Keta Sandlanders FC April/May 2008

KETA SANDLANDERS FCOFFICIAL NEWSLETTER

Volume 1, Issue 2 April/May 2008

Inside this Issue1 Sandlanders second at the halfway stage

2 Sandlanders in the Community - Education

3 Player of the month - Mohammed Ibrahim ‘Zola’

4 Ghana Football Round-up/Farewell Abichi

Sandlanders in the community: Education a right not a privilegeA scheme run by Sandlanders member Jen McLoughlin shows exactly the kind of project your contributions will allow us to support.

Education in Ghana is not open to everyone. Taken for granted in the developed world, only the privileged are able to attend school and in both the short and the long term this fact is holding Ghana back. Adult literacy in the Volta region of which Keta is a part is just under 60%.

The region has identified that investment in education is essential for all aspects of development and should be given priority in regional and district policy planning and resource allocation. The cost of schooling is often a problem for poor families and in an area where child labour is still a major issue; real efforts need to be made to get as many children as possible into full-time schooling. The Sandlanders hope to be a real force for change in this area.

In the short term we intend to offer scholarships to local children to make schooling possible for the under-privileged and in the long term we aim to be a football club which actually builds schools for its community.

Promotion dreams still alive as Agogo shoots us secondSandlanders sit just behind favourites Red Bull Soccer Academy, the Bull’s come to Keta on 25 May 2008.

Second division Ghanaian football is a complicated business and if we are to advance to Division 1 we need to win our 4-team mini-league before beating the winner’s of 3 other zones at ‘Middle League’.

(L-R) Martin, Kwame, Seth, Allasanne, goal scorer Agogo and Abotsi celebrate at Krachi

Progress, then, is never easy and frustratingly, Division 2 is only 6 games long if we do not clear the first hurdle. At the halfway stage though we lie second place in the table courtesy of Ivorian Evrard ‘Agogo’ Quarshie’s 87th minute winner at Krachi Youth Academy, promotion was never meant to be on the cards during our first season of a 5 year plan and so we are delighted that the squad is still in the hunt at this stage.

The second round of matches begins on Sunday 25 May with the visit of Red Bull and after a strong performance in Sogakope last time round the Bull’s will

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Keta Sandlanders FC April/May 2008

Many of our aims are centred on the idea that football can drive development; today it is a potentially huge economic actor as sponsorship money, gate receipts and television revenue pass through the hands of the top clubs. We will show how using this money transparently for the benefit of the community can make a difference.

Aside from our own private initiatives which will be directed by our members, we will support initiatives such as that founded by Sandlanders member Jen McLoughlin who has shown how individuals really can make a difference to the education of children in Ghana.

Jen, a 22 year old final year student from Norwich has fundraised for the Royal Diadem School in the Accra suburb of Dome for the past 2 years and in this short space of time has achieved a great deal. £1600 has been raised, remarkably an amount with which the school has been able to build, wire and stock an entire library! Classes at Royal Diadem are up to 50 strong and typically students will not be able to stay on beyond the ages of 14 or 15 due to family responsibilities or financial pressures. Resources at the school are scarce with books of any kind in short supply; lessons are undertaken in the barest of rooms.

Jen became involved with the school after volunteering as a teacher there and getting to know it’s hard working and inspirational patrons, Margaret and LewisNortey. She explains, “The reality is that the bottom line in protecting freedom of education in Ghana is financial. Without money, Margaret and Lewis cannot hope to keep the school open. Without the funding to expand and provide their own senior school, Margaret and Lewis cannot offer a higher level of education to children who may not be able to afford to travel elsewhere. Without basic equipment such as exercise books, text books and teaching resources, they cannot even retain the high standard of teaching already in place at the school, let alone begin to move forward and improve the school’s facilities for future generations of school children”.

Ghana is still a very poor country and the difficulties faced on a day to day level pose a problem for families trying to manage their children’s education, as Jen iskeen to point out, “For the children I met whilst working

at Royal Diadem, and indeed whilst living in Ghana, school is a privilege not a chore. It is a reason to get up earlier in the morning so as to complete chores and still be at school on time, a reason to work extra hard at the weekends for their parents so as to afford the necessary uniform and books, for these children, Royal Diadem is one of the very few places where they can be themselves, this is a special freedom alien to many Ghanaian children and one that we have to protect.”

The fact that an entire library can be bulit and stocked for £1600 indicates how easy it is to make a difference to children’s lives in Ghana and this kind of development will be of sustainable long term benefit to generations. The developed world takes education very much for granted but in Ghana it is empowering,education is an opportunity for children to gain the skills needed to take them out of poverty.

As indicated on our website we have set aside 20% ofour membership contributions to be injected into the community. Half of this will go to Afrikids and the other half directly to the community in Keta. We are working closely with local school’s in the area to determineexactly where help is needed and how the funds are best used. To ensure that funds are not lost in administration and other costs we will follow the model of Jen’s scheme and work directly with the beneficiaries, to ensure complete transparency members will be consulted on all of our decisions. If you have any comments or suggestions in relation to our community involvement then please let us know. Our scheme is interactive and the website is a wonderful resource to allow you to get involved in community projects in a much more ‘hand’s on’capacity. You are encouraged to make suggestions and you will be able to see ideas develop via the website over the coming months and years.

On the back page this month we have attached some of Jen’s pictures of the children of Royal Diadem helped over the past few years. If you would like to donate to the school or to ask Jen any questions regarding her work please contact: info@ketasandlanders.com. n

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Keta Sandlanders FC April/May 2008

Upcoming fixtures

25/05/08 Keta Sandlanders v Red Bull Soccer Academy

01/06/08 Ananse Int. Academy v Keta Sandlanders

08/06/08 Keta Sandlanders v Krachi Youth Academy

Player of the Month:Name: Mohammed Ibrahim ‘Zola’

Age: 21

Home town: Accra

Position: Attacking Midfielder

Favourite Club: Bolton Wanderers/Nottingham Forest

Favourite Player – Gianfranco Zola

Zola (centre of the picture opposite) has been Captain on Camp this season and is a hugely popular figure in the squad and the town. Originally from Ghanaian capital Accra, he is a robust forward player who has been deployed both as an attacking midfielder and as a striker so far. Nicknamed of course after Italian striker Gianfranco, Zola is a strong and pacy attackerwho holds-up the ball well and he is particularly useful dropping deep to create opportunities for the side.

Typical of many players in Ghana’s lower leagues, since leaving school at 14 Zola has always been a footballer, plying his trade in the hope of a big break. We are trying to give Zola and all of our players the best opportunity to make the most of their potential. From now on he will always be supported by the club but there is a generation of players on Africa’s pitches for whom life is ‘football or nothing’.

In the long term we hope to show how this does not have to be the case, how club’s can be supported and their players cared for. Our long term aim of a Sandlanders Academy would ensure hundreds of boys like Zola are given an all round education so that if football cannot provide them with a career they will be able to thrive elsewhere.

Commenting on our progress so far and plans for the future Zola says, “By the grace of God we will be able to move up, to compete at a higher level…We have a lot of people to thank this season for the progress we have made and as players we will try to do our job to say thank you to our supporters”. n

not be looking forward to the trip. Defeat in that opening game was our only setback so far and we still have to believe that a victory against the Bull’s in Keta will give us a chance to overtake them at the top. In other games against Ananse and Krachi we have picked up 4 points and looked like the better side, all great experience for the squad at this early stage of their development.

“The boys have exceeded expectations so far and will only improve; we are building something very special here” Sandlanders Team Manager

Desmond Apeku

(L-R) Tibo, Agogo, Zola, Kwame, and Livingstone join mourners at Abichi’s funeral last month.

Outstanding performances so far have come from Salenko (deployed as both defender and midfielder) and Livingstone who is emerging as a real rock in defence. Agogo has threatened goals throughout his time with the Sandlanders and hopefully the Krachi winner will be the start of a hot-streak for this obvious talent.

As ever, reports on all our games will be found on the website. Please bear with us as we strive to improve service to members, we are working on the technology which will enable us to broadcast highlights of games to members. As with everything this will require further funds and time and we are confident these services will be available shortly, they are crucial to our development and will set us apart from every other club on the continent in the long term.n

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Keta Sandlanders FC April/May 2008

Ghana Football Round-upThe Big 5 News Stories in Ghana Football:

1 Claude Le Roy to step down

After a reign in which he presided over a World Cup campaign and a 3rd place Nations Cup finish, Claude Le Roy will step down as Ghana’s boss at the end of May. Early favourites to succeed Le Roy include Klaus Topmoller (former coach of German side Bayer Leverkusen); Ghana-born Marcel Desailly has ruled himself out of the job.

2 Kotoko through against Dolphins

A stunning fight back saw current Premiership leaders Asante Kotoko turn a 2-0 first leg deficit against Nigerian side Dolphins into a 4-3 aggregate victory to send them through to the next round of Africa’s Confederations Cup (equivalent to the UEFA CUP).

3 Torric Jibril gets Arsenal trial

Accra Hearts of Oak prodigy Torric Jibril will head to London this summer for a 2 week trial with Arsenal. The 16 year old midfielder has been linked with a number of European clubs including Atletico Madrid but the Gunners may move to the front of the queue if they are impressed with his performance over the fortnight.

4 Muntari’s FA Cup win

Black Star Sulley Muntari became just the second Ghanaian (after Michael Essien) to lift England’s prestigious FA Cup as Portsmouth defeated Cardiff.The result was a fitting end to an impressive debut season for the energetic midfielder.

5 Essien’s Champions League agony

The irrepressible Essien missed out on the chance to join the likes of Abedi Pele and Sammy Kuffour as a Ghanaian Champions of Europe as Chelsea lost the Champions League on penalties to Manchester United. Like Muntari an ex-Liberty Professional, these are two players who have graduated from Ghana’s domestic league and gone on to show how far well managed talent can be taken.n

Farewell AbichiKeta grinds to a halt as we bid farewell to one of our biggest fans, please see the website for more details.

Every funeral in Ghana is a spectacle - a riot of colour and singing, wailing crowds. Roads are blocked off and hundreds of people pause to pay their respects. The day is an important and emotional celebration of life attended by extended family, friends and well-wishers and funeral’s are always as lavish as a family is able to manage. On 11 April 2008 Keta celebrated the life of Courage Elikplim Kobla Beckley (known as ‘Abichi’), one of the strongest local followers of the Sandlanders.

A Senior High School graduate, Abichi died tragically in a road accident on Easter Monday aged just 27whilst travelling to Accra ahead of joining Ghana's army. He is the brother of former Sandlanders Captain Julius Ceasar and was due to head up our local supporters union (each club in Ghana has its own union - essentially supporters clubs formed by regular attendees to games - our local membership scheme will extend this concept further by allowing local supporters to actually have a share in the ownership and running of their club).

Abichi was to have been the President of the Sandlanders local supporters union. A great fan

and a great man, he will be sorely missed.

Red and Black are the colours worn for funerals in Ghana (the masthead of this issue of the Sandlanders magazine is in the same colour for this reason) and the players attended in full kit adorned with red ribbons to mark the passing of a regular attendee at our games over the last 5 years.

Sport is a great outlet for Ghanaians, a football match is a big draw for the local community and consequently we have a host of regulars who attend every game, Abichi was a well-known face amongst this crowd. His faith and enthusiasm will be much missed and we send our condolences and best wishes to his family.n