National Sports Festival For Kumasi In September

Accra, Aug. 19, -- About 1,750 sportsmen and women representing the 10 regions, the Security Services and the Universities, are expected to participate in this year's national sports festival. The festival of athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, handball, hockey, netball, under-15 football, table tennis, taekwondo and volleyball, is scheduled for Kumasi from September eight to 13. Mr George Dasoberi, Chief Sports Development Officer of the National Sports Council (NSC) said at the launching of the festival in Accra on Tuesday that the council would spend 261 million cedis in organising the week-long festival, on the theme - National Unity Through Sports. Judo, Karatedo and Bodybuilding/weightlifting will feature in it as demonstration sports with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology as the Games village and also venue for most of the disciplines. Mr Dasoberi said the festival's logo would be registered and advised the public to seek clearance with the NSC before using it on "T" shirts, caps and other souvenirs for sale. Mr Owusu Sekyere, winner of the festival's logo contest, was presented 300,000 cedis as his prize. In his launching address, Colonel George Brock, acting Chief Executive of the NSC said the event "is yet another attempt to rekindle the noble ideals of the national cross-cultural integration through sports." The NSC boss said the country's sports talents, resources and potentials are yet to be fully tapped, adding that the nucleus of the various national teams would be selected during the festival. Col. Brock said the festival will to be organised annually on rotation basis among the 10 regions. The festival, last held in 1989, was known during the First Republic as Founders Day Games. Professor Patrick Addy, deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, was among those present.