Today in sports history: Dr Nyaho Tamakloe resigns as GFA president

On this day 4 May 2005 (Exactly 15 years ago today) The head of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Dr Nyaho Nyaho – Tamakloe resigned angrily, shortly after a court ruled that the association can go ahead with impeachment proceedings against him.

“The high court ruling makes my position untenable and I believe I must resign,” said Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe in a letter to the sport ministry

Nyaho-Tamakloe had been at loggerheads with the GFA’s 37-man executive council since he became GFA chairman in April 2004.

And after the council publicly declared that it had no confidence in him to function as the association’s chairman, Nyaho-Tamakloe took the matter to a high court in the capital Accra.

But “the high court ruled that for daring to make reforms of the football association, the executive council can go ahead with impeachment proceedings against me,” said angry Nyaho-Tamakloe.

It was “absurd” that the GFA’s statutes give control of football matters to the executive council while the management board is put in charge of administration, he continued.

“The GFA has an unwieldy body of 37 members superintending the day-to-day activities of a five-member board which makes neither common nor business sense,” he charged.

World football governing body FIFA had said the GFA structure is “extremely complex” with the superposition of three bodies, the congress, the executive council and the management board.

The structure creates instability and therefore should be streamlined and simplified, FIFA stressed.

Elsewhere;

On this day 4 May 2018 (Exactly 2 years ago today) Isaac Dogboe was named as the 2017 Sports Personality of the year by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana.

The honour was conferred on the 23-year-old boxer at the 43rd SWAG Awards night held at the Accra International Conference Centre.

Dogboe in the year under review had two bouts, all of which he won via knockout. The pugilist defeated Cesar Juarez and Javier Chacon on his way to the Super Bantamweight bout against Jessie Magdaleno.

Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey was declared the best foreign-based player for his exploits in 2017.

Thomas Abbey saw off competition from Berekum Chelsea Striker Stephen Sarfo and Kotoko’s Amos Frimpong to win the best locally-based player award.

For guiding Aduana Stars to their second league title, Coach Yussif Abubakar was named the best coach of the year.

Aduana Stars and Ampem Darkoa were named the Male and Female football club year respectively.

The SWAG Awards is an annual award ceremony that recognizes people for their diverse roles towards the development of sports in the country.

On this day 4 May 1924 (Exactly 96 years ago today) The VIII Summer Olympic Games was opened at the Olympic Stadium of Colombes, Paris, France with 44 participating nations,

3,089 athletes(2,954 men, 135 women), 126 events in 17 sports (23 disciplines).

On this day 4 May 1949(Exactly 71 years ago today) a plane carrying the entire Torino football team (popularly known as the Grande Torino), crashed into the retaining wall at the back of the Basilica of Superga, which stands on a hill on the outskirts of Turin. All thirty-one people on the flight died.

Close by on the outskirts of Turin, the wreckage of an aeroplane lay smouldering on the Superga hill, 700 metres up behind the giant basilica that overlooks the city.

Going through the suitcases and bodies, searchers eventually identified the victims and began to realise that among the 31 dead were Serie A’s all-conquering champions, Il Grande Torino.

Torino were set to win a fifth consecutive league title. With four matches of the season remaining, the team had flown out to play a testimonial match for a Benfica player in Lisbon.

On the way back, almost the entire squad was killed, including their Hungarian-Jewish manager who had escaped from the Nazis and their English coach Leslie Lievesley, a former Manchester United full-back who incredibly had survived three previous air crashes. His son Bill was about to turn 11.

On that late afternoon, news quickly spread throughout the north Italian city. By evening it had reached Sauro Toma, a defender who had not travelled with his team-mates because of injury. Scores of emotionally overwhelmed fans mobbed him in the street. Before his death in 2018, aged 92, he said he lived as someone “condemned to survive, while my brothers perished”.

The plane had collided with the back of the basilica wall, amid thick fog. Later it was concluded malfunctioning equipment must have led the pilot to believe he was well clear of the building, realising only when it was too late.

Two days after the crash, half a million people lined the streets as the funerals were held. Torino were awarded the Serie A title, at the request of their rivals. Only fate could beat them, it was said. The team passed into legend not as the Invincibles but the Immortals.

The next season each top-flight club was asked to donate a player to Torino, to help them rebuild. The 1949-50 title was won by Juventus, as Torino finished sixth. They have won the league only once since, in 1975-76, the seventh title in the club’s history. Last season, city rivals Juve won their eighth in a row, and 35th of all time.

The Superga disaster is central to Torino’s identity, and its legacy is not forgotten. Every year thousands congregate at the site where the plane came down.

In 1947-48, Torino scored 125 goals in their 40 matches, finishing with a record goal difference of +92 on their way their fourth title in as many seasons. By the time of the Superga disaster they had not lost at home in more than six years, while their 10-0 victory over Alessandria in May 1948 remains the biggest in Serie A history.

On this day 4 May 2002 (Exactly 18 years ago today) Arsenal produced two moments of stunning quality to seal part one of a domestic double by lifting the FA Cup against Chelsea in Cardiff.

Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg scored spectacular second-half goals out of keeping with a disappointing final in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium to sink their London neighbours.

Parlour struck a brilliant opener after 69 minutes and in-form Ljungberg unleashed an even better strike nine minutes later to clinch Arsenal’s victory with a flourish.

Arsenal completed the domestic double by winning the Premier League by a seven-point margin, were unbeaten away from home and managed the unique feat of scoring in every league game. They lost only three times in the division, all of which at home.

On this day 4 May 2003 (Exactly 17 years ago today) Mark Viduka struck in the 88th minute to earn a victory for Leeds United at Highbury that ended Arsenal’s Barclays Premier League title hopes while giving his own side’s chances of staying in the top flight a significant boost.

Harry Kewell put the visitors ahead with a powerful left – footed shot before Thierry Henry equalised on the half – hour mark.

Ian Harte restored Leeds’advantage but Dennis Bergkamp levelled again for Arsenal, and the visitors went on to take the lead for the third time when Viduka found the net late on.

Arsenal beat Southampton 6: I and then won 4:0 at Sunderland in their last two league matches to finish five points adrift of champions Manchester United in second place, while Leeds ended in 15th position.

On this day 4 May 2013 (Exactly 7 years ago today) Floyd Mayweather defeated Robert Guerrero to retain his WBC Welterweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.

On this day 4 May 2019 (Exactly ba year ago today) Canelo Alvarez earned a unanimous-decision victory over Daniel Jacobs to unify three of the four middleweight titles at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The fight was close throughout, but Canelo controlled most of the first half of the bout, and he did just enough in the second half to get the victory on the judges’ scorecards. He came in as the WBA and WBC champion. The victory added Jacobs’ IBF title to his collection.

Two judges scored the fight 115-113, and the other had it 116-112, all in favor of Canelo.