...Should the sports Ministry be renamed Ministry of Football?

Ghana’s sprint king and the only medalist at the on-going 17th African Championships in Athletics in Nairobi, Kenya, Aziz Zakari has slammed the Ministry of Youth And Sports for their disregard for the sport.

Aziz, who placed second in the final of the 100metres yesterday lamented on the ill-treatment and the humiliation he has been subjected to after those in charge of the Ghanaian contingent rewarded him with just a paltry sum of $400 as his reward for placing second and winning silver and the only medal for the Ghanaian team.

Speaking on the morning show on Adom FM, a Tema-based private radio station from his hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, Aziz Zakari expressed his disgust at the inhumane treatment being meted out to the sport. According to him, even though he had been sick for sometime after his comeback from his ban, he saw the need to re-announce his presence on the international scene by struggling to qualify from the heats to the final of the 100metres race where he placed second in that event.

“Some of us go the extra mile to die for the nation in such major events only to be ignored in the end”, he said. “ It is true one cannot compare athletics to football, but it hurts to realize how much our footballers get in such competitions, as compared to us athletes, even though this is just like the Nations Cup in football”, he added.

On why he failed to compete in the 4x100metres relay yesterday, he said it was due to his sickness but promised to be in the quartet today as they battle for honours on their way to winning a medal for mother Ghana. The gold-medalist in the 100metres and 200metres in the 12th edition of the championships in Algiers, Algeria explained that it was due to his same ailment that he eventually had to pull out again in the 200metres where he hoped to have won a medal for the nation.

Meanwhile, as Ghana’s 4x100 male quartet lines up against Zambia, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritius and Cote D’Ivoire where he is expected to inspire his team with his vast experience to win at least a medal later this evening, the female quartet will also strive to live up to their billing as silver medalists in the last championships.

The 17th African Championships in Athletics which is taking place in Nairobi, Kenya commenced on Wednesday, July 28 and is expected to end on August 1, 2010.