Sports
Ghana kicks off 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign at home against Madagascar (see complete schedule)
The entire calendar for the qualifications has been released, and Ghana will begin their path to the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a home match against Madagascar in November 2023.
The Black Stars are in Group I with Mali, Comoros, Central African Republic, Chad, and Madagascar. This grouping was decided during the July draw ceremony.
Ghana will welcome Madagascar, widely known as the Barea, between November 13 and 21, to begin their quest for a ticket in the global football spectacular in 2026. Following that, the squad will travel to Comoros for their second qualifying encounter, also in November. The next eight matches are set to take place in 2024 and 2025.
The Black Stars will try to clinch their position in the World Cup for a sixth time after competing in 2006, 2010, 2014, and the most recent edition in Qatar last year. Ghana is the only side from Group I to have reached the World Cup finals, since Mali, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros, and Chad have yet to do so.
Within each of the nine groups, the qualification procedure consists of a home-and-away round-robin style. The winners of these groups will be guaranteed a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026. Furthermore, the four best group runners-up will advance to a play-off stage to select the Confederation of African Football (CAF) representation in the FIFA play-off competition.
The FIFA play-off event will include one team from each of FIFA’s six confederations, with the exception of UEFA, as well as one additional team from the host confederation (Concacaf). Two of these teams will be seeded according to the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. The seeded teams will battle for a place in the FIFA World Cup against the winners of the first two knockout matches among the four unseeded nations.
Below is the complete fixture list for Ghana in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers:
November 13 – 21, 2023: Ghana vs Madagascar || Comoros vs Ghana
June 03 – 11, 2024: Mali vs Ghana || Ghana vs Central African Republic
March 17 – 25, 2025: Ghana vs Chad || Madagascar vs Ghana
September 01 – 09, 2025: Chad vs Ghana || Ghana vs Mali
October 06 – 14, 2025: Central African Republic vs Ghana || Ghana vs Comoros
Sports
Black Stars fitness coach Ricky Roy reportedly dead
Romeo Ricky Roy, the fitness coach for Ghana’s senior national team, has died.
According to Ghana Football Association president Kurt Edwin Simeon Okraku’s Facebook post, he died in Accra on Sunday, April 28, 2024.
Roy joined the Black Stars’ backroom staff in 2021, during Milovan Rajevac’s second spell as coach.
He remained with the national squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the current Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
Roy rose to prominence as a member of the coaching staff for Division One League club Vision FC in February 2020, before joining the national squad.
Sports
Veteran Sports Commentator Joe Lartey dies at 96
The Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) has reported the death of Joe Lartey, a veteran Ghanaian football pundit and sports writer.
He passed away on Friday, April 26, 2024, at the age of 96.
Joe Lartey was born on June 6, 1927, in Accra and attended Accra Academy. Lartey, often known as “Over to You,” was a well-known broadcaster and SWAG’s founding president.
Lartey began his media career as a football commentator with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) in 1961.
He grew to be a popular figure in Ghana’s sports community.
He subsequently spent a decade at Radio Nigeria before returning to GBC in 1990. During his stint, he presented shows including Sports Digest on GTV.
In appreciation of his achievements in sports journalism, Lartey received the coveted “A Life in Sport” award from the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) during the AIPS Sport Media Awards ceremony in Doha, Qatar, in June 2022.
Lartey’s impact stretched well beyond Ghana, with numerous Ghanaian football analysts praising him for moulding their careers.
Fans and colleagues alike will remember him warmly for his pioneering work in sports broadcasting.
Sports
Xavi to stay as Barcelona’s coach until at least June 2025
Barcelona coach Xavi will stay with the club until at least the end of his contract in June 2025, having changed his mind about this being his final season.
The 44-year-old stated in January that he will stand down as manager this summer.
However, with president Joan Laporta desperate for him to stay, the former Barcelona and Spain midfielder has made a U-turn.
Xavi took over as manager of Barcelona in November 2021, after leaving Qatari club Al Sadd, and led the team to the Spanish title in his first full season in charge in 2022–23.
However, they are 11 points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid with six games remaining in the current season.
Barcelona were eliminated from the Champions League last week after losing to PSG in the quarterfinals.
Xavi, who won 25 honours during his brilliant playing career at Barcelona, said he felt “liberated” with the revelation that he would leave the position at the conclusion of the season.
When he announced his departure following the defeat to Villarreal, he felt he was not being safeguarded by the club and there was no clear direction.
However, the team’s fortunes have improved since Xavi felt comfortable taking a more casual attitude.
They went ten games undefeated in the league before falling 3-2 to Real Madrid on Sunday.
On Wednesday, there was a meeting at Laporta’s residence, and the club’s desire for him to stay was clear.
If Xavi is unable to strengthen the squad before the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, Barcelona will attempt to persuade one of the high-profile managers out of contract, including Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, and Mikel Arteta.
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