Sports
Planned action for Los Angeles 2028
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Rose Yeboah would need the support of the state to improve her performance ahead of Los Angeles 2028
Three weeks of impressive, outstanding and record-breaking performances came to an end on Sunday when the curtain on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was lowered.
It started beautifully with a historic opening ceremony held outside of a stadium; with the river Seine in Paris becoming a major tourist site as hundreds of athletes and officials put up spectacular displays on it to open the ceremony.
However, the controversy over LGBTQ+ and religious issues that followed the scripting or concept for the ceremony can also not be ignored.
The show on Sunday was equally electrifying as it featured the best from sports, music and entertainment sectors to give athletes and fans a perfect giveaways.
There were a few hitches, though. For instance, the men’s triathlon event was delayed for a day following concerns over the quality of water in the Seine River.
Officials postponed the event to improve the swimming portions of the river.
But generally, it will go into the annals of the event as one of the best managed games.
The United States of America once again proved their mettle in sports – not football, total sports, winning 126 medals.
The closest was China with 91 and the Great Britain winning a total of 65.
Definitely, every sports fan would be proud of sports administrators in such regions.
Back home, the Ghanaian contingent of two swimmers on Wild Cards, sprinters and high jumper, Rose Amoaniwaa Yeboah, accompanied by officials have returned and fellow Ghanaians are still proud of them, despite coming home empty-handed.
They cannot be blamed all the time. They competed under difficult circumstances. They were ill-motivated.
Having usually lambasted both athletes and officialdom in the past depending on where the heartbreak will come from, it is important to shift the focus a bit to take a holistic look as Africa as a continent to identify its strengths and weaknesses.
Africa won 39 medals overall made up of 13 gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze medals spread across 12 nations.
Kenya recorded the highest number of 11.
Comparatively, that marks an increase of two medals at the Tokyo 2020 games (held in 2021 due to COVID-19 outbreak) held in Japan but below the 45 recorded in Rio 2016.
That raises serious concerns about the direction for sports in Africa. Countries are spending huge sums to develop or build formidable teams to be at the top but it is not so in Africa.
What is available is also not spread evenly as the chunk of the sports budgets are spent on football, sometimes to the detriment of the other sports.
Surely, with this approach, Africa will keep playing second fiddle to the other nations.
But Africa’s problem with sports is actually bigger than what the eye can see and instead of tackling it head on, officials play around them, raising the hopes of her people.
Apart from the issue of finance, African states also face a huge challenge with infrastructure and many other factors that makes it difficult to raise world class athletes or competitors at home.
A piece on the BBC website on the performances of African nations is quite revealing and shocking, and even scary if a Ghanaian dreams about seeing a fellow Ghanaian mount the Olympic podium to receive a gold medal.
According to the report, the team that represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland, for example, was awarded just over £245m ($313m) for the Paris Olympic cycle.
This may sound like a dream.
The United States, meanwhile, boasts world-class facilities, a college system providing a pipeline of top-level talent in individual and team sports and huge sponsorship deals.
Egypt is the only African country dreaming about closing that huge gap by spending billions of dollars building sports complexes, partly with a view to bid to host the Olympics in 2036 or 2040.
May be, the shortest route to an African challenge is to start planning at a certain level to accept that the continent is lagging behind and instead of practicing mass sports at this level, countries should consider events with competitive advantages.
Botswana won its second successive medal in the men’s 4x400m relay in Paris – with South Africa and Zambia also in that final – and 200m champion LetsileTebogo secured the country’s first ever gold.
Countries that are good in boxing, long distances, the jumps and others must rather focused on investing heavily in them to raise the athletes needed to make the continent proud.
But that could also put the continent in the dark regarding the field and indoor event but no matter the plan of action, it must be one that will put the continent in the limelight.
But a few medals in those with competitive advantages could make a better case than presenting hundreds of half-baked athletes to disappoint.
The countdown for Los Angeles 2028 begun the moment the Games flag was handed over to officials from the popular US state and Ghana, just like other countries, may have less than a week short of four years to prepare.
By Andrew Nortey
In a resolve to build clearer pathway for athletes, the President of the Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF), Mr Frederick Lartey Otu, has indicated the new executive’s commitment to strengthen collaboration with major stakeholders in the development and promotion of the sport.
According to him, it would be difficult to achieve its set targets set for the new elected term without a good working relations with such collaborators.
Mr Otu said this when he addressed participants at the closing ceremony of the 16th edition of the Korean Ambassador’s Cup Taekwondo Championship held last Saturday at the Borteyman Sports Complex.
The event saw the Greater Accra Region’s dominance as they amassed a total of 26 medals consisting of 10 gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals.
The Upper East Region followed in second position with a gold, silver and six bronze medals and Western Region in third after annexing a gold and silver medals.
According to him, the new executive will continue to strengthen collaboration with the Ministry of Sports and Recreation (MoSR), National Sports Authority (NSA), Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), the Korean Embassy in Accra, corporate organisations as well as educational institutions and Regional Associations.
“Our recent engagements with key stakeholders have reinforced our belief that there is a willingness to support Ghana Taekwondo when we present clear programmes, demonstrate accountability and work collaboratively,” he stated.
Consequently, he assured of the executive board’s commitment to good governance, transparency, accountability, teamwork and respect for all stakeholders.
“We’ll listen to our regions, clubs, coaches, athletes, officials and members of the Taekwondo family. We’ll continue to improve our administrative systems, documentation, communication, financial planning and programme coordination,” he added.
Mr Otu noted that the board was committed to building a sustainable Taekwondo development system that produces athletes, coaches, referees and administrators capable of representing Ghana with pride.
He said starting this month, the GTF will roll out its first major initiative – the Regional Taekwondo Awareness Campaign, to be launched in the Ashanti Region.
The campaign is designed to take Taekwondo directly to the schools and communities, particularly areas where sporting opportunities are limited.
“Our immediate target is to begin with at least five deprived regions — Northern Region, Upper West Region, Bono Region, Central Region and Ashanti Region — and identify young people with the potential to become future Taekwondo athletes,” he emphasised.
Mr Otu expressed gratitude to the Korean embassy for its continuous support for the championship which he said had given Ghanaian athletes the opportunity to compete, gain valuable experience, test themselves against quality opposition and develop the confidence necessary to progress to higher levels of competition.
At the end of the competition, the embassy presented a number of Taekwondo attires to the GTF to boost the sport’s promotion in Ghana.
By Andrew Nortey
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CAF 2nd Vice President and President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, has visited the Black Princesses in Poland ahead of their opening game at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
The GFA President, who watched the team’s training session, assured the players of the Association’s full support and backed them to make history by qualifying from the group stage for the first time.
“A few days ago, I was in a chat with the head coach and I promised that I was going to join him for what I think is the most important game for us, which is the first game,” President Simeon-Okraku told the team.
“For me, the first game is the most important, because if we start well, chances are that we will do well. History tells us that this team has always been here. We’ve always been at this tournament for seven consecutive times. My inner faith is telling me that we have enough quality here to qualify from this group.”
He praised the players for their sacrifice and patience throughout preparations, saying their investment would be repaid on the pitch.
“You have been patient and gone through the troubles and the hassles. And you are here today. I believe that these sacrifices you have made, these investments you have made, will be repaid,” he said.
The GFA President stressed that Ghana has the quality to overcome their group opponents.
“We are faced by three opponents — Ecuador, Korea Republic and France. These three nations, believe me, are no better than us. We have enough quality in this team to win games in this group and to make it to the second round of the competition.”
“This tournament is played every two years, so after 14 years, this is the 16th year now — this group must be the one that makes it out of the group to the knockout stage. And this must happen.”
“I think the team is ready. The technical team have done a good job. The players have conducted themselves well. We will continue to support you to ensure you get the best to be able to compete at this level.”
He also charged the final squad to make those who missed out proud.
“A few of you were here but didn’t make the squad and had to leave. This is that moment that you have to make them proud.”
President Simeon-Okraku was accompanied to the training ground by Chief of Staff at the GFA, Michael Osekre, and President of Dreams FC, Jiji Alifoe.
Ghana will open their campaign against Ecuador on September 6, 2026, before facing Korea Republic and France in their other group matches.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
