Gbewaa Academy have won the special gala competition that was organized at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale on Sunday after beating Kessben FC 3-0 on penalties after a 2-2 drawn game in regulation time in the finals. The event dubbed the ‘Hamza Mohammed Gala’ saw the four participating teams battle for glory with enthusiasm.
The gala competition organized by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and coach of Gbewaa Academy, Hamza Mohammed is done from time to time with his partners in the development of talents. At the closing ceremony, he said the organisation of the tournament was done in collaboration with his partners and player agents who were in attendance to watch the final match. ” The aim is to give opportunities to players in these teams to prove themselves if spotted by the scouts.” He said.
In the first game, Gbewaa Academy beat Shooting Starlets
1-0 whilst Kessben FC beat CFC 1-0 in the other game. This gave the two teams the impetus to face each other in the grand finale on Sunday.
The final match attracted personalities such as Alhaji Abu Hassan Rhyzos, Alhaji Abdallah (Coach of FC Tamale), Lovis Daniels (a Scout from Cologne, Germany) and Paul Killings (also a Scout from Cologne, Germany).
The final itself saw a fascinating brand of football from both teams as they settled for a 2-2 drawn game. The few supporters who watched the game were not disappointed at all in terms of what they saw.
Gbewaa Academy however emerged victorious at the end of it all. For winning the competition, Gbewaa Academy took home a trophy and an amount of GHC 200 cash. For placing second, Kessben FC were given an amount of GHC 100 cash. CFC were given GHC 100. And Shooting Starlets also received GHC 100.
These cash rewards were a donation by Alhaji Abu Hassan Rhyzos as part of his contribution to the event.
In an address at the closing ceremony, Coach of Gbewaa FC Hamza Mohammed said, ” The goal of the tournament has been achieved. Even though we won, but my aim wasn’t the trophy but to unearth the talents. The few players who have been picked by my partners, lets see what they are able to achieve.”
For his part, Alhaji Abu Hassan Rhyzos said, ” The aim of the competition being to unearth talents serves as a motivation for him to also come on board since it serves as an exposure.” He congratulated Gbewaa Academy for winning and encouraged the other teams to put up their best the next time the competition resumes sometime in March, 2019.
Alhaji Rhyzo commended the organisers for their efforts in putting together the competition which in his view is not only about winning but about giving exposure to the players to show what they can do.
