Amoah: Sports Is A Tool For Development

" Sports is a tool for development, education, peace making and so we should be serious with such initiatives like the Australian Outreach Programme", said.O. B. Amoah, Deputy Minister for Education, Science and Sports. He said sport is included in the Poverty Eradication Programme as it contributes to socio-cultural development. He called for plans to create opportunities for the youth to realize their dreams to become sports heroes. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Australian government sponsored Outreach Programme for trainers held at the C.K. Gyamfi Sports College in Winneba last Thursday, he noted that the Ministry is following the Proramme as it is interested in building communities at the grass root level. He believes every specialist who fails to attend a refresher course every two years stands the risk of becoming irrelevant and uncompetitive. "If a coach is not re-educating his or herself on the fine points of their specific game, they are falling behind, and that needs to be remedied", he said. O.B. Amoah expressed his gratefulness to the Australian government and promised that Ghana will catch up in disciplines like cricket and hockey which Australians are very good at. He reminded the participants that the United Nations declared 2005 as the year of Physical Education and sports and as part of activities to mark that year all UN member states were requested to organize and encourage sports as a tool for development and peace The Australian High Commissioner in Ghana, Billy Williams said the Training of Trainers initiative through the National Sports Council with financial support from the Australian Sports Outreach Programme, would equip amateur coaches in under-developed areas with new skills and enable them have the chance to learn from professional coaches throughout the country. Prince Ernest Oduro Mensah, Chief Executive of the National Sports Council expressed his delight with the Programme as his outfit has the mandate to develop sports at the grassroots. He noted that most of the coaches are aging and it ways about time young trainers are groomed to take over so that the nation is not left behind. " Ghana needs to be at its proper place in sports, we are a sports nation having produced many world champions, we need to deal with the real problems and solve them, not window dressing" he said. He advised the participants to be adventurous and go down with the knowledge to discover new talents. According to the CEO of the NSC, there are now sporting facilities, so sportsmen and women should take advantage to train harder. He also promised that there would be sports halls in the various regions very soon. B.T. Baba, the President of Ghana's Olympic Committee, told The Statesports if children are started in sports from an early age, they will spend their leisure time playing football, for instance, instead of falling prey to any of the myriad of vices children are exposed to everyday. When asked about the impact the Australian donation will have on sports as a whole in Ghana, B.T. Baba replied that the effect would be tremendous, especially in lower income areas, where coaches wouldn"t otherwise have any way to become better coaches. He also mentioned the impact that the donation will have on the future of Ghanaian athletics, saying that because of this donation, the future of Ghana’s sports teams is brighter than ever.