Officials of the French Embassy in Ghana engaged with officials of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYOS), National Sports Authority (NSA) and Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) to appraise and to take stock of diverse support from the French Government for the development of sports in Ghana.
The meeting. which was held on Friday, June 21, 2024 at the Accra Sports Stadium, focused on a project being undertaken by the French Government to evaluate the contribution of sports for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as capacity building of human resource in the sports industry.
Mr. Dodzie Numekevor, Director General of NSA, in his welcome address expressed his appreciation to the Government of France for the support in the development and promotion of sports in Ghana.
He said this initiative would be beneficial to some of the sporting disciplines in the country, adding that the authority would continue to collaborate with the Embassy to ensure that most of the federations affiliated would benefit from the support.
Dr. Bello Bitigu, Head of the Sports Directorate at the University of Ghana, said the French-Embassy-funded research being undertaken by his team would contribute to the GDP.
He requested an extension of time to enable the team to conduct a comprehensive research work on the project.
Mr. Babak Amir-Tahmasse, official of the French Embassy, said the issues bothering on gender equality, para sports, INSEPS involvement needed to be addressed.
Mr. Evans Opoku Bobbie, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, thanked the French Government for their continuous support for sports development.
He explained the importance of having a research document on the contribution of sports to GDP in the country.
He said this research findings would offer an opportunity for sports regulators and practitioners to be able to justify budgetary estimates request on sports to the appropriate authorities.
He also used the occasion to thank all the stakeholders who contributed to the success of the forum.
Other personalities present at the meeting were Mr. Ben Nunoo Mensah, President of the Ghana GOC, Mr. Samson Dean President of the National Paralympic Committee, Mr. Mohammed Shanoon, Secretary General of the GOC, Marine Hayem of the French Embassy among others.
Credit: National Sports Authority
