Francis Adjetey Sowah-A Worthy Swag Chairman Of The Year 2011

By Theodore M.K. Viwotor

It was no fluke that he was nominated unopposed as the Chairman of the year 2011 by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) the body that regroups sports scribes in the country.

The indefatigable Francis Adjetey Sowah, a Person With Disability who has defied the challenges that come with disability, stands out as one of the men who have contributed tremendously to the growth of disability sports in Ghana and in that vein, Amputee Football in particular. Currently the President of the Amputee Football Federation of Africa (AFFA) as well as the Ghana Amputee Football Federation (GAFF), he successfully organized the 3rd Cup of African Nations for Amputee Football (CANAF 2011) in Accra, leading the Ghana National Amputee Football Team, the Black Challenge, to win silver at the continental championships. He had earlier led the team to the last Amputee Football World Cup in Argentina in 2010, where Ghana placed 6th and became the first African nation to ever reach the quarterfinals stage of the 30 year old competition. He doubles as the Vice President of the Association of Sports for the Disabled (ASFOD), the body under the National Sports Authority that supervises all disabled sports in the country, and also the National Paralympic Committee (NCP).

Mr. Adjetey Sowah holds the record as the 1st Disabled to be appointed on the Association of Sports for the Disabled in 1994 by Government through the then National Sports Council (NSC), now National Sports Authority. As the Executive Director of the Disabled Christian Fellowship International, he partnered with the Ghana AIDS Commission to create awareness on STI/HIV/AIDS Pandemic for PWD’s throughout the country.

Francis Adjetey Sowah holds a BBA in Marketing from the Methodist University College of Ghana and a Diploma in Disability Human Rights from the Sion University, Switzerland.

He also has a Diploma in Paralympic Sports from the Cairo University, Egypt. He recently completed an MBA in Marketing from the Methodist University College of Ghana.

His award by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) as SWAG Chairman of the Year 2011 is in further recognition of his tremendous role in championing the cause of sports for the disabled and this marks him out as a gem for the nation.

What makes him an even more outstanding person is the fact that, he has not allowed the limitations of disability to restrain him from achieving his heart desire of giving hope to his fellow Persons With Disability (PWDs) many of whom would attest to his vivacity in acting on their cases and ensuring that the relevant authorities are up and doing on issues brought before them.

He is currently working hard to prepare the Black Challenge to take part in the 31st Amputee Football World Cup in Russia in October and is determined to take the team far beyond the last achievement: a possible first world cup trophy for Ghana and Africa.

Mr. Francis Adjetey Sowah is a truly deserving Chairman of the Year.