Coca Cola launches National Under-17 Championship

Accra, July 8, GNA - A special National Under-17 Championship has been initiated by Coca Cola Ghana Limited in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) as part of efforts to discover young and talented players for grooming. The championship, which will have a team representing each of the ten regions of the country after a vigorous selection exercise is expected to kick start by the close of July this year.

According to the organizers, the championship, which will last for three days, will include football clinics to be handled by a five man technical team made up of qualified and veteran coaches. Mr Rashid Pelpuo, Minister of Youth and Sports who launched the championship in Accra on Tuesday, said the initiative is synonymous with Government and the Ministry's intention of focussing on grassroots youth development, hence the company will be given the needed support to succeed with its goal.

He noted that the Project is not just about football but giving the youth an avenue to earn a livelihood and a means of survival. The Minister said his outfit will have serious discussions with Coca Cola Company Limited to find ways of strengthening the Project and making it succeed.

"We want the partnership to go beyond just sponsorship to reflect our seriousness in the development and promotion of sports in the country." He noted.

Mr Pelpuo appealed to the company and other corporate bodies to extend their support to other sporting disciplines to ensure even development of sports in Ghana.

Mr Kwasi Nyantakyi, President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) said his outfit is in support of the project since it falls within their objective of youth development adding that it had made huge investments in similar areas.

He, however, stated that the championship should be played in a fair manner and called on the organizers to ensure that participants use the right ages to avoid cheating. The President also asked the participants to be disciplined and conduct themselves in a responsible manner since they represent the future of the nation.

Mr Nyataktyi lauded the company for the initiative saying it was the first time Coca Cola Company was sponsoring a youth football development programme after years of sponsoring the World Youth Championships.

The logo for the championship was jointly unveiled by former Black Stars player and a member of the 1991 World Under-17 winning squad Yaw Preko, Mr Pelpuo and Mr Nyantakyi. 08 July 09