Ministry unveils package for athletes

Mr. Enoch Teye Mensah, Minister of Youth and Sports, has unveiled government's incentive package for the country's athletes due for the Olympic games in Sydney when they called on him at his office before leaving for their final training tour in Holland.

The package, which is similar to what the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) had promised them is made up of 5,000 dollars for winning gold, while silver and bronze medallists would received 3,000 dollars and 2,000 dollars respectively. In addiction, the athletes would earn 300 dollars for the preliminary rounds, 500 dollars for the quarterfinals, 800 dollars for the semis and 1200 dollars for getting to the finals. He said any athletes who wins gold, would come home with not less than 16,000 dollars, based on what the person would earn from the GOC and his Ministry, and urged them to go out there and be worthy ambassadors. Mr. Adjin Tetteh, Chairman of the Ghana Amateur Athletics Association (GAAA) advised the athletes not to defect during the games because it creates an embarrassing situation for the country.

He implored them to return home and solicit the support of the association before accepting offers from scouts who might express interest in them to enhance their international contracts. Beaming with a lot of confidence at the farewell meeting, Nathaniel Martey, a 400 metres runner, said Ghanaians should expect gold medals " since none of us is scared of competing with the big names in track and field. Athletics is an individual sport and anything at all can happen on the tracks." The athletes leave tonight for Holland for the final leg of their training tour.