Gary Al-Smith
@garyalsmith • 408,255 subscribers
African narratives. Building @SportyFM_. 📡 Covering the FIFA World Cup.
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Not a single English journalist asked Tuchel about his thing with Jude at the press conference today. I found it strange, so I asked them. They said: ✅️ If the team qualify to the final, it is also to the benefit of the media, so there is no need to play it any further. ✅️ Team England had informally asked the media to let sleeping dogs lie so that they could focus on the bigger task As someone who saw how Ghanaians treated journalists covering the Black Stars at this World Cup, this was very instructive:
Gary Al-Smith423,181 views • 8 days ago
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WOW! 🇪🇬 Egypt coach Hossam Hassan has just given an impassioned 5 minute speech on Palestine and the "injustice they are going through" and how whatever happens at the World Cup pales in comparison with how poorly the world has reacted to the situation. Rapturous applause from Egyptian journalists. Full translation shortly.
Gary Al-Smith157,352 views • 17 days ago
Post-match: Colombia 🇨🇴 1-0 🇬🇭 Ghana My full interview with Jordan Ayew ✅️ On why we lost ✅️ "We should sometimes accept when opposition is slightly better" ✅️ ✅️ If coaching could be better ✅️ If certain players stayed on for too long ✅️ Says this World Cup campaign was "not good" ✅️ "Guys...the manager just came... you dont just adjust within one month or two months... football doesn't work that way"
Gary Al-Smith181,365 views • 19 days ago
![🚨 Derek Boateng: "To be honest, I don't think [Eddie Nketiah and Hudson-Odoi] will add anything significant to the team right now....The team is not a place for players to come and 'try their luck' when they realise they can’t play for England or..."](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2001570302929903660/amplify_video_thumb/2001566106985578496/img/AQkURklJsmCHur1q.jpg)
Post match: Colombia 🇨🇴 1-0 🇬🇭 Ghana Full Jerome Opoku interview ✅️ Why he is disappointed ✅️ "We can defend, defend, defend but if we don’t get that one goal to relieve pressure off the defense, then we can’t succeed. It’s not possible." ✅️ Must anything change? ✅️ "I'm disappointed...but we made Ghana believe again."
Gary Al-Smith113,169 views • 19 days ago
It just gets better for 🇬🇭 Benjamin Asare. A few weeks before the World Cup, Black Stars keeper Benjamin Asare signed on as a brand ambassador for Polytank Ghana, the country's biggest supplier of storage tanks for/in the last 30 years. A locally-based GK, his story is truly something. Just 18-24 months ago, there was almost zero talkability around him beyond his football. Since being made Ghana's #1 by Otto Addo in March 2025, brands noticed the curious controversy he has engendered. Crucially, they have looked beyond his perceived lack of charisma and tapped into the buzz around him. Also important, he never says anything that will impact negatively on the brands — man is all about vibes, witty barbs and doing his job. This TVC here accompanies the endorsement deal, and with Polytank being one of the main sponsors of the syndicated nationwide TV World Cup coverage which 16 stations have signed on, Asare's brand equity is expected to soar multiple-fold by the end of the competition. The 33-year-old is now the first current Ghana Premier League goalkeeper to be fielded by the Black Stars in its 20-year World Cup history. Among other firsts. Quite the wave he is riding.
Gary Al-Smith160,198 views • 27 days ago
Quick thoughts: The damage these "lack of concentration", "unfocused" narratives do to African football is incalculable. Sadly, we keep proving them right. How hard is it for teams with ALL players in their XIs playing in Europe to manage a lead in the final 10, 20 minutes?!
Gary Al-Smith118,072 views • 21 days ago
𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝟯 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝟰𝟴 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝘆𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄... 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱. It's the sort of thing every content producer dreads. Before the 🇬🇭 Ghana captain walked into the shot, I was sure the sound was OK. Now... watch the start of the video. First 10 seconds: Jordan waits for me as I center the phone after initially testing equipment, I walk in, say hello, then you see me mouthing "testing mic" again. So, what happened? A quick troubleshoot afterwards revealed that the part of the tripod stand gripping my phone had, somehow, clamped the volume button... turning the sound all the way down. No sound. It must have happened at some point during the setup. I dunno. What did I miss? Because I had been briefed before the interview that Jordan was in the mood for any kind of questions, I went all in: asked about his apparent lack of releasing balls, his famous family's response to the criticisms, then about his increasong personal records with the team, the floods in Ghana etc. The best part: last 10 seconds. We shared a lighthearted moment when I asked him to say something in our native Ga (he speaks it fluently) and he volleyed it oh-so-brilliantly. Woulda made an amazing meme tbh. 😃 But, hey. You win some, you lose some. Dust off, move on. Onwards and upwards. #GalaxyS26Ultra
Gary Al-Smith108,340 views • 20 days ago
![Hope this helps. 🇨🇲 Cameroon coach David Pagou: "I dedicate this win [against Gabon] to Samuel Eto'o and to my family."](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2004115949834871164/amplify_video_thumb/2003978292680937472/img/FgQtIZculMHLRPHP.jpg)
🚨 EXCL: As referee Omar Artan lands in 🇸🇴 Mogadishu this morning, I spoke to FIFA officials about ✅️ Why he COULD NOT be taken to Canada or Mexico despite USA turning him away and ✅️ Pressure mounting on FIFA to give him $100,000 World Cup package refs are set to get.
Gary Al-Smith142,803 views • 1 month ago
