Ghana Athletes score ?173m grant for devt project

The Ghana Athletes Association (GAA) is proud to announce an award of 173 million cedis ($20,000) from the International Athletic Foundation (IAF), the charitable wing of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to support the development of athletics in Ghana. The proposal that was prepared by members of the Athletes Association is in line with the athletes’ stated commitment to contribute to the improvement of the state of athletics in the country. The funding will be to host a seminar on Coaching, Administrative, Media Relations, Marketing, Sponsorship, Physiotherapy, and Doping issues in Accra, later this year.

The GAA venture attracted support from the African Athletes Commission and the Chief Executive of the National Sports Council, Dr Owusu-Ansah. The project team will include Professor Francis Dodoo (Chairman, Ghana Athletes Association), Leonard Myles-Mills (Ghana Athletes Association), Andrew Owusu (Ghana Athletes Association and African Athletes Commission), Frank Fredericks (Chairman, African Athletes Commission), Moses Kiptanui (African Athletes Commission), Dr. Dean Hayes (Coach, Middle Tennessee State University), William Hirschi (Coach, Brigham Young University) and Dr Whitehill (Middle Tennessee State University).

Andrew Owusu, project director, stated that this initiative should be seen as a testament to Ghanaian athletes’ to pull Ghanaian athletics out of the doldrums.

“We have had to and are willing to continue to take the lead on the road to reform. We acknowledge that Ghana sports, in general, are plagued by problems. Yet, there is a lot that can be done even in the context of our limited resources.

Our problems will not be solved overnight and while we wait and pray for facilities to be upgraded, neither us nor the officials should be standing still. The mantra of we the athletes is that rather than sitting and waiting for a miracle we should plan to create a series of “miracles” through our collective efforts. In the past, individual athletes have taken the initiative to obtain sponsorships for the team, arrange training facilities for national camps, etc. This is a continuation of that dedication, except that with the formation of the Ghana Athletes Association, we now have an organization that can foster bigger and more organized ventures, such as this. The ball in now in the court of our officials and we hope they will put in as much effort and initiative as we are.

The emphasis on success has typically targeted athlete efforts (or lack thereof) and our poor facilities. Often overlooked is our managerial, organizational, and coaching aspects. This funding allows us to bring our local athletic coaches and administrators some help which should ultimately benefit the local athletes, who are the most important cog in the Ghanaian athletic wheel.”

The Ghana Athletes Association (GAA) is proud to announce an award of 173 million cedis ($20,000) from the International Athletic Foundation (IAF), the charitable wing of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to support the development of athletics in Ghana. The proposal that was prepared by members of the Athletes Association is in line with the athletes’ stated commitment to contribute to the improvement of the state of athletics in the country. The funding will be to host a seminar on Coaching, Administrative, Media Relations, Marketing, Sponsorship, Physiotherapy, and Doping issues in Accra, later this year.

The GAA venture attracted support from the African Athletes Commission and the Chief Executive of the National Sports Council, Dr Owusu-Ansah. The project team will include Professor Francis Dodoo (Chairman, Ghana Athletes Association), Leonard Myles-Mills (Ghana Athletes Association), Andrew Owusu (Ghana Athletes Association and African Athletes Commission), Frank Fredericks (Chairman, African Athletes Commission), Moses Kiptanui (African Athletes Commission), Dr. Dean Hayes (Coach, Middle Tennessee State University), William Hirschi (Coach, Brigham Young University) and Dr Whitehill (Middle Tennessee State University).

Andrew Owusu, project director, stated that this initiative should be seen as a testament to Ghanaian athletes’ to pull Ghanaian athletics out of the doldrums.

“We have had to and are willing to continue to take the lead on the road to reform. We acknowledge that Ghana sports, in general, are plagued by problems. Yet, there is a lot that can be done even in the context of our limited resources.

Our problems will not be solved overnight and while we wait and pray for facilities to be upgraded, neither us nor the officials should be standing still. The mantra of we the athletes is that rather than sitting and waiting for a miracle we should plan to create a series of “miracles” through our collective efforts. In the past, individual athletes have taken the initiative to obtain sponsorships for the team, arrange training facilities for national camps, etc. This is a continuation of that dedication, except that with the formation of the Ghana Athletes Association, we now have an organization that can foster bigger and more organized ventures, such as this. The ball in now in the court of our officials and we hope they will put in as much effort and initiative as we are.

The emphasis on success has typically targeted athlete efforts (or lack thereof) and our poor facilities. Often overlooked is our managerial, organizational, and coaching aspects. This funding allows us to bring our local athletic coaches and administrators some help which should ultimately benefit the local athletes, who are the most important cog in the Ghanaian athletic wheel.”