National Sports Awards for August 31

Accra, Aug 24, GNA 96 This year's National Sports Awards instituted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports last will be held at the La Palm Royal Beach on Thursday August 31.

The annual award instituted last year, is aimed at honouring distinguished sports personalities in the year under review. Mr. Osei Bonsu Amoah, Deputy Minister of the Ministry who briefed the media about the programme, said sportsmen and women who won gold medals at the All African Games, African Championship, the Commonwealth Games or any medal at the World Championship qualifies to be inducted into the National Sports Hall of Fame.

Among those to be inducted will include sports personalities who distinguished themselves as role models in society. =91All those people qualify to be named as National Sports Heroes or Heroines'.

Mr Amoah said administrators and technical personalities of international repute will similarly be inducted into the National Hall of Fame.

He said Majeti Fetri, winner of Gold in weightlifting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne, Australia and sprint sensation, Vida Anim together with the female quartet that glittered and clinched gold at this year's Africa Athletic Championship in Mauritius will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The last event inducted the 'Golden boy' Ignatius Gaisah into the Hall of Fame and this year the Minister reckons the long jumper, ranked second in the world by the International Armature Athletic Federation (IAAF) deserves further recognition. Gaisah currently rules the continent after winning gold at the Mauritius meet.

Professor E.T Kodzi, former Chairman of the Ghana Athletics Assocaition (GAA), Ben Koufie, CAF and FIFA instructor and former member of the Black Stars, Awuah Nyamekye, former Chairman of the Ghana Football Assocaition (GFA), former boxing icon, Eddie Blay and coach Fred Osam-Duodo are among the selected administrators and technical brains to be honoured.

Some of them, according to the Minister will also be named after some sporting facilities currently under construction. The Minister said the ceremony, expected to bring over 200 guests together will also recognize and appreciate the contribution of some major stakeholders such as the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), sponsors of sporting events and the Ghana National Supporters Union.

The highlight of the two-hour ceremony will be the appointment of Sports' role models to assist the Ministry to propagate the virtues of sports and motivate the youth to aspire to achieve excellence in their respective fields of endeavours.

Mr Amoah named 93Professor=94 Azumah Nelson, Gaisah, Margaret Simpson and Nii Odartey Lamptey as among the personalities under that category. Winners would take home special plaques.