Assifuah in pole position for honours

Former Black Satellites striker Ebenezer Assifuah, national badminton star, Abraham Ayittey and athlete John O’brien would go head-to-head in a battle to win the prestigious Sports Personality of the Year award at the fourth edition of the Stellar Logistics Western Region Sports Awards tonight in Takoradi.

The Western Region Sports Awards (WRSA) which starts at 7p.m. at the Best Western Plus Atlantic Hotel is reserved for individuals and organisations from the Western Region who have excelled in various sporting disciplines in the year under review and the only personalities who received two nominations - Assifuah and O’brien - would hope to follow in the footsteps of last years’ winner, Abeiku Ainooson.

This years’ event will see a total of 23 awards handed out, including awards for individuals, sporting associations and corporate institutions who in diverse ways contributed to the development of sports in the Western Region.  

Assifuah who joined FC Sion on the back of his brilliant performances for the Satellites during the 2013 World Cup in Turkey would gun for his second award on the night in the Male Footballer of the Year category alongside Samuel Afful of Sekondi  Hasaacas and Medeama SC goalie, Muntari Tagoe who would have hopes of causing a huge upset.

Black Queens duo, Janet Egyir and Samira Suleman, will join their Hasaacas Ladies team mate, Ernestina Abambilla to vie for The Female Footballer of the Year award, while the Disabled Sports Player of the Year would be a contest between Alex Moro and Abubakar Fisal of the Regional Team.

Emmanuel Bondzie of the Atuabo Presby JHS, Tarkwa, and Joycelyn Assafuah formerly of the Methodist SHS, Sekondi, will join overwhelming favourite, O’brien, a former student of the Takoradi Technical Institute to compete for honours  in the Athlete of the Year category.

The titans of sports in the Western Region, Nana Banyin Eyeson of Hasaacas Ladies and Sekondi Hasaacas,  Moses Armah Parker of Medeama SC and Albert Kwame Sampong, Samin FC, will battle for a chance to be named the CEO/Chairman of the Year.

The Coach of the Year award will be contested for by Regional taekwondo team trainer, Prince Martin Oppan, Regional badminton team coach,  J.E. Wilson, Black Queens/ Hasaacas coach, Yusif Basigi and Evans Adotey, formerly of Medeama SC.

A special award will be presented to veteran Hasaacas goalie, George Owu, for his dedication and valour while Special Corporate awards will be presented to Gold Fields Ghana Limited, Ghana Manganese Company Limited and  Nzema Event Management.