British High Commissioner, MTN Boss to attend SWAG Awards

Two top personalities are expected to grace the 41st MTN Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Awards, scheduled for the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra on Saturday June 4, 2016.

His Excellency Jon Benjamin, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, who will deliver the keynote address as Special Guest of Honour, would lead the pack of personalities for the event, which would also include Minister of Youth and Sports Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye.

A statement from the secretariat of the Association said, the event, which is expected to attract 700 guests drawn from the diplomatic corps, members of parliament and members from the sports fraternity will also be attended by the Chief Executive Officer of headline sponsors MTN Ghana Mr. Ebenezer Asante.

The statement said, the three personalities are expected to add to the glitz and glamour of the night, which remains the longest running sports event on the local calendar as well as one of the biggest events in Ghana that honours sports excellence.

H.E. Benjamin is expected to speaking on general sporting development in the country, issues concerning the media and its role in sports as well as the ethics of the profession.

The 41st MTN SWAG Awards will confer honours on 26 sports personalities who excelled in the year 2015.

Top on the list will be the Sports Personality of the Year which will be fought for between the Andre Ayew, Asamoah Gyan, Yusif Basigi and Bashiru Hayford whilst the footballer of the Year awards will be between Black Stars trio of Andre Ayew, Asamoah Gyan and Harrison Afful.

Since its inception in 1974, the MTN-SWAG Awards has been Ghana's most esteemed celebration of sporting excellence and provided the biggest platform to celebrate the outstanding achievements of Ghana sports. It attracts the cream of Ghana's sports personalities and high-profile invited guests, including sitting Heads of State.

The awards will coincide with the 20th anniversary celebrations of the communication giants MTN who have been headline sponsors for the past five years, and supported by Activa Ghana, Guinness Ghana Limited, CDH Insurance, Akosombo Textile Limited (ATL), Stanbic Bank, Alisa Hotel, Ghana Free Zone Board, and the National Lottery Authority.

GGBL committed to SWAG Awards
Mr. Gabriel Opoku-Asare, Corporate Relations Director of Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited, has pledged his outfit's continuous support for the annual Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Awards.

"We are committed to SWAG Awards, because Guinness has played a key role in the in the development of Sports in the country, for a very Long time and the SWAG Awards is one of the events we use to promote sports development in the country."

Speaking after presenting a total of 40 cases of assorted products from Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited to SWAG at the weekend towards the organization of its 41st SWAG Awards Night scheduled to take place come Saturday, June 4, 2016 at the State Banquet Hall, Accra, Mr. Opoku-Asare said the relationship between the brewery giant and the Association dates back to decades ago and that they can never turn their back on the association on any day.

"We pledge to be part of the SWAG Awards for as long as it takes," he added.

Receiving the drinks the drinks the President of SWAG, Mr. Kwabena Yeboah thanked Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited for the kind gesture and recounted the strong relationship that has existed between Guinness and SWAG, which span over a decade.

SWAG Boss Confers With GOIL MD
Mr. Kwabena Yeboah, President of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) and veteran sports journalist, on Tuesday, called on the Managing Director of Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL), to discuss relationship between the two bodies.

The meeting between the two institutions, was aimed at strengthening the already strong relationship between SWAG and Oil marketing giants.

It was also formally invite the GOIL MD, to the 41st MTN SWAG awards scheduled for the Banquet Hall, State House, Accra.

Mr. Yeboah commended the GOIL MD, for supporting the development of local football by supporting Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

He said the decision by Goil to sponsor the two clubs was a positive one, adding that it would help promote the local league.

Mr. Patrick Akorli, MD of GOIL said, there was the need to help revive the local league, hence the decision to begin with Kotoko and Hearts of Oak.

He said, the two big clubs in the country are the drivers of the local league and are capable of driving the rest along.