The Stephen Appiah led world XI comprising of English legends Emile Heskey and Sol Campbell, Chelsea great William Gallas, Cameroun international Alex Song held a football clinic at the Wembley.
The football clinic witnessed young aspiring footballers from the Mandela Academy and their technical handlers schooled by football legends as to how to model their God given talent.
Here are photos of the Football clinic:
The countdown to the 2016 Vodafone Unity match ahead of the upcoming general election intensified with Former Ghana President, J.A. Kufuor receiving Ex Black Stars captain and peace ambassador Stephen Appiah.
Kuffour lauded the former Juventus star Stephen Appiah for his contributions towards the promotion of peace in the country and conferred honors on Appiah yesterday by presenting him with a citation when he paid him a courtesy call at his residence in Accra to brief him about preparations for the Vodafone Unity Match (VUM) slated for June 8 and June 11 in Kumasi and Accra respectively.
“Peace is imperative for the progress and development of any society. For a developing country such as Ghana the lack of peace will lead to civil strife, further worsen our economy and throw our economy into abeyance,” the citation read.
“At no other time is peace more needed than during elections when tensions are heightened, and the least spark degenerates into chaos.
“It is in this vein that I see this initiative by former Black Stars captain, Stephen Appiah aimed at sustaining peace in our country before, during and after the elections as a worthy one that must be supported by all including government, the political parties and the Electoral Commission.
“Stephen has always been a leader, and his latest venture in assembling great world footballers to play for peace is another sign of his leadership qualities. I congratulate and encourage him in his endeavors.
Minister for Youth and Sports, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye has accepted former Black Stars captain, Stephen Appiah invitation, to be part of the much anticipated Vodafone Unity Match 2016.
The match, an initiative of ex-Black Stars captain, Stephen Appiah and organised by Ghana’s number one Sports event house, Primeval Media.
The matches are aimed at promoting peace and unity among Ghanaians as the nation goes to the polls on November 7, to elect a president and parliamentarians.
Appiah, will lead former international players such as, Nigerian deadly duo of Jay Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu as well as former English premier league players, Sol Campbell, George Boateng, Louis Saha, Dwight Yorke and Dutch legend, Edgar davids just to name a few in world eleven side to play a game against record Ghana premier league champions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on June 8 and June 11 against the senior national team, Ghana Black Stars at the Accra Sports stadium.
Nii Lantey a former footballer and journalist praised Appiah for leading the cause of educating Ghanaians on the promotion of peace and togetherness among ourselves before, during and after election 2016 and pat him on the back to continue with the good job he has commenced.
“on behalf president John Dramani Mahama, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and all Ghanaians, I want to say thank you for the honours Stephen Appiah has done us by deciding to create the awareness of peace before, during and after election 2016. As a government we should spearhead maintenance and sustainability of peace and if Appiah has decided to hold one side of the arm then we want to thank him, thank Primeval media and headline sponsor, Vodafone Ghana.”
“we wish you the best and assure you (Appiah) can count on us any day to make this event a success and in coordination with the National Sports Authority (NSA) and are ready to avail anything within our power to your disposable. It is quite a difficult program schedule ahead for me but I will honour the invitation,” he added.
Appiah will next on the road as he continues the peace tour call on former president Jerry John Rawlings at his Ridge residence.
Ahead of the 2016 Vodafone Unity Match(VUM), championed by Primeval, SportsCrusader.com takes a look at the life of ex-Nigerian international, Augustine ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha who has been invited to feature in a star studded team for the Double header in Kumasi and Accra on June 8 and June 11, 2016 respectively.
Augustine Okocha (born August 14, 1973 in Enugu) is a Nigerian football (soccer) midfielder. He is nicknamed Jay Jay for his entertaining and flamboyant style of play.
Okocha has played for several European clubs including Bolton Wanderers, Paris Saint-Germain, Fenerbahçe, and Eintracht Frankfurt and was regularly selected for the Nigeria national football team during his active playing days.
Known as a hugely skillful midfielder, Okocha has played at the 1994, 1998 (where he was named in the official team of the tournament), and 2002 World Cup finals and many African Nations Cup tournaments. He was also a member of the Nigerian team that won the golden medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
Okocha is often described as an African “Maradona”, as his style is similar to that of the Argentine superstar. He is a member of the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé in conjunction with FIFA’s centenary celebrations. He has also been nominated BBC’s African footballer of the year (2004 and 2005).
In the early 2005/06 season, he was replaced as Bolton captain by Kevin Nolan. This is much attributed to his public admittance that he was interested in a lucrative move to the Middle East to ply his trade.
Jay-Jay is an excellent example of a complete African player with his great individual skills, good vision, passing and shooting.
In 2004 he released a DVD called “Superskills with Jay-Jay Okcoha” where he teaches kids at a footbal school the most difficult tricks in football, most of which he has done in games. He’s known as the player who does things during a match that most people can’t even imagine doing in training or even do it at all.
Ticket prices for the much-anticipated Vodafone Unity Match 2016 have been revealed.
The match, an initiative of event powerhouse, Primeval Media, to promote peace and unity ahead of the 2016 general elections, will see a galaxy of world football players – retired and active – travel to Ghana to play a two-legged tie.
Stephen Appiah will lead a world XI side to face record Ghana premier league champions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko and the senior national team of Ghana, the Black Stars at the Kumasi and Accra Sports stadia on June 8 and 11 respectively.
Fans of the beautiful game will have to acquire tickets for either games at the following rates in Kumasi; Popular Stand – Ghc 20, Centre Line – Ghc 30, VIP – Ghc 50, VVIP – 100 and in Accra; Popular stand – Ghc 20, Osu Stand – Ghc 30, VIP Lower – Ghc 50, VIP Upper – Ghc 100 and VVIP – Ghc 150.
The Communications Team of Primeval Media, organisers of the event, have informed Sportscrusader.com of two impending raffles, one each in Kumasi and Accra, to be supervised by the National Lottery Authority (NLA) which will enable fans win special prizes with their tickets.
Jermain Defoe scored a penalty in the final minute of stoppage-time as relegation-threatened Sunderland salvaged a dramatic 1-1 draw against Stoke on Saturday.
Desperate for points to boost their survival hopes, the Black Cats struggled to create clear-cut chances and it looked like Marko Arnautovic’s second-half goal would consign them to defeat.
But, with time running out, Defoe won and calmly converted a penalty after a lengthy delay to keep the Sunderland fans dreaming of survival.
The former Tottenham Hotspur forward will join 2016 Peace Ambassador, Stephen Appiah and world renowned ex and current footballers to form a World XI side in Ghana, in June this year.
They will play matches against record Ghana premier league champions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko and an Asamoah Gyan-led Ghana Black Stars on June 8 and 11 at the Kumasi and Accra Sports Stadia respectively in the much awaited, Vodafone Unity Match 2016 organised by Ghana’s premier event house, Primeval Media Ghana Limited.
Dwight Eversley Yorke is a Tobagonian former football player born on November 3 1971.
He played for Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland.
He was the assistant manager of the Trinidad and Tobago national team until the completion of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Yorke was first discovered by former Aston Villa manager, Graham Taylor, on a tour of the West Indies in 1989. He featured for a team that played a friendly match against Aston Villa and caught Taylor’s attention, who offered him a trial at Villa.
Yorke was subsequently given a permanent contract and he made his First Division debut for Aston Villa against Crystal Palace on 24 March 1990.
Manchester United signed Yorke from Villa for £12.6 million on 20 August 1998 and made an instant impact in guiding the Old Trafford club to a historic treble of the Premiership title, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, in the famous partnership with Andy Cole.
Yorke finished the season as the top league goalscorer with 18 goals and contributed goals against Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Internazionale and Juventus in the Champions League.
He remained a regular member of United’s 1999–2000 title winning team, contributing 22 goals in all competitions.
The 44-year old later played with Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC, Sunderland before hanging up his boots in 2009.
The Manchester United legend will join Stephen Appiah in lining up with a galaxy of stars to play the two matches of the Vodafone Unity Match 2016 against Kotoko and the Ghana Black Stars on June 8 and 11 at the Kumasi and Accra Sports stadia respectively.
The Unity Match project is a brainchild of top-notch Sports Events organizers, Primeval Media Ghana Limited, with Vodafone as the headline sponsor of the maiden edition.
Former Ghana international, Augustine Arhinful has said that football players are symbols of unity and their participation in this year’s Vodafone Unity Match, will promote peace and unity in Ghana.
Primeval Media in conjunction with Vodafone Ghana and Stephen Appiah, would use football as the tool to preach peace to Ghanaians in the upcoming general elections in Ghana.
The double-football event which will be held in June later this year, was unveiled at the Accra Sports Stadium, on Friday April 22, and Augustine Arhinful, a member of the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG), says football cannot be played without footballers.
“You can’t play football without footballers. It is not the first time a unity game or a peace match is going to be played in Ghana.
“Before the 2012 elections, there was one in Tamale which was organised by the NCCE. Unfortunately we could not play the second game here in Accra, but we believe the message was sold out,” Mr. Arhinful said at the event’s press soiree.
“I am here on behalf of the PFAG, to pledge our support for this initiative because we strongly believe football bring all of us together.
“Despite our political differences, we are going to partake in this fully. We also want to commend Vodafone and Adidas for buying into the idea. We are grateful and we are very much involved.” He added.
Football stars across the globe will grace the occasion.
Primeval Media in conjunction with Stephen Appiah, former captain of the Black Stars, will on Friday, April 22, organise a Press Soiree at the Multi Purpose Court of the Accra Sports Stadium, opposite the Stadium Gym.
The Press Soiree, is aimed at the interacting with various stakeholders in the football fraternity, members of the sporting media and corporate world.
A statement from the Communications Directorate of Primeval Media, said the event would also be used to formally announce the head line sponsors; Vodafone Ghana Limited.
According to the statement, the event which, has now be christened “Vodafone Unity Match” would create a platform for the media to intaract with organisers, other stakeholders as part of efforts to build an exciting moments for the match.
It said, the headline sponsors, would also be presented with an opportunity to tell the world through the media, about their association with the event.
The statement noted that, the event will be attended by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Nii Lantei Vanderpuije, members of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Retired National Footballers Association of Ghana (RENFAG), Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) among others.
Appiah, will in June lead a group of renonwed footbal icons, such as Sol Campbel, William Gallas, Patrick Kluivert, Germain Defoe among others to play Kotoko on June 8 and the Black Stars on June 11, at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Kumasi and Accra Sports Stadium respectively.
It is aimed at promoting unity and peace ahead of the 2016 elections.
