Richard Kofi Akpokavie, President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, has urged leaders of the various National Federations to put athletes first in whatever they do.
He said “you are a federation president or secretary because of your athletes. without them, there will be no federation to run.”
Mr. Akpokavie made this call when he opened a two-day retreat for National Federations organised by the GOC in Koforidua.
He noted that the GOC would ensure the establishment of an effective Athletes Commission that will give voice to athletes.
He added that the GOC will continue to support training programs of athletes with grants and scholarships that will prepare them for competitions and foster an engaging, yet high-performance athlete centered environment.
The President again called on the National Federations to collaborate with the GOC to leave a legacy for Ghana sports.
He explained that as president, he will want a legacy where before they visit any corporate institution for support, the institution would have heard about the GOC already and that can be achieved when the federations collaborate to project the positives about themselves and the GOC.
Mr. Akpokavie while making a presentation on the SWOT analysis of the GOC explained that the analysis was necessary so that the federations would know how to rebrand sports in Ghana to uplift their image and that of the GOC.
He mentioned that the GOC’s recognition by the International Olympic Committee, Association of National Olympic Committees, Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, and Commonwealth Sports was a plus adding that the country’s achievement in the Olympics and strong leadership and growing institutional reputation as well as existing relationships with government and sponsors as some strengths for the GOC.
He noted that weak talent identification and development pathways, governance and administrative capacity gaps in some federation, and insufficient marketing, branding, and visibility as some of the weaknesses of the GOC.
For opportunities, the president said there were lots of untapped corporate and media partnerships, digitalization for fan engagement and brand value as well as youth demographics for long-term sport growth.
Mr. Akpokavie however noted that political interference and instability in sports governance, low public trust due to a lack of transparency or past conflicts, coupled with talent drain—athletes migrating abroad due to lack of support – were some of the threats facing the GOC.
He urged the various heads of federations to implement whatever they had learnt for a mutual growth and added that his doors were opened for further discussions for mutual growth and development.
Credit: Ghana Olympic Committee
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