Do not orphan base baseball - Joe Parker

Accra, Dec 14, GNA - All stakeholders in sport administration has been urged not to orphan baseball and other lesser known sporting disciplines as it is not everybody in Ghana that loves football. In an interview with GNA Sports after the maiden Junior Secondary School (JSS) Baseball Tournament, Mr Joe Parker, Chief Executive officer (CEO) of ITEQ (Imaging Technologies), the main sponsors of the event, said disciplines like baseball has the potential of bringing glory similar to that of soccer, if given the needed push.

"Though lesser known sport like baseball has a lot of catching up to do, if we want to compete with the best in the world, it does not mean we should fold our hand and sit back and allow the game to die" "All that it needs now is competitions of this nature to draw the attention of, especially the youth to the sport and with the right technical guidance baseball will come back to life" "It is for this reason that I am urging other companies that have disciplines like baseball at heart to join hands to help nurture the talented young players into potential superstars of the future." He said though equipment for baseball are quiet expensive as compared to a game like football, the collective effort of individuals with the game at hearts can achieve a lot.

Mr Parker said though investing into baseball would not reap immediate benefit, as most would expect, "it is sometimes more fulfilling watching one's widows might inspire the children into giving of their best as we are witnessing today." "From what I have seen today, I am convince that the sport has a future in Ghana and all it will need is the goodwill and the courage that has been shown by the organizers of the event for Baseball Ghana Foundation to move the sport to the next level" The maiden Baseball tournament was the brainchild of Baseball Ghana Foundation (BGF), a youth and sports development non-governmental organization with the aim of rekindling the faltering interest in baseball. The competition, which took place at the La Yahoshua JSS Park, attracted three other schools, Association International School, La Wireless JSS, Rangoon JSS and La Yahoshua JSS. La Yahoshua JSS emerged the eventual winners beating Rangoon 4-2 in an exciting final encounter.