The maiden edition of the Western Region Invitational Tournament kicks off from 20th-29th September, 2019 with two venues; Sekondi Sports Stadium and Samartex Park as venues for the group stages.
The tournament which has leading mining firm in Ghana, Goldfields as its headline sponsor will be participated by eight teams; three Premiership clubs, four division one clubs and a division two outfit.
The participating clubs include; Medeama Sporting Club, Karela United, Elmina Sharks, Sekondi Hasaacas, Proud United, FC Samartex, Skyy FC and Sekondi Eleven Wise.
But before the tournament commence, the office of Kyfilla.com have compiled a list of eight players that Ghanaians should watch out for during the tournament.
The selection of the players was based on the just ended NC Special Competition and achievement as footballers, with most of them selected by their head coaches.
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To begin at the camp of Medeama Sporting Club, the Kyfilla.com team selected left-back Philip Osei who was outstanding for the Tarkwa based side during the NC Special Competition.
Even though he didn’t play enough matches because he was a back up to Bright Enchill, Osei utilized the little opportunity he had when Enchill got injured.
His performance saw him in the Ghana U20 squad for the African Games in Rabat, Morocco.
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Osei was a first-choice player for coach Yaw Preko during the African Games and capped all the Ghana U20 matches during the competition.
In the camp of Karela United, sensational striker Diawisie Taylor was chosen as a talent to watch out for during the competition.
Taylor is arguably one of the best goal poachers in the country currently after his splendid performance for the Ayinase based side in the NC Special Competition.
He helped coach Johnson Smith’ side to reach the finals of the NC Special Competition tier I but lost the trophy to Asante Kotoko.
The 19-year old netted ten goals for Karela United in the just ended NC Special Competition tier I and was a joint topscorer with former Asante Kotoko forward Abdul Fatawu Safiu.
His outstanding performance saw Asante Kotoko chasing for his signature but the youngster snubbed the Porcupines for a trials in Hungary and he is currently back to Karela United.
The search continued and this time at the camp of Elmina Sharks in the Central region, the only team outside the Western region to compete in the invitational tournament.
The Kyfilla.com research team after a thorough research, chose winger Benjamin Tweneboah as the face of the Elmina based team ahead of the tournament.
Tweneboah bagged in four goals for Sharks in the NC Special Competition tier I and was a hot cake after the tournament. He became a bone of contention for Ghana Premier League heavyweights like Asante Kotoko, Hearts of Oak, Ashgold Sporting Club and Medeama Sporting Club, but all the deals didn’t materialized.
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The research team turned their attention to the division one clubs and guess what, they started at the camp of Samartex FC in Samraboi.
At Samartex FC, the Kyfilla.com research team went into a dilemma but after careful deliberations, attacker Benjamin Yorke was selected following his showdown for the team in the NC Special Competition.
Yorke bagged in seven goals for coach Bismark Kobby Mensah’ side in the NC Special Competition and was handed a Black Stars ‘B’ call up.
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He was axed from the Black Stars ‘B’ final squad for the next year’s CHAN Tournament qualifier against Burkina Faso due to a minor injury.
Another team that will participate in the upcoming competition is Proud United, and goalkeeper Bawa Lord Martey was selected.
Martey who is the only goalkeeper in the list, has had a spontenous seasons with the Swedru based club, and he is currently the team’ first-choice goalkeeper.
He came to the limelight during the second round of the NC Special Competition tier II, where he helped the team to reach the quarterfinals stage of the Competition but booted out by finalist Nzema Kotoko.
Lord Martey is currently a top target for Ghana Premier League sides Medeama Sporting Club, Elmina Sharks and Liberty Professionals.
Sekondi Hasaacas flanks-man Philip Flamini was selected by the research team as a talent the entire nation should watch out for during the Goldfields Invitational Tournament.
He didn’t score much as expected of him during the NC Special Competition because of the right-back role he played instead of his usual right-wing and at times the centre forward roles.
Flamini capped ten matches in the NC Special Competition tier II, scoring once. He is currently a prime target for Medeama Sporting Club and Hearts of Oak per Kyfilla.com sources.
Another team, touted as favorite to win the competition considering their abundance of talent is Skyy FC.
At the camp of the Daboase based club, Emmanuel Ankobiah was chosen with his experienced in the local football in consideration.
At Skyy FC, their best player in the just ended NC Special Competition was Ebenezer Adukwaw but the youngster is likely to miss the entire tournament, so the research team centered on midfielder Emmanuel Ankobiah, who was spectacular for the lower tier side during the NC Special Competition.
Ankobiah is arguably one of the most experienced players to play in the Goldfields Invitational Tournament. He has played for Sekondi Hasaacas and Medeama Sporting Club.
Last among the participating clubs is Sekondi Eleven Wise, the only division two club among the eight teams for the tournament.
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With their nickname ‘Western Show Boys’, the Monkeys are expected to show the remaining teams in the upcoming tournament for the ultimate prize.
In their camp, the Kyfilla.com team chose Bernard Dolphine also known as ‘Sceedorf’, considering his experience as a player.
Sceedorf was the former captain of the team before leaving for India years ago but has returned to the club to relaunch his career.
Compiled by Kenneth Abban Jnr and Kwame Yeboah (KY)
