What Hope For Other Sporting Disciplines?

Some GH boxers at training

The future of other sporting disciplines in the country will not be bright if much attention is not focused by way of nurturing good talents from the grassroots in order to prepare them adequately for future competitions.

Such sporting disciplines where some refer to them as “lesser known sports” in the country have greater potentials yet to be tapped. Even though some corporate organizations are in a way contributing their quota for the growth of such sporting events such as tennis, handball, volleyball, boxing and athletics,  their efforts are not enough to sustain the sports. Thus, more needs to be done by all stakes.

Pomasidor, producers of cowbell products in the country has been consistent in sponsoring the national cycling tour. Milo has also done same in sponsoring the Accra marathon since its inception. The reason some sponsors pull out or fail to honour their corporate promise is that they reach on a deal having in mind some special gains. Therefore if those gains are not met immediately, they pull out prematurely leaving the competitors in a mess.

There should be a national policy which seeks to put much attention on the development of sports in the country which will cover all the sporting events aimed at talents searching, nurturing, grooming and given them adequate skills which will prepare them for future competitions.

We should be proactive so we do not just take part in inter-continental competitions just to add to the number, but to win a silver ware. An Argentine 1986 FIFA world cup winner and one of the best players the football world has ever seen, Diego Armando Maradona recently said “I'd a dream: to play in the world cup and win it”. Subsequently, this dream came to pass. If the situation in Argentina then was not favourable, it would have been difficult for him to realize this dream.

Countries like Spain which is one of the best power houses in world football do not only concentrate on football. Either than that, tennis world number 1 Rafael Nadal would not have reached such feet in the history of tennis. The United States of America perform well in football tournaments, yet they are regarded as one of the best in Baseball, tennis, boxing and athletics.They have already put to the ground enough logistics, good trainers and sound financial support to develop all sporting disciplines.

Some GH athletes receiving tutorials

Here in Ghana all the time we hear of the adage “there is no money”, yet enough of it is lavished on football, even that, majority are spent on the Black Stars. The future for other sporting disciplines endowed in the country such as boxing, volleyball, handball, athletics, and others will be bright if enough attention is paid to these sporting area. We have to identify, apart from football, the areas talents abound in the country and give adequate support to develop those identified events. We cannot focus on gymnastics where in the first place, there are no athletes to compete in this area. 

Therefore, there is the need for various stakes such as the government, corporate Ghana and some individuals to put in similar efforts as that given to football in order to raise some potential athletes who will also contribute their part to helping to shape the image of Ghana in the world of athletics because the country’s image on athletics is nothing good to write home about.