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.
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