Sports News of Tuesday, 11 May 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
2021-05-11
Dr Kofi Amoah was the president of the Normalization Committee
Dr Kofi Amoah, the Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nation has offered his expert advise to the government over the hosting of the 2023 African Games.
With less than twenty-seven months for the competition to be held, there is yet to be any significant progress at the site for the hosting of the tournament.
Reports by some media outlets cast doubt on the preparedness of the country to host the continent’s biggest sporting event.
Reacting to the report in a Joy News interview, Dr Kofi Amoah explained that the purpose of staging competitions is to market the country and grow a country’s sports.
He however observes that in the case of the 2023 African Games, preparations so far fills him with little confidence to assume that the above stated goals could be achieved should Ghana host the tournament.
He advised the government to focus on initiating policies that will promote growth and empower the youth.
“This showcase of sports tournaments, regional and global are designed to show the pride of the nation to the world and if its done properly then you can use it to attract foreign investment but if you are not ready…
“I think they are going to be many Africa events, let’s now support our government in enacting the policies for education and job creation for our young people”.
“That will build strength for our society so that when we want to host one of these regional and international tournaments we can really showcase our nation to the world. I think we should postpone the potential hosting because we are not ready. Financially we are not ready to host this tournament”.
President Akufo-Addo in October last year inaugurated a nine-member committee to organize the tournament.
President Akufo-Addo announced during the inauguration ceremony promised that the country will construct a 50,000-seater stadium for the competition.
With the benefit of recent reports, it is safe to say that little has been done to ensure the fulfilment of this report.