<<Print>>

Most often than not, when i sit to ponder over the dwindling fortunes of sports in general, i wonder if the movers and shakers of the various sporting disciplines take the pains to consider ways and means to address the situation. Sometimes i wonder as well about those who are put in charge of those sporting disciplines that does not bear no fruit, in other words if they really enjoy thier meals when they fail to bring honour to the country in any tournament. By my estimation, there are as many as fifty and above sporting disciplines in the world. From athletics to yatching, etc,etc. Ghana, our beloved country cannot boast of participating or need i say indulge in even ten of the disciplines, let alone participate in them during Olympic Games and or World Championships. the only sporting discipline which almost every being living in the country takes delight in in soccer or football. From Aflao to Axim, Fumbis to Fumesua, Koforidua to Kumbumku, Zebilla to Zuarungu, both old and young, men and women all become excited whenever any of the national football teams chalks success. Recently, when the Black Satellites won the World Cup in far away Egypt, the land of the Pharaoh, we all, irrespective of our politcal, religious, ethnic and the delicacies we enjoy most, be it Akple, Banku, Fufuo, Tuo Zaafi, etc,etc, with one accord joined to celebrate them and with them. Even in this one discipline, that is football, which brings us all together as one peolple, i doubt if the authorities plan in the long term to see to the sustenance of the various stages of the games, either locally or internationally. Look at how our national football league is organised. It is almost always pragued with scandals, scandals, both in officialdom and the playing bodies as well. Managements hire and fire technical hands at will. Nobody cares about the feelings of the teeming supporters who pay to see thier respective teams live up to expectation by patronising their matches at the various stadia. (LET ME DOFF MY HAT OFF FOR THE PASS ADMINISTRATION BY PROVIDING OR BUILDING THE TWO STADIA IN ADDITION TO THE ACCRA AND KUMASI ONES) Apart from the four stadia that we have, let somebody tell me if we have infrastructures for the other disciplines. There is absolutely none in existence. Oh yes, i forgot, we have one national hockey pitch in Accra. Tell me, do we have any facilities for the other sporting disciplines, tell me. I become overly disturbed when i think about the state of our sporting disciplines. All that they think of is their per diem to take. Seeing to it that they feed the cow that they milk, all that they know is just to milk them dry. Devoid of any acrimony, let me say that it is always a disgrace to see officialdom fighting over what they can get than to see the sport live up to expectation. THEY DONT PLAN AND STRTEGIZE FOR THE GROWTH OF SPORTS IN THE COUNTRY, SIMPLE. Up here, forty-year development plans are laid down for various sporting disciplines and those who draw these plans see to it thier implimentation to their logicl conclussions. They plan and strategise well before touraments are organized. (Adhocism is killing our managers). They provide infrastructure and facilities to see to the development of those sporting disciplines.. Brainy brains and technocrats are contracted to work around the clock to see to those disciplines to thrive. They do all these with the view to market their respective countries first, excell in those disciplines at both national and continental levels when tournaments are organized and also to provide job opportunities to the youth of those nations. On the contrary, what do we see in our country. Answer it to yourself. The other time, i took the pains to pass by the compound of my Elementary School to behold what has become of the footbal field only to behold it being developed into residential houses depriving the students' places of recreation. I quite remember we had football games on that field, we hop and run about during athletics, we play volley and lawn tennis on that piece of land. We did not know basketball by then but i think we could have used the dame facility for it as well. Ah, schooling by then was good. We had inter-schools sporting activities in almost all the disciplines. In so doing, talents were unearthed, developed, polished and utilised to the glory of school and country. This observation of the state of our school filed that has been acquired by some unscrupulous individuals for their selfish gains at the detriment of sports in general, depriving the would-be and future sporting men and women of this country of ours led me to write this piece. In as much as the population of the country grows, and considering the fact that educational facilities provided by the government could not match it, the need for private participation in the provision of good and quality education cannot be overemphasized. In the quest to provide better education for the people which in effect would serve as a catalyst for the development of the country, there has been the rise of proliferation of PRIVATE SCHOOLS. Against the backdrop of competition amongst the providers of these schools, physical education has somehow been relagated to the background. Let be be brunt and emphatic to say that private schools, from the primary level to the tertiary outnumber the public schools. The main objective, to the best of my knowledge of these private schools is to develop the mental faculties of their students to attain higher academic excellence, this is good in any case. That is to say they are academic biased. To this end, taking pains to develop the God-given talents of the students are relegated to the background. I stand for correction, though, but let me be quick to say that the proprieters of these schools are doing the nation more harm than good when it comes to the development of the sporting desciplines in our youth. You take a closer look at the schools that are dotted around the country, I mean the private schools, and, I dare say that less than a quarter of them have sporting fields. some of them have tennis and basketball courts, and the other lesser known sports, but let us be frank with ourselves and ask which of these disciplines has brought honour to the country. I am not advocating for footbal development alone, but all the other known disciplines including horse riding and swimming. I know you also have one sort of a discipline at heart, add it up to the list. There is one fact that we cannot run away from. That is not all the students who walk through the corridors of education would find their feet and fortune in books. Solving mathematical problems and understanding theories both in science and the humanities are not part of them. it is only their maker who knows why because he created them so. In the absence of the brains to solve those questions, they are so endowed with talents in sporting activities that with the little push in terms of the provision of infrastructure and facilities will enhance their development which will catapult them into giants in every sporting discipline that they might sind themselves in. Ironically, we had the nation of late that those who induldge in sporting activities are rogues or "KOBOLOIS" in the local Ga parlance. The least talked about musicians the better. However, these supposed "misfits" of yester years are making it big time in the society. \\Forget about those who did it out of passion for that particular sport. They did them out of love for the sport and the honour that comes or go with it not thinking of rewards. How many times do we hear of the Triangular Games amongst institutions of late? Do we hear of the univerisity games amongst the nation's tertiary institutions. What about the departmental and organisational sporting activities that we used to enjoy. My heart bleeds whenever i come to town and i pass through the compound of Kwadaso L/A Middle School in Kumasi to behold the school in that "deplorable" condition. Encraochers everywhere depriving the students what they enjoy most SOCCER. So then therefore, let me put a challenge to the Education Ministry to sit up, come to terms with the reality on the ground concerning the dwindling fortunes of our sporting activities and formulate policies that would help pull the bull by the horn to tactically address this issue. Sports in every aspect of it shapes our physical conditions and brings about health to the people, which culminates in the development of the nation with healthy people for economic growth and prosperity to all. Someone once said sports in general and football in particular brings about economic empowerment (CASH) and i could not agree with him the more. The fact still remains that those who excell in their fields of endeavour in any sporting discipline is well-to-do. I hear football is a complete business of its own now. Indeed it is business. Let me say it not only football that brings money, come to think about tennis, athletics, boxing etc. I however would like to say that leaving the development of sof sports in the sole hands of the government would not lead us any where than what we are experiencing now. This should be the concern of all. Let individuals and corporate bodies get involved. This reminds me of a line in one of the patriotic songs of the country,"we are all involved in building our motherland" sports wise. Let me say with emphasis that corporate bodies should not wait till tourmnaments are organised before they put up sponsorship packages. The time is now. Talk about the Azuma Nelsons, the Alice Anums, the D.K poisons, the Abedi Peles, Tony Yeboahs, Michael Essiens, etc, etc, the mention of these names puts smiles on the faces of the people. I believe some of these people have turned the economic tables in thier respective families. It is about time we revisit what was going on in the public schools where pitches abound for sporting activities and then mount pressure on the private school developers to inculcate in their academic activities some sort of especially outdoor sporting disciplines to help the students identify and develop their God-given talents to help not only them but the nation at large. To a large extent, I believe if all and sundry could put their hands to the wheel, the dwindling fortunes of sports in the country could be addressed and if not all, some like athletics, tennis, boxing and of late rugby could be developed to put the nation in pole positions to rub shoulders with the other nations. The time is now! Sporting activities to unearth the talents in our youth should be the priority of everyone. Let me point out once again that corporate bodies should get involved in unearthing talents in our youth and not to wait till topurnaments are organised for them to come in with their huge sponsorship packages which some of the times officialdom line their pockets with large chunks of them. It should not be a yearly affair but rather, a daily one to help the sustenance of it to equip the youth in their chosen fields. WE CAN! YES WE CAN!!!. GOD HELP AND BLESS OUR HOMELAND GHANA