Black Stars Management visits Tarkwa mines

Tarkwa, (W/R) Sept. 9, GNA - A seven member delegation of the Black Stars Management team yesterday paid a courtesy call on the Management of Goldfields Ghana Limited (Tarkwa Mines) to express their gratitude to the company for their support and sponsorship.

The delegation, which was led by Mr. Richard Mensah, a consultant for the Black Stars/Goldfields sponsorship package, included the head coach, Mr. Ratomir Djikovic, Mr. Kwesi Owoahene Acheampong, Vice-Chairman of the Management team, Dr. Martin Engmann, the Star's Medical Doctor, Mr. Silas Tetteh, Assistant Coach, Mr. Edward Ansah, goalkeeper's trainer and Mr. Neil Armstrong, also a consultant. The members were taken through the principal streets of Tarkwa where a large crowd of enthusiastic people had lined up to catch a glimpse of the players.

Most of the people were however disappointed when they did not see the players and openly expressed regret for denying the opportunity of seeing them.

The delegation was later taken to the Wassa Fiase Traditional Council where they paid a courtesy call on the Omanhene of Wassa Fiase Traditional Area, Osagyefo Kwamina Enimil Vl and other sub chiefs who had gathered at the palace.

The Omanhene expressed joy at the visit of the officials and thanked Goldfields for the support and encouragement given to the team that motivated them to attain the feat.

He thanked the management of the company and the officials for their mutual co-operation that ensured that the Stars attained their success.

Osagyefo Enimil assured the delegation of the support of the Traditional Council and urged them to continue to give off their best, adding that there was more room for improvement. "This is surely going to be our first World Cup appearance and I am not so sure whether we could bring the cup home but I have the fervent hope that we are not going to disgrace ourselves there, the Omanhene added.

He took the opportunity to appeal to the company to support Real Tarkwa United,(RTU) a first division team based at Tarkwa to enable the team qualify to the premier division so that the Wassa Fiase Traditional name would also be known.

The delegation also met some sectional heads of the company, interacted with the workers and later toured the company's sites to have a feel hand knowledge of the mining activities.

Mr Acheampong who spoke on behalf of the officials used the opportunity to thank the chiefs and people for their massive support and gave the assurance that the players would visit the area after their last match against Cape Verde or before the end of the year. He explained to the workers that most of the foreign-based players had already left for their clubs, while the local based ones are also preparing for their various league matches over the weekend. Mr. Acheampong also expressed his appreciation to the company for coming to aid of the Stars when all avenues were almost closed.

"Your support has changed everything for the team because without it we would not have known where we would be by now, and it has opened so many doors for us, God bless your company'. In an interview with the GNA Sports, coach Djikovic said he was satisfied with the visit because it has given him the opportunity to meet their sponsors and also interact personally with the biggest support at Tarkwa.

He assured the workers that Ghana's dream of participating in the Word Cup for the first time on course and would be a reality and called on all to rout behind the team not only in their last match but also the World Cup, because as he said, 'We are there'. 09 Sept. 05