Asante Kotoko head coach Prosper Narteh Ogum has called on the club’s supporters to forgive the players for their missed opportunities in their 1-1 draw against FC Samartex.
The Porcupine Warriors faced Samartex at the Nsenkyire Sports Arena on Saturday as part of the Matchday 25 fixtures.
Despite creating clear chances to secure victory, Kotoko failed to capitalize on them, ultimately settling for a draw.
Speaking after the match, Coach Ogum expressed disappointment over the missed chances but urged fans to be understanding.
“I’m not happy about [missed chances]. If you look at the game, it was a tense game, and normally when players become tense, their technique also becomes tense,” he said.
“Even though there were obvious chances, we have to pardon the players,” he added.
Despite the draw, Asante Kotoko remain at the top of the league table with 38 points. Their next challenge will be against Young Apostles in a Matchday 26 fixture at the Nana Agyemang Badu Park on Wednesday.
The senior national team, the Black Stars, opened camp in Accra today, March 17, 2025, to begin preparations for their upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against Chad and Madagascar.
The team will train at the Accra Sports Stadium for four days before facing Chad on Friday, March 21, at 19:00 GMT. They will then travel to Morocco to take on Madagascar at the Stade Mimoun Al Arsi on Monday, March 24.
Coach Otto Addo has named a 23-man squad for the crucial encounters, with only three local players making the final selection. The invited players are expected to report to camp today to commence training.
Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo and goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott have already arrived in Ghana, while key players Mohammed Kudus and Thomas Partey have also joined the squad.
After missing out on AFCON 2025, the Black Stars are eager to restore national pride with strong performances in these must-win matches.
Currently sitting second in Group I with nine points—level with leaders Comoros—the team must secure maximum points to boost their chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Hearts of Oak head coach Aboubakar Ouattara has been charged by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Disciplinary Committee for failing to attend the mandatory post-match press conference following his team’s 1-0 defeat to Dreams FC.
The Phobians suffered their first league defeat in seven games on Saturday at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium, with an early goal from Abdul Razak proving decisive.
Following the loss, Ouattara allegedly failed to fulfill his post-match media obligations, an action the GFA deemed intentional and damaging to the reputation of the game.
The coach has until Tuesday, March 18, to officially respond to the charges.
This development comes just a week after Hearts of Oak was charged with breaching safety protocols upon the league’s resumption. The defeat marked Hearts’ first loss in the 2025 Ghana Premier League season after an impressive run of five wins and two draws.
It was also their first league setback since falling to fierce rivals Asante Kotoko in the Super Clash in December 2024.
Currently sitting third in the table with 36 points—two behind league leaders Kotoko—Hearts of Oak will look to bounce back when they face Bechem United on Wednesday in a Matchday 25 fixture at the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park.
A 40-year-old man, Yaw Abakah, has drowned in a well at Enyan Abaasa in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam District of the Central Region.
According to residents, Abakah, a renowned well digger from Agona Nsabaa in the Agona East District, had built a reputation for his expertise, securing jobs across the Central Region.
He had traveled to Enyan Abaasa with his workers to desilt a well when he met his untimely death.
Information gathered by Adom News indicates that he entered the well while his workers waited outside for instructions to commence work.
After several minutes of silence and no response when they called his name, the workers grew alarmed.
The Gomoa Fire Service Command was called to the scene, but upon arrival, they retrieved his lifeless body, which was covered in mud. The retrieval followed traditional rites, including the pouring of libation by local authorities.
The Ghana Police Service, in its efforts to further investigate the murder of investigative journalist Ahmed Suale, has arrested a key suspect linked to the case.
The suspect, identified as Daniel Owusu Koranteng, also known as Akwasi Amakye, is accused of betraying Suale by leaking his photographs to a prominent Ghanaian politician before his assassination.
Ahmed Hussein-Suale was shot dead near his family home in Madina on January 16, 2019, by unknown assailants. His murder came after he collaborated with the BBC on an investigative report.
Amakye, a former colleague of Suale at Tiger Eye Private Investigations, was dismissed from the investigative firm before the incident.
According to police intelligence, he fled Ghana immediately after authorities began linking him to the case.
His arrest follows crucial findings from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States, which uncovered phone records and other key evidence suggesting his involvement.
The FBI’s analysis reportedly includes phone conversations between Amakye and Suale in the days leading up to the murder. As part of the ongoing investigation, Ahmed Suale’s mobile phones were sent to the U.S. for forensic examination.
A source within the police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) disclosed that Amakye used to frequently visit Suale at his residence in Madina.
However, upon sensing that police were closing in on him, he relocated to the United States.
Authorities say he secretly returned to Ghana last week, leading to his arrest at a hair-plaiting salon in Amasaman-Adease.
The development has sparked controversy within the police service, as a senior officer is reportedly attempting to interfere with the investigation.
According to sources, the officer is advocating for the suspect to be granted police inquiry bail rather than being immediately arraigned before court. The situation has reportedly created tension at the police headquarters.
Ahmed Suale was assassinated after he and his team at Tiger Eye PI exposed widespread corruption in African football, with a significant focus on Ghana.
Nearly all Voice of America (VOA) staff members have been placed on leave after United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order gutting the government-run news agency.
On Friday night, Trump ordered his administration to reduce several agencies to the minimum required by law under an order titled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy”.
The decision affected the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), housing Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia, and Radio Marti, which broadcasts Spanish-language news in Cuba.
The press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders slammed the decision, saying it “threatens press freedom worldwide and negates 80 years of American history in supporting a free flow of information”.
The decision to gut the government-run, pro-democracy news agency comes as Republicans have accused publicly funded media outlets of being biased against conservatives.
In a statement, the White House said Trump’s executive orders “will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda” before listing criticisms of VOA, including allegations of left-wing bias.
On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, a US Senate candidate whom Trump named a senior adviser to the agency, wrote on X that employees should check their emails.
US President Donald Trump’s escalating trade tariffs will hit world growth and raise inflation, the OECD has predicted in its latest forecast.
Canada and Mexico are forecast to see the biggest impact as they have had the harshest tariffs imposed on them, but US growth is also expected to be hit.
The OECD has more than halved its growth outlook for Canada for this year and next, while it expects Mexico to be pushed into a recession.
Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports. The US has also imposed 25% tariffs on other imports from Mexico and Canada – with some exemptions – and a 20% levy on Chinese goods.
In response, Canada and the EU have both announced retaliatory tariffs.
The Paris-based OECD said the higher trade barriers and “increased geopolitical and policy uncertainty” were hitting investment and household spending.
In the OECD’s latest forecast:
Canada’s economy is predicted to grow by just 0.7% this year and in 2026, compared with the previous forecast of 2% for both years Mexico is now forecast to contract by 1.3% this year and shrink a further 0.6% next year, instead of growing by 1.2% and 1.6% as previously expected Growth in the US has also been downgraded, with growth of 2.2% expected this year and 1.6% in 2025, down from previous forecasts of 2.4% and 2.1% Despite the US imposing tariffs on China, the OECD has increased its growth forecast for the country slightly to 4.8%. The OECD said the developing trade war was set to push up inflation, which will mean interest rates are likely to remain higher for longer.
“Significant risks remain,” it warned. “Further fragmentation of the global economy is a key concern.
“Higher and broader increases in trade barriers would hit growth around the world and add to inflation”.
The OECD said that for the world economy, growth would slow from 3.2% in 2024 to 3.1% in 2025, largely as a result of the trade tensions.
It also said it expected inflation – the rate of price increases – to continue to slow, though not as much as previously anticipated.
The organisation is predicting inflation of 3.8% this year across 20 of the world’s largest economies, compared with the 3.5% it had previously forecast.
Bar chart showing how the change in growth projections for 2025 have been downgraded for the world economy, the US, UK, Canada and Mexico. Last week, Elon Musk’s electric car firm Tesla warned that it, and other US exporters, could be harmed by the trade battle.
In a letter to the US trade representative, the firm said US exporters were “exposed to disproportionate impacts” if other countries retaliated to Trump’s tariffs.
The OECD cut its growth forecast for the UK’s economy to 1.4% in 2025, from its previous forecast of 1.7%, and to 1.2% in 2026, down from 1.3%.
However, the forecast is more optimistic than the Bank of England, which earlier this month cut its UK growth forecast for 2025 to 0.75%.
Substitute Fafa Picault scored his first goal for Inter Miami in the 89th minute, Lionel Messi also scored his first of the regular season and Inter Miami earned a dramatic 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Atlanta United.
Miami triumphed despite six saves from Atlanta’s goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who played an integral role in Atlanta’s playoff upset of Messi’s squad in a best-of-three, round one MLS Cup series last year.
Messi’s goal on Sunday came in just his second regular-season appearance for Miami, who have already played eight matches because of Concacaf Champions Cup play. The Argentinian star forward had missed three games due to muscle fatigue before coming off the bench on Thursday night in a 2-0 win at Cavalier FC of Jamaica.
Emmanuel Latte Lath scored his 60th career goal in the 11th minute to give Atlanta an early lead.
Messi’s goal in the 20th minute left the match in a 1-1 stalemate until the diminutive Picault’s game winner one minute from full time – an unlikely header that somehow wrong-footed Guzan and nestled inside the far-left post – secured the three points for Miami.
It was Picault’s first goal for his sixth MLS club, having moved to Miami from Vancouver this off season.
Inter Miami now have three wins and one draw, elevating the side to the top of the MLS Eastern Conference on 10 points through four games. Atlanta dropped to one win, one draw and two losses for the season.
Former National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Member of Parliament (MP) for Akuapem North Constituency in the Eastern Region of Ghana, Sammi Awuku, has been appointed as the Vice President of SME Global in Charge of Africa.
In his appointment letter dated March 10, 2025 and signed by Lilia Heitz, Secretary General of the SME Global of the International Democracy Union, it reads in part “On behalf of the Executive Office of SME Global, I am pleased to formally confirm your appointment as Vice-President of SME Global of the IDU.
“We are confident that your contributions will be instrumental in driving our mission forward and fostering impactful initiatives. We appreciate your willingness to take on this responsibility and look forward to working together to strengthen the SME landscape globally. Once again, congratulations, and welcome to SME Global.” SME Global is the Trade and Economic arm of the IDU and an influential, center-right network dedicated to the advancement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups worldwide.
The organization brings together policymakers from the International Democracy Union (IDU) member parties, along with business leaders from across the globe. It provides a platform for networking, collaboration, and policy advocacy, championing low taxation, economic responsibility, and individual liberty within a socially-oriented market economy.
With a strong commitment to empowering SMEs and entrepreneurs, SME Global facilitates practical solutions to modern business challenges while ensuring that SME concerns remain central to global policy discussions. The organization plays a key role in shaping SME-friendly policies, addressing bureaucratic barriers, and fostering an environment conducive to innovation and economic growth. As Vice President for SME Global in charge of Africa, Mr Awuku will be instrumental in driving initiatives that support SMEs across the continent, advocating for regulatory reforms, and amplifying the role of small businesses in political and economic transformation.
His appointment signals a strengthened commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and ensuring that SMEs continue to thrive in an ever-evolving global business landscape.
Sammi Awuku will work closely with Board Members of SME Global including Jörgen Warborn, MEP, President, SME Global Coordinator of the International Trade Committee for European People’s Party (EPP) Group, Sweden, Randy Hoback, MP, Vice-President, SME Global Member of Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Canada, Hon. Todd McClay, MP Vice-President, SME Global, Minister for Trade and Agriculture, New Zealand, Kevin Hollinrake, MP Vice-President, SME Global Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, United Kingdom and Germana Figueroa Casas, MP, Vice-President, SME Global Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Argentina
