Sports is almost dead in Ghana – Odotei

Football Administrator, Vincent Odotei has said that sports is almost dead in Ghana due to lack of effective leadership, policies and skills.

"What we lack is leadership to formulate the right policies and the one to drive the policies to attract the right skills,” he said.

Vincent Odotei was speaking with Afia Pokua the Vim Lady about the contribution of sports to the country’s economy on Adom FM/Asempa FM’s Burning Issues.

According to him, in the 1990s, the sports sector of the United Kingdom was worse, but that country decided to make it a national priority and it is now paying off massively through the English Premier League, athletics and others.

“UK did it but the way sports is managed in this country leaves much to be desired,” Odotei lamented.

“How can we allow tennis, athletics among other sporting activities to die without making attempt to revive it,” he asked.

Odotei argued that sports has the potential of creating carriers and employment in the country and thereby contributing to economic growth if leadership invested in it.

Meanwhile, former President of Ghana Football Association, Lepo-Wura Alhaji Mohammed Nurudeen Jawula expressed the need to have a holistic approach to dealing with sports management in the country.

According to him, despite the poor management and contribution of sports sector at home, some past and current Ghanaian athletes/footballers both home and abroad continue to contribute their quota to the economy.

He thinks there is need to “restructure the sports industry to set the tone for the needed huge investments that would transform the sector into a major contributor to economic growth.

The former GFA Boss cited the relatively huge salaries of Ghanaian footballers playing abroad as an example of a source of funds for investment in the sectors.

Successive governments fail sports sector - Rex Danquah

Former Chairman of the Local Organization Committee (LOC) for CAN 2008, Rex Danquah has said that successive governments have failed the sports sector in Ghana.

“None of the governments over the years has made sports a priority, leading to its current state,” he said.

Rex Danquah was speaking with Afia Pokua the Vim Lady on Adom FM/Asempa FM’s Burning Issues about how Ghana can take advantage of sports to develop the economy.

The government of Ghana spent millions of dollars in constructing and upgrading stadia in Tamale, Essipong, Accra and Kumasi.

But Danquah observed that all the stadia and other structures built ahead of the CAN 2008 are current in deplorable states due to lack of maintenance.

“Visit the various stadia built for CAN 2008 tournament and you will be shocked at the extent of damage,” he said.

According to him, governments’ non-commitment to sports is evident in the number of pages dedicated to others sectors in the national budget and the State of the Nation address, while sports is virtually neglect.

He suggested that aside football matches, the stadia could serve as venue for conferences, events, car park among other things that can earn some revenue for the country.

Danquah bemoaned successive governments’ lack of interest in adopting recommendations made after CAN 2008 to maintain stadia and maximize the country’s gains from them.

“Nobody has shown interest in applying recommendations I made in the report after CAN 2008 tournament”, he lamented.

He also stated that it would be difficult to develop sports in Ghana if there is no existing law. “Sports can fully develop if there is a law governing it,” he suggested.