Ghana Football Awards Board calls on Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif

The leadership of the Ghana Football Awards Board, on Friday, June 16, 2023, called on the Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif to officially invite him to this year’s gala night.

The meeting which was held at the Sports Ministry was attended by the Board Chairman of the Awards scheme, Mr Karl Tufuoh who was in the company of some of the board members such as Nutifafa Attah, Nathan Quao, Felix Romark and Daniel Oduro.

According to celebrated broadcaster Mr Karl Tufuoh, the Board of the Football Awards decided to pay a courtesy call to the sector minister as a sign of respect and to formally inform him about preparations for the awards night.

The Minister who was at the 2021 edition of the awards was excited about the visit and promised that he and his ministry will do everything within their power to make the awards scheme successful.

“For us, this is very important. We need to always find a way to celebrate our athletes. We are very critical of them at times and so when they excel it is also good that we appreciate and recognise it. You (the awards board) have our blessings and do not hesitate to let us know who we can be of help to the scheme.”

Mr Karl Tufuoh thanked the minister for meeting the Board and promised that this year’s edition will be an improvement on the past editions.

Meanwhile, Black Stars trio Mohammed Kudus, Joseph Paintsil and Abdul Samed Salis will vie for the ultimate prize at this year’s Ghana Football Awards.

This was revealed during the nominees’ announcement of the various categories earlier today, Wednesday, June 7, 2023.

The nominees’ announcement which was done live on Joy Prime on Muti TV also threw up some interesting names in the over 15 competitive categories.

For the Footballer of the Year award which is the top award on the night, the three shortlisted players have been outstanding under the Year in Review and thus comes as no surprise that they have been rewarded with this recognition.

Kudus Mohammed was the star for Ghana at the World Cup in Qatar, he played 42 games, scored 18 goals and 6 assists for Ajax in all competitions this season and was Ghana’s top scorer at the World Cup with 2 goals in 3 games.

For Joseph Paintsil this season has had its fair share of lows especially missing out on the World Cup squad, nonetheless, he played 33 games and scored 17 goals and 12 assists which was the 3rd best in the Belgium league in terms of goal tally and the most by any Ghanaian player. He only missed out on the league title on the final day of the season.

Abdul Samed Salis finished second in the French Ligue 1 with Racing Club De Lens. Played 32 league games and scored one goal. He also helped his club book qualification into the Champions League. He also featured in all 3 games in the world cup for the Black Stars.

Other big awards on the night will go the Home-based Footballer of the Year ( Men and Women), the Men’s Coach of the Year, Best African International and best Club CEO in the Ghana League.

Other categories are the Odartey Lamptey Future Star Award, the Goalkeeper of the Year, and Team of the Year among many others.

There will also be special awards titled the ‘Living Legend’ Award and the ‘Thumps Up’ Award on the night.

The Ghana Football Awards has become the most anticipated football award scheme in the country.

This year’s event will happen on Sunday, June 25 at the Accra International Conference Centre.

It promises to be a night of glitz and glamour as stakeholders in the showbiz and football industry gather to reward excellence.