Ghana Olympic Committee teams up with National Sports Council

Accra, July 8, GNA - The National Sports Council in collaboration with Ghana Olympic Committee are to initiate and develop a National Youth talent identification programme to prepare and groom budding sports talents for future local and international competitions. To this end, national youth games comprising all the sporting events in the country would be embarked upon to open up avenues for all the affiliate associations to set up their own standards and groom the youth for the setting up of capable teams to represent the country in major competitions.

Prince Ernest Oduro-Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of the National Sports Council NSC) who announced this in Accra on Tuesday at a media briefing said that it is hoped that the programme would develop various sports academies under which the youth, especially school children from the ages of 13-16 would be groomed to embark on holiday camps to develop their talents in sports, education and cultural aspects of the country. He announced that the Council has decided to launch an annual programme

dubbed, "Open day with the Media" to create an open forum for scrutinising and discussing of national sports issues to seek solutions as a measure of developing sports in the country.

Prince Oduro-Mensah emphasised that the Council has not in any way been a stumbling block to athletes to qualify for the Olympics Games since avenues had been created for Ghanaian athletes to participate in the All Africa Games and other events in the continent. On the chances of the Ghanaian 'Dream Team' to the Beijing Olympics next month, the Chief executive said a lot is expected of especially the boxing team who are currently camping in Cuba and are in high spirit and ready to inspire to get some medals for the country.

The Chief executive called for collaboration and collective responsibility with open door policy to ensure that the country prepares and develop its sporting talents for the national good of all. Mr Benson Tongo Baba, President of the Ghana Olympic Committee explained that qualifying of athletes to Games are the responsibilities of International Federations and National Associations to set up the standards and for the Committee to collaborate and give the needed assistance.

He said the Committee has embarked on a roll-on succession plan to support individual sporting athletes to develop their talents through scholarship schemes to maintain the winning ways of the country at international meets.

Mr Baba explained that there is an International Games Committee which is mandated to handle all sporting selections and the GOC only facilitates the programme and does not take the work of the various associations.

He noted that the low level of standards of especially local athletes is that because of the CAN 2008 African Cup of Nations most training facilities for most of the sporting disciplines have been disrupted denying mostly athletes the needed training facilities to make the mark. The meeting took the opportunity to announce a 2010 Youth Olympics programme that involves a National Youth Identification Games in December this year and holiday camps for sports academies with particular reference to Athletic Academies.

The collaborative 2010 Youth Policy of the GOC and Council is aimed at preparing a core of young athletes for a Ghana Youth for Olympics in for the Youth Olympics in Singapore and the Commonwealth games in New Delhi in 2010, the All Africa Games in Zambia in 2011, the Olympic Games in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in 2014 in Glascow. 08 July 08