Ghana's head coach Chris Hughton has come under intense scrutiny after a dismal run of results. AP
Ghana's head coach Chris Hughton has come under intense scrutiny after a dismal run of results. AP
Ghana's head coach Chris Hughton has come under intense scrutiny after a dismal run of results. AP
Ghana's head coach Chris Hughton has come under intense scrutiny after a dismal run of results. AP

Afcon 2023: Ghana and Hughton under intense pressure ahead of crunch clash with Egypt


Ian Hawkey
  • English
  • Arabic

The first major casualty of an Africa Cup of Nations where almost every day produces a startling result looks imminent. Thursday’s matches were always liable to raise the temperature across West Africa, with Ivory Coast meeting Nigeria and Ghana involved in their own heavyweight bout. But few anticipated that Ghanaian supporters might be consulting bus timetables about a hasty return home.

The tournament’s structure, with four of the best third-place finishers progressing to the last 16, may be forgiving, but the task facing Ghana’s Black Stars, four times Afcon champions, is not. They face the competition’s most decorated nation, Egypt, needing to urgently salvage a campaign set back by a 2-1 defeat last Sunday to Cape Verde.

The travelling fans have not shown much of a forgiving side. Ghana’s head coach, Chris Hughton, had to be shielded from physical danger from an irate fan as the team returned to their Abidjan hotel after Cape Verde’s stoppage-time winner left Ghana at the foot of Group B.

“It’s the past,” said Hughton, facing questions about the incident for the first time. “And I appreciate the levels of support I have had and I do thank people for that.

“When we lose, it is very difficult. After a bad performance or a bad result, I am the leader who has to be able to concentrate on the next game. What’s important is that you put it in the past.”

For Hughton, who has a long and mostly distinguished managerial background in English football, including gaining promotion to the Premier League with Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion, the Ghana role threatens to be a brief and unfulfilling chapter.

Hughton, the son of a Ghanaian father, accepted the job having worked in an advisory role with the Black Stars coaching staff at the Qatar World Cup, 10 months ago. But 10 matches into his tenure, the lows have outnumbered the highs. Hughton’s three victories in competitive qualifiers so far, all against relative modest opposition, have all been achieved only with late goals. The loss to Cape Verde was Ghana’s fourth defeat in six outings.

The longer perspective is that one of the giants of African football, a standard-setter at Afcons, is in a chronic freefall. In six successive Cup of Nations tournaments to 2017, Ghana made at least the semi-finals, albeit without seizing a fifth title. In the last two events, they have reached the last 16 just once.

Would another failure here mean the failure of a generation, Jordan Ayew, at his sixth Afcon, was asked Wednesday. “Are we eliminated yet?” replied the Crystal Palace forward brusquely.

Hughton described the challenge of making up ground against Egypt, who were themselves within minutes of a shock setback in their opener – a Mohamed Salah penalty rescuing a point in stoppage time against Mozambique – as formidable.

“We’re up against a good, experienced team, who are used to doing very well in this competition,” he said. “On paper we are playing a very good side, a better team.”

The presence of Salah lends some truth to that, but a Ghana coach who can choose his attacking options from among Ayew and Antoine Semenyo, effective performers in the English Premier League and Inaki Williams, a model of attacking consistency with Athletic Bilbao in La Liga would hardly expect to be on a run of just two goals in six games.

A boost is anticipated in the possible return from injury of Mohamed Kudus, the West Ham United player who joined the Ghana squad late because of fitness issues and missed the opening game. “He has trained the last few days,” reported Hughton, “We’ll make a decision on him the day of the game.”

Egypt’s head coach believes that decision has been taken already. “We’re thinking he’ll play,” said Rui Vitoria, of Kudus, who has made an instant, positive impact on West Ham since joining from Ajax last summer. “He’s a fantastic player. He’s doing well in the Premier League.

“But we’re ready to face that calibre of player. Up front Ghana are very strong. What we have to do is improve our defending. The players know that.”

Egypt had allowed an early lead to turn into a perilous 2-1 deficit against Mozambique’s direct football until Salah’s late intervention.

“We had difficulties,” admitted Rui Vitoria. “But the reaction has been good. The problem comes if you don’t react well. It’s about wiping the slate clean, but not forgetting once you face the next challenge.

“We’re professional, we’re tough,” added Egypt’s coach. “We’re a big team.”

But the issue at this Afcon so far is that the so-called ‘big teams’ have not easily distinguished themselves from the apparent minnows. As the veteran Ayew, whose Ghana have lost their last two competitive matches to Cape Verde and the Comoros Islands, put it: “There are no little teams. We have known that for a couple of years. We now have to lift our heads up, look ahead and keep fighting.”

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1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17

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Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider

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A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

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Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

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Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

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Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

The past Palme d'Or winners

2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda

2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund

2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach

2015 DheepanJacques Audiard

2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan

2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux

2012 Amour, Michael Haneke

2011 The Tree of LifeTerrence Malick

2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul

2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke

2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet

PRESIDENTS CUP

Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:

02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
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UAE SQUAD

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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

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Who's who in Yemen conflict

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Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

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