Sports News of Monday, 2 January 2017
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2017-01-02
Uriah Asante
Continuing our review for the year in the world of sports, we turn our attention to the sporting heroes we unfortunately lost in year. Joy Sports pays tribute to these gallant heroes.
Afranie
Legendary coach Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie died after an ambulance conveying him to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital got involved in a fatal accident.
Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie, popularly called E.K. Afranie was the man at the helm when the Black Satellites won silver at the U20 World Cup in 2001. He also coached the Black Starlets to two world cups in 1991 and 1997 before taking charge of the Black Queens in 1997.E.K. he tragically died at age 73.
Ben Koufie died aged 84 having etched his name into the history of Ghana sports. He represented Ghana as a player from 1957 to 1958 and later became the coach of the national team. He also led Asante Kotoko to the Africa Club Championship in 1971 and Great Olympics to the semi-finals a year later. Ben Koufie served as the president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for two years between 2001 and 2003.He passed away on 4 July, 2016 at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital after battling a short illness.
Coach Osam Duodu died at a hospital in Accra after a short illness. Osam Duodu remains only the second coach – after C.K. Gyamfi – to ever win the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana. His coaching career spanned over two decades at both youth and senior level.He also won the 1993 U20 Africa Cup of nations and a silver medal at the world level the same year. He died at age aged 78.
Uriah Asante 1
Former Hearts of Oak midfielder Uriah Asante died from a reported cardiac arrest. Asante played for Hearts of Oak and then left for Tunisia, where he featured for Etoile du Sahel.He was aged 24.
The world of Boxing had its fair share of sad news this year..beginning with the passing of Respected Ghanaian boxing trainer Godwin Nii Dzanie Kotey a.k.a. Alloway, who previously handled Azumah Nelson, Joshua Clottey and Joseph Agbeko .Alloway “threw in the towel” after a brief illness at his home in Accra.
Coach Alloway, who was 56, had a wealth of experience in the game with almost four decades of industriousness in the pugilistic sport and led the boxing coaches body to push for major reforms in the sport and also led a lot of advocacy including issues of welfare of boxers and their trainers.
Another top boxing tactician, Emmanuel Teiko Tagoe, known in boxing circles as Akese, has also passed .The famous boxing matchmaker -Akese passed away last Tuesday in his sleep. The late Tagoe in recent times helped nurture the likes¬ of Emmanuel ‘GameBoy’ Tagoe, Bukom Banku, Ayittey Powers, Obodai Sai and many others.
The Sport also lost one of the its most seasoned match makers..Peter Ako Paterson who passed on in the latter part of 2016.
Joy Sports shares in the grief of Bereaved families and pray the good Keeps their souls till we meet again..
Rest in Peace. Heroes of our land..
