Pres Akufo-Addo opens 13th Africa Games
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Friday opened the 13th Africa Games Accra 2023 amidst a partying atmosphere and charged participants to showcase to the world the power of sports.
The spectacular opening ceremony, witnessed by Ghana’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Local Organising Committee Chairman, Dr Kweku Ofosu Asare,as well as other high profile personalities and hundreds of fans,was held at the University of Ghana Stadium.
With a strong cast of music icons including the sensational King Promise, Kamo Mphel, Pat
Thomas, Ebo Taylor and Ghana’s dancehall king, Shatta Wale, spectators and guests as well as athletes observed a show of a lifetime.
Addressing the guests, President Akufo-Addo said sports has the power to bring people of diverse cultures and backgrounds together to compete.
“It is heart-warming to witness the unity of Africa through sports. As you compete in the games in the coming days, remember that your efforts will inspire countless individuals across the continent. Strive for excellence, push your limits and showcase the immense talents that Africa possesses,” he stated.
He charged the athletes to compete fairly and strive for excellence.
On his part, Mustapha Ussif, indicated Ghana’s desire to deliver a historic competition and expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo for his commitment to host the competition which would eventually leave Ghana with world class sports infrastructure.
Ghana is hosting the African Games on March 8-23 with events shared across a host of venues with the University of Ghana Stadium and Borteyman Sports Complex as the main centres.
Other venues for the Games include the Accra International Conference Centre which is hosting Table Tennis, the Trust Sports Emporium, Laboma Beach, Alisa Hotel, Achimota Cricket Oval, the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium, Accra Sports Stadium and the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
Athletes will participate in 29 sports disciplines.
The almost 500 athletes making Team Ghana will be involved in arm wrestling, athletics, badminton, basketball (3×3), beach volleyball, boxing, cricket, cycling, diving, field hockey, football, handball, judo, karate-do, rugby sevens, squash, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling.
The rest are demonstration sports such as E-sports, mixed martial arts, pickle ball, teqball, scrabble and speed-ball.
Meanwhile, female weightlifter, Winnifred Ntumi, has secured Ghana’s first medals in the weightlifting competition.
She won two silver medals and a gold medal in the women’s 49kg snatch, and clean and jerk competitions, yesterday.
Later yesterday, Abeiku Jackson snatched Ghana’s first medal in swimming with a time of 24.23 secs in the 50m butterfly event.
BY ANDREW NORTEY
