The University of Ghana sports team made history by clinching 23 medals at the 12th Federation of African University Sports (FASU) Games in Cairo, Egypt, as stakeholders called for increased support for university sports.

The University of Ghana travelled with a contingent of 31 members, including 23 student-athletes, who competed in athletics, tennis and badminton. Other participating teams included Algeria, Botswana, South Africa and Rwanda.

The team won gold medals in the men’s long jump, 100 metres, 110 metres hurdles, 400 metres, 4x100 metres, 400 metres hurdles and 4x400 metres. The women also won gold medals in the javelin, 200 metres and 4x400 metres.

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The team further won silver medals in the women’s 800 metres, shot put, 4x100 metres, 1,500 metres and 5,000 metres, as well as the men’s 100 metres. In total, the University of Ghana won 10 gold medals, seven silver medals and five bronze medals.

Speaking to the press upon their arrival at the University of Ghana on September 18, 2026, the Director of the UG Sports and Wellness Directorate, Dr Austin Luguterah, expressed his delight at the team’s performance.

He called on the government to invest in universities across the country and equip them with the necessary infrastructure to train more athletes and players to feed the national teams.

“We won't say we're so satisfied, but we can say that we appreciate what we've gotten. At least, we've added one to our previous medal haul. In fact, the weather there wasn't conducive, especially the heat. With the wind, some of our athletes were choking whilst running. It wasn't easy, and these are people who are conditioned in these environments. So that's just some of the challenges.

“Remember, the universities have been the hub for development. The universities have always been the transition from this level into national teams. So let's imagine that if the government can fund the universities, even if not all, some key universities—to know that, okay, you are grooming this set of people, let's fund them, groom them into a national team. That serves as a natural form of academy instead of building a different type of academy,” he said.



The head coach of the UG sports team, Mary Zambilia Yahaya, applauded the athletes for sacrificing their time to excel at the competition amid academic pressure.

“So we took three disciplines: athletics, tennis, and then badminton. And whilst they were having their lectures, training was ongoing. We didn't wait to come into camp. We trained whilst they were studying. Even when they started with their exams, they were still training and writing. The athletes were so focused because they knew what it takes to go and compete at that level. So they all put in their best. They were highly motivated.

“And then when we got there, the results spoke for themselves. We met very tough teams, and we came out with this result. In fact, the gold medals increased by one because in the first two games we had nine gold medals. By this time, we've added one to make it ten,” she remarked.



Afterwards, the Assistant General Sports Secretary at the UG Students Sports Council, Sakyi Scholastica Sedem, noted that the team was treated well in Egypt and commended the athletes for producing such an impressive performance.

“So our experience was really good. We had a good time in Egypt. Egypt was a very great place to be, and we had the best experience. Honestly, we were treated very well concerning accommodation and food. So I would tell the sponsors out there that we really appreciate their support in the FASU Games, and we hope to get more,” she said.

SB/BAI

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