|
Minority describe Ghana’s
participation at Beijing Olympics Games as the worst
Accra, Aug. 25, Ghanadot/GNA – The
Minority Caucus in Parliament has noted that Ghana’s abysmal
performance at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games can be
attributed to mis-management of sports, lack of cohesive
planning and vision by the sporting authorities.
The Minority said it is surprising that the country was
quick in putting up and rehabilitating new stadiums to host
the 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana 2008 without
putting up the needed structures for other sporting
disciplines which could have developed other sporting
talents to fetch the needed medals for the country.
Honorable Abuga Pele, the Ranking Member of Youth and Sports
told GNA Sports on Monday that the irony of the situation is
that whereas other countries in the sub-region such as
Nigeria, Togo, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire are soccer loving
nations they had not neglected other sporting disciplines.
He said “it is about time Ghanaians stop boasting that we
are the leaders in the sub-region and face the realities
since it is obvious that our sporting prowess and talent are
on the downward trend and progressive measures needs to be
taken to rectify the situation”.
Hon. Pele who is also the Member of Parliament for Chiana-
Paga Constituency in the Upper East Region said even though
the Olympic Games ended amidst ecstasy last Sunday, the same
cannot be said for Ghana since “we totally failed to
showcase our sporting prowess.”
“It was our worst performance ever at the Olympics and one
can feel the disappointment of Ghanaians at the Games, which
goes a long way to reflect on the way we manage our sports
with many blaming the over concentration on football to the
neglect of other sporting disciplines”.
The Ranking Member said a lot of questions need to be asked
and it is about time the National Sports Council (NSC) and
the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) come out with answers and
measures to address their shortcomings for the benefit of
the country’s future sports development.
He quizzed the high number of officials to athletes in the
Ghanaian delegation, mode of selection and other issues
including complains of neglect and maltreatment even before
the commencement of the event.
Hon. Pele said the harsh reality is for all now to put aside
any form of differences and look ahead so that the country
does not face such humiliation in future Olympic Games.
He said “we must start our preparation by developing and
putting into shape certain workable structures to develop
sporting disciplines that can be of benefit to the country’s
goal of utilizing and developing the sporting talents as the
past”.
The Ranking Member noted that a lot can be achieved if the
sports authorities put up pro-active measures and enjoin all
the various associations to put up concrete structures from
the school, community and social levels and also ensure that
the square pegs in round holes are removed to usher in a
brighter future for Ghana sports.
GNA
|
