News
Sports must thrive in 2025
Failures on the sports front in 2024 could force fans to be apathetic in the New Year in order to avoid the disappointments they endured.
There were discontents all over as Ghana failed to make an impact at global events like the Paris Olympic Games, athletics championships, boxing championships and qualifiers and many others.
What may trigger some interest could be the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers set to continue this year.
The FIFA World Cup has a strong appeal capable of turning apathy into a strong feeling and sensitivity to possibly bring the fans back to support the Black Stars bid to qualify.
But in doing so, the performances of the Black Stars have always come to hunt their followers and it remains one thing Coach Otto Addo and his men must resolve to earn the trust of Ghanaians.
The Black Stars occupy the second spot in Group I of the African qualifying for the World Cup behind Comoros on the same points but on inferior goal aggregate.
Against Chad, Central African Republic (CAR), Mali, Madagascar and Comoros, Ghana face a stern battle for the sole ticket allotted the group.
That would definitely not be an easy task but it is also not a challenge above the Stars. When the right players, those committed and dedicated to the Ghana course are selected, Ghana can make it.
The lenses would also be on other sports disciplines that held so much promise but failed to deliver.
Amateur boxing would be one that would attract a lot of attention after failing to excel at the various championships and qualifiers, resulting in the ‘no-show’ of the Black Bombers at the Paris Olympics Games.
Professional boxing, managed by the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) supervised a number of entertaining bouts with a number of boxers including John Laryea showing so much promise as world champions.
The GBA, however, was always in the spotlight with legal battles with its stakeholders over enforcement of its own rules.
The controversies with promotions and inadequate security at its fight nights have not made events safe for a lot more patrons although it attracted some new promoters in the year under review.
The year 2025 should offer its President, Abraham Kotey Neequaye, his board and major stakeholders the platform to end the constant fights, respect the rules and work together to produce new world champions and eventually ensure some sanity in the sport.
Athletics gave a good account of themselves but failed at the biggest stage – Olympic Games with the relay teams showing that they were yet to recover from their baton exchange nightmare.
Bawa Fuseini, Charles Osei Asibey, Philipina Frimpong and the other managers of athletics in Ghana must therefore, strive to take the spot a notch higher despite the challenges.
Aside the aforementioned disciplines, there are over 40 disciplines that clearly did their very best to make an impact but failed due to many challenges including finance. There were those who just added to the numbers.
But in the year 2025, every federation must aim to make a difference on the sports scene for the sector to thrive.
The Ghana Tourism Development Company, GTDC, under the leadership of Prof.Kobby Mensah has launched GTDC Campus Tourism Office at the University of Ghana.
The initiative aims to promote educational and domestic tourism by providing structured campus tour experiences showcasing key heritage sites, including the Archaeology Museum and the School of Performing Arts.
It will also offer students their first travel experience across the continent and inculcate in them love to visit Ghana’s heritage sites.
Addressing the gathering at the launch yesterday, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, described tourism as a vehicle for education and heritage preservation, stressing that the sector must inspire citizens to value and protect national culture for future generations.
The minister highlighted tourism’s connection to disciplines such as history, the arts, economics and environmental science.
The minister further noted that the private sector is the engine of tourism economy, adding that the engines require fuel, which is talents.” by investing in these young people today, you are securing the quality, the innovation and competitiveness of our own industry for tomorrow.
She added that the establishment of the office represents a deliberate investment in the intellectual capital of the country.
The GTDC boss, Prof.Kobby Mensah, said,”at GTDC, we believe that if our tourism has to be sustainable, we have to promote domestic tourism and a very big part of it is getting students to appreciate tourism and helping them to organise tours.”
He added that the University of Ghana itself is a huge heritage site which must be explored.
Prof.Kobby Mensah noted that the initiative, which is one of many to be established across the country, is a joint partnership between GTDC and University of Ghana.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof.Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, said the University is a custodian of heritage which goes beyond the structures and welcomed the establishment of the first Campus Tourism Office.
She was optimistic that the office would be put to good use to achieve the intended purpose.
The launch brought together Stakeholders reaffirming their commitment to nurturing future tourism and hospitality professionals.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Ghana has officially accepted an invitation to serve as Guest Country at Burkina Faso’s 22nd National Culture Week in Bobo-Dioulasso from April 22 to May 2, 2026.
The invitation was extended by Burkina Faso’s Minister of Communication, Culture, Arts and Tourism, Gilbert Noël Ouédraogo, accompanied by the Ambassador of Burkina Faso to Ghana, H.E. David Kabré.
Receiving the delegation, Abla Dzifa Gomashie reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to deepening cultural diplomacy and strengthening historic ties between the two nations.
She noted that the festival will create opportunities for young creatives, expand exhibition platforms and promote commercial exchange within the creative sector.
The event will feature cultural performances, a community village and gastronomy fair, an arts market, literary engagements, and a craft and trade fair.
Ghana’s participation is expected to further strengthen bilateral relations between John Dramani Mahama and Ibrahim Traoré, while fostering collaboration within the creative ecosystems of both countries.
