Academicals to be revived

Accra, March 23, GNA - Ms Akua Sena Dansua, Minister of Youth and Sports says plans are afoot to revive the defunct Academicals in her outfit's quest to develop sports through educational level.

The Minister who said this when Executives of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) called on her on Monday, said that reviving the Academicals was aimed at encouraging sports through the school system and to also tap talents across board to strengthen the reserve for sports in all disciplines.

Ms Dansua said camping provisions would be made for selected talented men and women during vacation so that the selected athletes enjoy enough training and the necessary conditions to propel them achieve their hidden talents.

She added that the Ministry was liaising with the various embassies to discuss the possibilities of Ghanaian athletes taking advantage of their sporting facilities to strengthen particular disciplines especially with equipment.

"For example, we are looking for ways where Ghanaian Table Tennis players could travel to China as leaders in that field in order to improve our play and make the players more competitive".

Ms Dansua said similar arrangements are being made for the other disciplines and appealed to SWAG to partner the Ministry to brainstorm on how best to lift the supposed lesser-known sports to an appreciable standard.

The Minister said her outfit was in advanced discussion with mining giants; Ashantigold, who she said had expressed their willingness to construct multi purpose halls across the country to be cited in all the regions.

She was buoyant that the construction of the facilities would go a long way to change the face of sports in the country and mark a departure from the usual decry of lack of sporting facilities in the country. Mr Ackah Anthony, President of SWAG pledged the Association's quest to partner the Ministry to develop sports and underscored the need for the Ministry to invest in the construction of boxing gyms in popular boxing areas like Bukom and to encourage the scouting of talents across the nation. He urged the Minister to move quickly in resolving the impasse confronting the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) insisting Ghana Sports stands the loser instead of the personalities involved and therefore called for all to allow sanity to prevail.