Backward cyclist wants sponsorship

Alex Kwafo, the Backward cyclist has appealed to individuals and corporate bodies to sponsor backward cycling in order to extend it to the international scene. He said there is the need to promote the sport so that Ghana could be accredited with it when it becomes a global sport.

"Africans should not wait for the Whites to develop and promote a sport before we take it up," Kwafo told GNA Sports. Kwafo said he has been able to train young people in Kasoa, Bubiashie and Ada in the Eastern and Central regions respectively, adding that it is gradually catching up with the people and there is the need to encourage it.

According to the backward cyclist, he is aiming at training people in neighbouring West African countries as part of his aim to give an international acceptability to the sport, hence his appeal to well meaning Ghanaians.

He said even though there is no competitor for him at the international level, he is capable of making fantastic times and give the sport a boost during sponsored exhibition shows. On why he took to backward riding, Kwafo said he felt there is the need to bring innovation to the cycling field, so that the sport could take a new dimension.

Alex Kwafo refuted claims that, backward cycling is harmful to health saying that other sports like football, acrobatics, karate and Tae Kwon-do are equally harmful but people still indulge in them. He said since he has been riding backwards for almost a decade, there has not been any harmful effect on him, adding that he feels fitter anytime he trains. Alex Kwafo urged Ghanaians not to see the sport as unprofitable since it can put the name of Ghana on the international map in future adding, "I want to do something for mother Ghana."