The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Awutu Senya East constituency, who doubles as the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mavis Hawa Koomson, has commissioned a new astroturf at Akwele, a community in the constituency.
The MP also used the occasion to officially commence a gala competition where 32 teams in the constituency will fight for one trophy.
The competition will be played on a league basis and will last for three months.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the MP’s Cup, Mrs Koomson noted that she is using football as a social cohesion tool to fight crime in the enclave, which is noted to have a lot of criminal activities.
“I am happy to have seen a lot of people here, particularly youth. This is because my constituency is noted for a lot of crime, but I believe using the game of football as a social cohesion tool to fight crime is great and will help my constituents,” she said.
“I believe this tournament will raise the name of Kasoa higher; 32 teams will be engaged in the game of football for three months and in the end, one person will be crowned the overall winner of the tournament and an ambassador of peace,” the MP added.
The MP indicated that the astroturf has come to serve the community irrespective of party colours and also to nurture football talents in the constituency.
“One thing I like in football is that there is so much discipline in it, and I believe this astroturf pitch will bring discipline among the teeming youth of Kasoa. It will be my biggest dream to also see some of the players at this tournament in the senior national soccer team, the Black Stars, at the end of the competition. I want to emphasise that this astroturf pitch is for all, irrespective of your party colour,” the MP said.
Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Yusif, who was there to grace the occasion, said it is the government’s agenda to nurture fresh talents, hence the need to build more of such facilities in the communities to nurture fresh talents.
“I have had the privilege to commission many of such facilities across the country, and this is the agenda of government to nurture fresh talents for our national teams. We are not just focusing on football, but all other sports. As we are preparing ourselves to host the 2023 African games, some of these pitches will be used as a training ground, so it has come to serve its purpose,” Mr Yusif said.