Ghana’s
poor performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games raised a lot of concerns
about the future of sports in Ghana. In a bid to ensure better performances in
sports, the Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) awards is in support of the Ghana
Minister for Youth and Sports, Hon Clement Kofi Humado’s call for greater participation
in sports from Africans, especially Ghanaians ahead of the 2016 Olympics in
Brazil.
Dr
Edward Omane Boamah (Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports) has stated that Ghana
will send 200 athletes to the next Olympics Games, following the nation’s
inability to win a medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Board Chairman
of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Mr Kojo Bonsu assured that the target
of producing 200 athletes to reach the next Olympic Games is achievable.
“One of the biggest solutions is for government to
decrease the percentage of funds invested into football considerably. If we are
currently investing 80% for football it should drop to 60%. Money must be invested, and by doing that,
coaches will be sent out to gain experience and some will be brought in to
improve our technical capacity.” Mr Kojo Bonsu also suggested that talented
Ghanaian athletes in the diaspora can be drafted into the national squad.
Former
Ghana and Accra Hearts goalkeeper, Ali Jarra, has added his voice to the
discussions over Team Ghana’s abysmal performance at the London 2012 Olympic
Games, advocating the re-introduction of the scholarship scheme to help train
athletes. In an interview, Ali Jarra, the current Head Coach of the Ghana
National Amputee Football Team (The Black Challenge), explained that the scheme
would offer young sports men and women the opportunity to train in well-built
training facilities in educational institutions in other countries. He further expressed
that: “Since we do not have the
facilities here and there is no indication of plans to build them soon, it
would be better to offer scholarships to athletes to attend schools that have
such facilities, to give them the exposure to be put at the nation’s disposal,”.
He also appealed to all stakeholders to be positively involved in the attempt to make progress for the future if Rio 2016 is deemed to be too soon.
The Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) awards, an organization that celebrates the achievements of Ghanaians in the UK and around the world, confirms their partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports as a way to help ensure that adequate and proactive measures are adapted to boost Ghana’s chances in Brazil.
GUBA
maintains that it is imperative for young people in Ghana to be encouraged to
participate in sports, and pleads for more transparency and objectivity from
governments and sporting councils.
GUBA
teamed up with award winning musicians to produce its single; ‘Africa’s time to
shine’ to support Africans especially the Ghanaians athletes who took part in
the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic games. The team comprised of award
winning engineer Kaywa and featured talented artists such as: Efya, Ayigbe
Edem, Stonebwoy, Derry from XFactor UK, Ruff and Smooth, GUBA Best New music
acts nominees: Stephanie and Lyrical Solider and Dentaa (Founder of GUBA).
The founder of GUBA, Dentaa
hopes this partnership will help improve Ghana’s performance and sporting image
in the future. GUBA’s alliance with the Sports Minister is an appeal for better
funding and management of athletes, to ensure a better representation of Ghana
in future Olympic Games.
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