Govt urged to hasten AG 2023 infrastructure development

The Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru has urged government to hasten the construction of sports facilities to make Ghana ready to host a successful Africa Games in 2023.

“We must attach some urgency to the preparation for the Games, especially in the area of infrastructure development. The entire continent would be looking at Ghana in 2023; this is a chance we must grab to show our commitment for sports development,” he said.

The Ga King gave the remark at the 46th MTN Sports Writers Association of Ghana(SWAG) Awards ceremony on Friday as the Special Guest of Honour,

According to Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru, the benefits of hosting the Africa Games in Ghana was enormous as it would significantly boost the country’s sporting infrastructure in all aspects.

He said stakeholders in the sports fraternity must show commitment towards the completion of infrastructure which would go a long way to enhance the development of sports in the country.

“For example, the Essipun Stadium has been left unattended to for a long time but Hasaacas Ladies managed to win silver to make the nation proud at the Women’s CAF Champions League,” he stated.

“This is a wake-up call to all stakeholders that with proper infrastructure, our teams and athletes would go far and make the nation proud,” he added.

The establishment of the Trust Sports Emporium (Bukom Boxing Arena) he said, further proved that infrastructure has a major role to play as far as sports development was concerned.

“Since its inception, the arena has hosted former boxing world champion Isaac Dogboe, Olympic qualifiers and uncountable number of eliminators,” he said.

He urged SWAG to lead the charge and advocate the completion of several stadia under construction across the country.

He also asked government to make funds available to support least financed sports that have been largely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

BY MICHAEL D.ABAYATEYE