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Tag: Annor Walker

  • Annor Walker makes surprising comeback to former team after alleged move to Hearts

    Annor Walker makes surprising comeback to former team after alleged move to Hearts

    In a surprising turn of events, coach Annor Walker has made a comeback to his former team, Great Olympics, following a season away in Samreboi.

    After leaving the Accra-based club to join newly promoted team FC Samartex 1996 in the Ghana Premier League, the 62-year-old has now signed a two-year contract to rejoin his former outfit, returning to a familiar environment.

    During his time at FC Samartex, Walker led the team to a commendable 10th place finish in the 2022/23 Ghana Premier League.

    Despite this achievement, both parties agreed to part ways, leading to his departure from Samreboi.

    Walker’s return to Great Olympics, a team he had previously caused distress for, has generated excitement among the club’s fans.

    Following successful negotiations on July 3, 2023, the veteran coach finalized a two-year contract with the Blue and White team.

    His decision to return came as Great Olympics faced the threat of relegation in the recently concluded season.

    Despite rumors of a potential move to prominent club Accra Hearts of Oak SC, Walker opted to rejoin his former team instead.

  • GFA likely to appoint Didi Dramani as Black Galaxies head coach – Reports

    GFA likely to appoint Didi Dramani as Black Galaxies head coach – Reports

    Reports indicate that Mas’Ud Didi Dramani, the assistant manager of the Black Stars, is set to be appointed as the new head coach of the Black Galaxies.

    An official announcement from the Ghana Football Association is expected to be made shortly, following Annor Walker’s resignation from the position.

    The Ghana Football Association has reportedly offered Didi Dramani a two-year contract to lead the Black Galaxies (Local Black Stars).

    Didi Dramani boasts an impressive coaching track record, previously serving as the head coach of the Ghana National Under 17 team.

    Under his leadership, the team achieved qualification for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan and secured a commendable bronze medal.

    Additionally, Didi Dramani worked as an assistant coach alongside Otto Addo during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, despite Ghana’s disappointing performance, finishing last in the group stages.

  • Coach Annor Walker part ways with Samartex after a season

    Coach Annor Walker part ways with Samartex after a season


    Coach Annor Walker     has departed Samartex FC following a mutual agreement between the club and the veteran coach.

    Walker had joined the club at the start of the previous season, coming from Great Olympics.

    After securing promotion to the top flight from the Division One League, Samartex brought in Walker with the aim of establishing a solid foundation for the team to compete with the top clubs.

    During his tenure, Walker guided Samartex to a respectable finish in the top ten, accumulating 46 points from 34 matches.

    However, the club and the coach have now reached a mutual agreement to part ways after just one season together.

    Following the departure of 62-year-old coach Annor Walker, FC Samartex has initiated a search for a suitable replacement. The club confirmed the news through an official statement on Twitter.

    Walker, who previously led the Black Galaxies to the quarter-finals of the 2022 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Algeria, where they were eliminated by Niger, has been rumored to be a potential candidate for the coaching position at 2020/21 Ghana Premier League champions, Hearts of Oak.

    Hearts of Oak is currently seeking a permanent replacement for Serbian coach Slavko Matic.

    As FC Samartex begins their search for a new coach, the club will be aiming to find a suitable candidate who can continue the progress made under Walker’s guidance.

  • AFCON: Annor Walker blames snub of local players in Black Stars squad to CHAN failure

    AFCON: Annor Walker blames snub of local players in Black Stars squad to CHAN failure

    The absence of local players in the Black Stars lineup for the upcoming matches against Angola has been attributed by Annor Walker to the Black Galaxies’ dismal performance  at the 2022 African Nations Championships (CHAN).

    People are talking about the Black Stars head coach Chris Hughton’s decision to name a 25-man roster without any home-based players for the doubleheader against Angola later this month.

    The Black Galaxies of Ghana competed in the CHAN tournament earlier this year in Algeria, where they lost to Niger 2-0 in the quarterfinal stage after needing just one win in the group stage to advance.

    Speaking to Peace FM, Walker asserts that Hughton’s decision to omit any domestic player can be explained by the disappointing performance in Algeria.

    “It could be so, if we had won the trophy, definitely he would have asked or would have contacted the technical team so we recommend one or two players to the senior national team,” he said.

    “The coach did the call-ups, maybe he doesn’t know much about the locally-based players, especially with the CHAN team.”

    The decision to also leave out the home-based players is a step back for the league as there were two players called up for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

    Ghana will host Angola at the Baba Yara Stadium on March 24 before travelling away for the return leg four days later.

  • CHAN 2023: We are in Algeria to win the tournament – Black Galaxies Coach

    CHAN 2023: We are in Algeria to win the tournament – Black Galaxies Coach

    Head coach of the Black Galaxies, Annor Walker, says the team is in Algeria to win the 2023 African Nations Championship (CHAN).

    Walker is hoping to become the first coach to lift the trophy for Ghana after unsuccessful attempts in the previous three editions the team was involved.

    Milovan Rajevac and Maxwell Konadu took the team to the final in 2009 and 2014 while Herbert Addo’s 2011 side couldn’t go past the group stage.

    But Walker, who is leading the team now, says the team is in Algiers to win the CHAN tournament for the first time.

    “From what our head of delegation said that we are here to win the tournament? Yes. We didn’t come here to come and joke. We didn’t come here to look at how Algiers town is,” he said.

    “We came for a purpose and we also came to win the cup.”

    The Black Galaxies will play their last friendly game on Tuesday, January 10, against Mozambique before the start of the CHAN tournament on January 13.

  • Black Galaxies confident of winning 2023 CHAN tournament

    Black Galaxies confident of winning 2023 CHAN tournament

    Black Galaxies head coach Annor Walker is certain that his team can win the 2023 African Nations Championship (CHAN) competition after holding Algeria to a goalless draw in a friendly game over the weekend.

    The locally constructed team played the host nation in a friendly match as part of the tournament’s pregame festivities on Saturday to open the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers.

    Goalkeeper Ibrahim Danlad, who represented the Black Stars at the most recent World Cup in Qatar, stood tall with some outstanding saves as the home team wasted multiple scoring opportunities.

    Solomon Adomako, David Abagna, Dominic Nsobila, Jonah Atu Quaye, and striker Jonah Atu Quaye all displayed flashes of brilliance that put the Algerians in jeopardy.

    http://tigpost.co/black-galaxies-goalkeeper-danlad-ibrahim-confident-about-teams-chances-ahead-of-chan-tournament/

    Coach Walker has confidence in his team’s ability to succeed in the tournament reserved only for players from their own area after seeing how they performed during the game against the neighborhood Desert Warriors.

    Later today, Ghana will play its final friendly match against Mozambique to complete its preparations.

    The Black Galaxies were placed in Group C with Madagascar, Sudan, and Morocco.

    The start of the competition has been set for January 13 until February 4.

  • PHOTOS: Black Galaxies return to training to continue preparation for 2022 CHAN tournament

    Black Galaxies were back at the training grounds on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, a day after beating Egypt’s U-20 side 2-0 in a friendly match played behind closed doors.

    The session saw coach Annor Walker divide the players into two groups with those who played less than 60 minutes in the friendly game going through an intensive training session.

    Players who played more than 60 minutes also had a recovery session at the training grounds.

    The team will continue its regular daily training sessions on Thursday and Friday.

    The Black Galaxies are however expected to take on an Egyptian Premier League side in a friendly game on Saturday, December 31 as part of preparations for the CHAN tournament.

    The team has been in Egypt since last weekend as they step up preparations for the competition which will be staged in Algeria from January 13-February 4, 2023.

    Ghana make a return to the CHAN tournament for the first time since 2014 when they lost on penalties to Libya in the final match.

    Ghana are in Group C alongside Madagascar, Sudan and Morocco.

    Below are photos of the Black Galaxies training:

  • Togbe Afede hold talks with Annor Walker over vacant Hearts of Oak coaching job – Reports

    The Board Chairman of Hearts of Oak, Togbe Afede XIV has held talks with Annor Walker over the vacant coaching job at the club.

    Hearts of Oak have been without a substantive coach following the dismissal of Samuel Boadu last month together with his backroom staff.

    David Ocloo has been named as the new assistant for the side as they seek to appoint a new trainer.

    However, several coaches have been linked to the club in the past weeks.

    Togbe Afede, who is the majority shareholder of the club on Wednesday held talks with the former Great Olympics coach in Accra.

    According to reports, Hearts of Oak are ready to buy Annor Walker who is under contract at FC Samartex 1996. Walker signed a two-year deal with the new debutant before the start of the new football season

    The reports add that the playing body have however expressed interest in working with the former Berekum Chelsea and Nania FC boss.

    The meeting is expected to continue today with the hierarchy of the club bent on hiring the services of the veteran gaffer who led the Black Galaxies to secure qualification to the 2023 CHAN tournament.

    Meanwhile, Serbian trainer, Slavko Matic has been linked to the club as well but Annor Walker stands tall to be named the new trainer for Hearts of Oak.

    Hearts of Oak have started the 2022/23 Ghana football season on a poor note and sit 13th with just two points after three games played.

    Meanwhile, the Ghana Premier League side will hope to overturn their results against ASR Bamako this weekend at the Accra Sports Stadium in the return leg of the CAF Confederations Cup second round of the preliminary games having suffered a 3-0 defeat in the first leg in Mali.

    Source: Footballghana

  • CHAN Q 2023: Check out the 22 players who made Black Galaxies’ trip for Nigeria second leg

    Black Galaxies head coach, Annor Walker has named a 22-man squad for the second leg of the 2023 Championship of African Nations qualifiers.

    There are no absentees in the squad that played the first leg as all key players are fit and will be available for the return encounter.

    The Black Galaxies defeated Nigeria by 2-0 in the first leg thanks to goals from Hearts of Oak duo, Suraj Seidu and Daniel Afriyie Barnieh.

    Afriyie Barnieh struck the first goal for Ghana from the spot after a barren first half.

    Seidu Suraj later doubled the lead to seal a convincing victory with four minutes to end the game.

    In the second leg at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja on September 3, 2022, Ghana will need a draw, a win, or avoid losing by a 3-goal margin to qualify for the tournament that will be hosted in Algeria.

    Below is the 22-man squad for the second leg

    GOALKEEPERS

    Danlad Ibrahim Asante Kotoko
    Stephen Kwaku Great Olympics
    Abdulai Iddrisu — Bechem United

    DEFENDERS

    Konadu Yiadom Hearts of Oak
    Mohammed Alhassan Hearts of Oak
    Samuel Osei Kuffuor Bechem United
    Augustine Randolph — Karela United
    Emmanuel Siaw — FC Samartex 1996
    Dennis Korsah — Hearts of Oak
    Henry Ansu — Berekum Chelsea

    MIDFIELDERS

    Dominic Nsobila Accra Lions
    Razak Kasim Great Olympics
    Umar Bashiru — Karela United
    Maxwell Arthur Dreams FC
    Suraj Seidu Hearts of Oak
    Gladson Awako – Hearts of Oak

    FORWARDS

    Evans Osei Owusu Tema Youth
    Jonah Atuquaye Legon Cities
    Daniel Afriyie Barnieh Hearts of Oak
    Agyenim Boateng Mensah Dreams FC
    Maxwell Abbey Quaye — Unattached
    David Abagna Sanda — Real Tamale United

    Source: BBC

  • Coach of Black Galaxies: Nigeria won’t be able to reverse our 2-0 victory

    It would be challenging for Nigeria to recover from their 2-0 loss to Ghana in the second leg of their CHAN 2023 Qualifiers, which would be contested in Abuja, according to Black Galaxies coach Annor Walker.

    After the game, Annor Walker acknowledged that the Nigerians’ attack lacked intensity, making it challenging for them to defeat Ghana in the second leg.

    He noted that his team will also prepare for any surprise strategy that Nigeria will mount in the second leg to ensure their smooth qualification to the CHAN tournament in Algeria.

    “It would not be possible because I have not seen any threat in their attack. In fact, since I have seen the way they play, we will also strategize for it and when we get to Nigeria it will be a different strategy that we will use to approach the game,” the Black Galaxies coach stated.

    “We are not coming back such that we will not be able to qualify, we are going to Nigeria and for sure we will qualify for CHAN next year,” Annnor Walker said.

    Hearts of Oak striker Daniel Afriyie Barnieh struck the first goal for Ghana from the spot after a barren first half.
    Seidu Suraj later doubled the lead to seal a convincing victory with four minutes to end the game.

    Nigeria will host Ghana in the return leg at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja on September 3, 2022.

  • Head coach Annor Walker receives legal notification from Great Olympics

    Great Olympics and head coach Annor Walker, who has also been named as the new trainer of Ghana Premier League newcomers Samartex, are about to engage in a legal struggle.

    The Black Galaxies coach reportedly has a running contract with the capital club, and they anticipate him to hold the position during preseason.

    But Walker has been absent from training as he prepares to move to Samreboi.

    “We still have a contract with coach Annor Walker and he has not resigned too. You will hear from us soon because we have written to him to explain why he is not coming to training,” Great Olympics CEO Oluboi Commodore is quoted to have told Angel 102.9 FM

    “We don’t know any contract between him and Samartex, it’s like Ronaldo coming to play for Hearts of Oak in Ghana and has been registered.”