• WTA unveils “It Takes” campaign, highlighting the inspirational and authentic attributes of professional women’s tennis players 
• Player led, multi-season campaign debuts globally with new branding, storylines and engaging experiences for fans

ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA - The WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) announced today its new global marketing campaign “It Takes”, designed to showcase the spirit, authenticity and diversity that is characteristic of the world’s best tennis players and the iconic WTA tournaments in which they compete. 

To help build the campaign, the WTA consulted over 140 players about the driving forces that have formed each of their individual personalities and that resonate most deeply with them as elite athletes, both on and off the court. This process resulted in a series of personally felt characteristics such as “It Takes HEART”, “It Takes FIGHT”, “It Takes BELIEF” and “It Takes PURPOSE”, to name a few. ​

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has charged Sanath Jayasundara with two counts of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. Mr Jayasundara, a performance analyst at Sri Lanka Cricket, has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect. The charges are as follows:
 
 
1.     Article 2.1.3 – offering a bribe or other Reward to the Sri Lankan Sports Minister to contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an International Match
 
                  OR (in the alternative)

Vice Chairperson of the Ghana Football Association Normalization Committee, Mrs Lucy Quist has resigned from her position.
The former Airtel Cheif Executive Officer has been a member of the committee steering the affairs of Ghana football since the premiering of the 'Number 12' video that exposed the rot in Ghana football.
She was named alongside Dr Kofi Amoah, Naa Odofoley Nortey and Samuel Osei Kuffour to review the statutes of the Ghana FA, organize elections, and running the day to day administration of the Ghana FA.
According to Mrs Quist, her resignation is based on personal reasons and nothing else.
Below is her full statement after leaving her position on the Committee

​The appointment is part of the federation's drive to improve the development of rugby in Nigeria
LAGOS, Nigeria, May, 2019/ -- The Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF) has appointed Abubakar Yakubu a.k.a Yaro as the acting technical director of the federation.

According to the NRFF President, Kelechi Mbagwu, the appointment is part of the federation's drive to improve the development of rugby in Nigeria.

Mbagwu said Yakubu's experience as a former national player would be needed to revamp rugby across the country, adding that his target was to see more Nigerian youths in Rugby.

Daniel Nii Mensah CEO of Dan DeVan Group of Companies has disclosed that the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) has inspired and motivated him to do more for disabled and deprived sportsmen and women in Ghana.
Speaking to Yours Truly on the 44th MTN SWAG Awards which he has been named to receive recognition and honour, he said the award will urge him to do more.
Daniel Nii Mensah is a businessman with deep interest in supporting Para Sports.
He sponsors the Ghana Amputee Football League and the Ghana Wheel Chair Tennis Tournament.

Mr. Patrick Johnson, Secretary General of Ghana Boxing Association (GBA), has been appointed Vice Chairman of the regional boxing body, Association of Professional Boxing Commission (APBC).
The appointment by the APBC, is in recognition of his enormous contribution towards the sport in the country.
The APBC is a respected organisation which houses astute boxing gurus like Gianluca Di Caro, boxing referee Roger Barnor of Ghana, Professor M.J. Graham, former Irish Champion Lee Murtagh and hosts of other knowledgeable personalities in the sport.

Following its whirlwind journey taking in each of the 24 countries participating in the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, the FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy is back in the host country.
The most coveted prize in women’s football will begin its national tour of France on 14 May.
The tour will start in Paris, the location for the opening match between France and Korea Republic on 7 June, and conclude in Lyon, the venue for the final on 7 July.
As excitement builds ahead of the tournament, fans throughout France have the opportunity to get up-close to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy. 

Three officials of the Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Mawuko Afadzinu, Kenneth Ashigbey and William Asare, had a change of heart and accepted to head the association again minutes after the trio pulled out of the association's elective congress at the Accra Stadium on Saturday May 4, 2019.
It took pleas from delegates and other members of the ping-pong fraternity for the trio to rescind their decision not to contest as president, vice president and treasurer respectively.
Their insistence to resign from the GTTA followed unsubstantiated allegations against them by some members of the table tennis fraternity over financial benefits they made from the association.
However, after they were prevailed upon to back down on their earlier position to resign, other members of the executive were duly elected.

Seiko and the IAAF today announced the renewal of their long-standing partnership for a further 10 years, until the end of 2029.
Seiko will provide its state-of-the-art timing and measurement services to all 37 World Athletics Series events during the period, including five World Athletics Championships.
It all started at the 1985 World Indoor Games in Paris when Seiko was chosen to provide the timing and distance measurement services. Over the subsequent 34 years, Seiko has served at 184 IAAF events, including 15 World Championships, and is now finalising its plans for the 2019 edition in Doha this September.

AAF President Sebastian Coe announced 11 new locations for the IAAF World Athletics Heritage Plaque at tonight’s IAAF / LOC Dinner on the eve of the IAAF World Relays Yokohama 2019.
The new locations in the categories of ‘Competition’ and ‘Landmark’ are spread across the IAAF’s six continental areas.
'Permanent reminders of outstanding historic athletic achievement'“The eleven recipients we honour tonight have each made an enormous impact in the historical development of the sport of athletics in their countries and beyond,” said Sebastian Coe. “We launched this new award last December and a public competition has since designed the plaque. Next year we will begin to unveil the plaques, permanent reminders of outstanding historic athletic achievement, in prominent locations around the world.”

The 12 captains came together on the picturesque 14th hole at Bear Mountain Resort in Langford on Wednesday ahead of the HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens this weekend.

Canada come into their home tournament in buoyant mood after ending a two-year wait for a Cup title in Kitakyushu last month, and will be hoping for their first success on Canadian soil.

“The energy all week has been buzzing – we can feel it in our team and in the community so hopefully we’re going to take that, put it on our backs and carry it forward,” said Canada captain Ghislaine Landry.

•  One month to go until the opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™
  
• Opening Ceremony to take place before opening match in Paris between France and Korea Republic on 7 June
  
• Tickets available via FIFA.com/fifawwc/tickets

With just one month until the biggest single-sport women’s event in the world kicks off, FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) are proud to announce Jain as the Official Performer of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ Opening Ceremony. 
On Friday 7 June, before France face Korea Republic in the highly anticipated Opening Match of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™, Jain will perform a set of her hit songs to the international audience of fans at Paris’ Parc des Princes and around the world.
Having spent her childhood living on different continents, Jain’s international upbringing forged her view of the world and influenced her artistic universe. Born to Madagascan and French parents,Jain embodies the global element of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™.

When world football's top performers convene in Milan on 23 September for The Best FIFA Football Awards, there will be two brand-new accolades up for grabs: The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper will be honoured, as will the members of the FIFA FIFPro Women's World11.
“FIFA is certain that France will host a groundbreaking edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup this year, so I cannot think of a better moment to introduce these new awards. It is yet another step in the right direction to raise the profile of women's football,” said Zvonimir Boban, FIFA's Deputy Secretary General (Football).

SAN JUAN (Puerto Rico) - New Zealand, Spain (women), France, Puerto Rico (men) and Australia (men and women) grabbed the last 6 tickets for the FIBA 3x3 World Cup at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup Qualifier 2019 in San Juan, Puerto Rico on May 4-5.
In the men's category, the Puerto Rican hosts benefited from the support of their loud fans who packed the historic Hiram Bithorn baseball stadium. They went on to be the only undefeated team (4-0) and a proper highlights factory, starting with dunk machine Luis 'Pela Coco' Hernandez.
Australia and France also earned their ticket to the World Cup, thanks to the 2 best individual scoring performances of the weekend. Tim Coenraad scored 13 points for Australia in the last game of the tournament against Czech Republic. Rémi Dibo did even better: he tallied 14 points in the previous qualifying game against the same opponents.

​Sierra Leone women national cricket team on Monday May 6thsuffered their second straight defeat in the ongoing International Cricket Council (ICC) Africa Women’s Twenty20 Championship in Zimbabwe after losing to Uganda and Kenya respectively. 
 
Monday’s defeat to Kenya was the female Patriot second in the tournament which leaves them with little hopes of securing the only World Cup qualifying spot for Africa in the tournament.    
 
The Kenyans got things started after winning the toss and decided to bat and were limited to 170 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 20 overs. Kenya skipper M. Ngoche was the match top scorer with 73 runs from 53 balls, S. Juma was second with 39 runs from 30 balls while SW Kinyua secured 16 runs from 27 balls. 

Sierra Leone’s President, His Excellency Julius Maada Bio has admitted that his government is still in discussion with the World’s football governing body, FIFA to resolve the long lasting dispute within the country’s football association, SLFA.
 
Its been seven months now since the FIFA Bureau Council suspended the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) from all international football related involvement on allegations of government interference and are yet to reverse their decision despite several engagement with officials from the government. 

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA — Less than six months after securing Provisional Recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the international federation for men’s and women’s lacrosse is taking yet another significant step forward in its development with the introduction of a new name, logo and brand platform.
Effective today, the international federation will be known as:
World Lacrosse
And, the primary logos for World Lacrosse are:

The Ghana Kickboxing Association has sent Big Congratulations to Gerald Dah of Ghana who defeated his Chinese opponent in their 70 kg category kickboxing fight on Saturday.
Ghana's Gerald Dah weighed 69.0 kg whilst his opponent, Zhou Xhianning came in at the exact 70 kg limit for their 70kg category kickboxing fight which took place on Saturday May 4 in Jiangxi Province, China.
Gerald Dah, a former member of the Power Zone Gym in Accra improved his record and asked Ghanaians to pray for him in his next fight. 

Ryan James Storrie from Great Britain stunned No.1 seed Benjamin Lock of Zimbabwe to claim his first professional title - the McDan ITF World Tour trophy at the Accra Sports Stadium Tennis Court, Ghana on Sunday. 
Storrie had a charming drive to the finals as he defeated Ivorian Abdoulaziz Bationo 6-1,6-2 in the round 32 and continue his fine form beating Netherlands' Len Schouten 6-1,6-4.
Storrie overcame Portuguese Andre Gaspar Murta 6-1,6-1 and set up a clash against No.4 seed Mehluli Don Ayanda Sibanda Of Zimbabwe, beating him 6-2,6-0.
After each player took their serves to 2-2, Storrie brilliantly forehand winner was followed by an equally breathtaking backhand to earn three break points, and the first was converted as Storrie moved forward and hammered a short ball. The crowd at Frank Ofori centre court roared as Storrie hit an outrageous winner around the net post on his way to securing the first set 6-4.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has honoured Dr. Daniel McKorley with a special trophy for his contribution to Tennis in Ghana, Africa and the world.
The CIMG Marketing Man of the Year and chief of two communities in Ada and Tamale who is CEO of McDan Group of companies first sponsored the McDan National Open which developed to the West African Open, and now the McDan ITF World Tour with players from over 30 countries participating.
Dr. McKorley who has invested in other sports like football and boxing said after putting Ghana on the Tennis map, the next move is for the nation to climb from world zone 3 to zone 2.
The one week event saw first class Tennis and the players really exhibited their talents and skills in the game.

​The May 9 Foundation has marked 18 years of the Accra stadium disaster with Ramadan prayers and donations at the Kumasi Central Mosque. 

Herbert Mensah, former chairman of Asante Kotoko and founder of the May 9 Remembered annual charity events joined Moslems and chiefs to pray for the souls of the over 126 football fans who died during the Stadium stampede on May 9 2001. 

Mr Mensah was chairman of Kotoko in 2001 when the disaster occurred and he personally participated in conveying and transporting the dead bodies and injured soccer fans on a sad day.

This year's memorial and donations coincided with the start of the Ramadan fasting season for Muslims all over the world. 

Mr Mensah was joined at the Kumasi central Mosque by the Ghana Association of the physically disabled and their patron Aunty Mavis, a British-Ghanaian woman whose charity work in Ghana spans over 64 years. 

South Africa host Pakistan for an ICC Women’s Championship series that could be crucial in deciding who qualifies for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 and gives leading players the chance to improve their positions in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings.


South Africa are currently fifth with 13 points and Pakistan sixth with 12 points, after 12 matches each of the eight-team championship that provides direct qualification berths to hosts New Zealand and four other top teams in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021.


The field is competitive with the West Indies on 11 points and seventh position in the points table, an indicator of the increasing competition in the women’s game. The second cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship that runs from 2017-2020, is being played on the back of a highly successful first edition that drew praise from all quarters for ensuring more matches for women’s sides and improving the quality of the game.​

Seven teams are expected to join hosts Egypt for the tournament, which is also the qualifier for the 2020 Olympic Games.
That tournament is scheduled to be held on November 8-22.
Ghana’s Black Meteors will play their Algerian counterparts in the final round of qualifiers for the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Egypt.
The Meteors beat former champions Gabon 4-0 on aggregate to book qualification to the next stage.
They went to Libreville to hold the Gabonese to a goalless draw,

Female Rugby Player, Rafatu Inusah who got injured and had to switch playing to administrative work spoke to the General of Ghana Sports on the SWAG Awards and the future of the game in Ghana.
SWAG
This is the first time SWAG  is awarding Rugby players; so Rafatu and Angel Michael the skipper of the national team who are poised to win the national team of the year award will take home something to remember and recognition at the 44th AWARDS  ceremony of the Sports Journalists in Ghana.
She spoke to Yours Truly in an exclusive interview from Kumasi, the garden city, during the celebration of the Asantehene. This is what Rafatu said... 
I believe this will influence some ladies who have now stepped in to push Rugby forward. Ladies like Kadija, Anita and Sandra who are also involved in the get Into Rugby Program initiated by World Rugby and adopted by Ghana Rugby through our able leader Mr Herbert Mensah to develop the game to Schools and community across the country.

ANTWERP (Belgium) - Tyrese Rice, the player of Brose Bamberg, has been awarded the title of Most Valuable Player of the 2018-19 Basketball Champions League Season.
The 31-year-old American, who grew up in Chesterfield, Virginia, has had an outstanding season with Brose Bamberg. Second best scorer with a total of 303 points this season, he's also the 3rd best turnover specialist with an average of 3 turnovers per game. Tyrese Jammal Rice has been elected among the Team of the Week of the second, fourth and eight Gameday of the Regular Season, as well as of the Quarter-Finals, and also named MVP of the Round of 16.