Identifying and writing about the problems bedeviling Ghana sports has become one hell of a task for a number of industry workers.

Talking or writing about them creates a feeling of laziness because one sounds monotonous or repetitive; this is because the problems or concerns expressed for the past years are same as those hunting us now.

And it looks as if no one cares about addressing these concerns and because they are seasonal, it is assumed that the noise will stop with time.

With writers and commentators, theytend to give up at the risk of being labeled political dogs hunting officials or a government in power; forgetting that those problems transcends respective governments.

This season of the Olympic Games has exposed us once again, bringing to the fore teething problems that must be addressed once and for all, and since it is about athletics, it has generated all the debate.

It is true Ghana presented one of the smallest teams at the festival because of qualification struggles, affecting psyche and morale of Ghanaians ahead of the competition.

However, there is every reason to be disappointed about the way our campaign ended, knowing that with the right preparations, the team could have done better.

The two swimmers exited after their respective first heats but Benjamin Azamati and Abdul-Rasheed Saminu momentarily made Ghanaians happy after placing second and third respectively in their heats.

In the subsequent heats, Azamati placed last (ninth) with Saminu ending in seventh position to end their campaigns in the Men 100m event.

The biggest heartbreak was the performance of Rose Amoaniwaa Yeboah in female high jump.

Talking of an athlete who joined the University of Illinois for the 2023/24 collegiate season and won the American National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) outdoor high jump national title with a 1.97m jump, her poor performance at the meet beats the imagination of many.

No wonder, report from the team’s camp suggested she was left broken.

That raises question marks about the kind of preparation athletes gets before participating in such championships.

This is an athlete that can easily be compared to the current kid on the block, Julien Alfred, from St Lucia who silenced the supposed ‘owners’ of female sprints.

From a country without athletics tracks and other equipment, she travelled to Jamaica on scholarship and continued to the States under similar circumstances as Amoaniwaa got the same platform and showed their skills.

What separates the two is the support for Julien from the state of St. Lucia and the non-existent support from Ghana for Amoaniwaa.

Julien travels around with a diplomatic passport and enjoys regular budgetary support from the tiny Saint Lucia island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean.

With this support, Julien is able to participate in some of the major championships around the world that allows her to compete with top athletes.

With this exposure, she will not crumble under the pressure of performing in front of the mammoth crowd that watched the athletics event at the Olympics.

The problem of Azamati and others who have performed under the flag of Ghana is not so different from Amoaniwaa’sfunding.

One thing has become limpidly clear is that these Ghanaian athletes that travel on scholarships perform at their optimum best when they are in school because they get the chance to participate in the NCAA championships.

They also get the chance to train with the best facilities and under some of the finest coaches around.

But all those privileges would cease the moment they graduate and have to keep their careers going on their own. In such instances, these athletes would have to start work to fend for themselves and in so doing, it begins to affect their performances.

At this crucial stages, what they need to stay competitive is a kind of support from the government, if indeedit considers sports as one of its priorities.

Politicians have spoken on sports as a tool for unity and a job creation avenue but over the years, it has proven to be a mere gimmick because they are just not committed to it.

Otherwise why would such pertinent problems rear the head at every international competition but nothing is done about it.

It beats one’s imagination when athletes even wait for longer periods to receive per diems for competitions. They don’t also get support as training allowances and are left on their own regarding participation in major championships.

In spite of this, Sports Ministers and government officialsmuster the moral right to urge them to win medals to raise the flag of Ghana.

How can these athletes perform to raise Ghana’s flaghigh on the world stage when some have to drive Uber and train in the afternoon or sell Ice Cream and hit the gym in the afternoon? It is time to sit up as a country and seek a better understanding of sports administration if indeed we want to reap the full benefits of it.

 By Andrew Nortey