred Donsah, 21, won the Future Star Award for a breakthrough season with Bologna.

In an address, the Italian Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Giovanni Favilli, disclosed that Italy was currently the home to 89 Ghanaian footballers, a figure he said was second to only players based in Ghana.

Mr Favilli added that the footballers were gainfully employed and respected at their Italian clubs where they were continuing to enhance the cordial relationship that existed between Ghana and Italy.

The Minister of Tourism, Catherine Afeku, said her outfit was venturing into sports tourism and would soon unveil certain personalities as sports tourism ambassadors.

Present at the ceremony were the Vice President of the GFA, George Afriyie, former Black Stars players Augustine Arhinful and Mohammed Gargo as well as a host of Ghanaian footballers currently based in Italy, including Isaac Coffie, Patrick Asmah and David Appiah.