More Astroturfs – Annoh-Dompreh urges

The Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyir has thrown his weight behind the construction of artificial turfs in the country, as part of efforts to develop the sports sector.

The lawmaker said such parks will solve a lot of the problems confronting the sports sector in Ghana.

He told Parliament on Wednesday, 4 December 2019 that: “In recent times, Ghana appears to be struggling to maintain a success story in football and even many others believe all hope is lost”.

Mr Annoh-Dompreh also spoke about some of the impediments confronting the development of sports in the country and how inadequate infrastructure is affecting the quality of footballers.

“As far back as I can recall, playing football on the street was common and there is a high possibility that many of Ghana’s football legends started out this way. Even though this practice is common, we cannot hide the fact that playing on the street is actually dangerous. In effect, it boils down to the availability of football parks or pitches that meet standards of safety and convenience.

“Our youth make use of undeveloped football pitches, popularly referred to as ‘sakora’ parks. Considering the advanced nature of the sport today in all its technicalities, it is unfitting for Ghanaians to continue to play on ‘sakora’ parks and expect world-class talents which would sufficiently compensate inefficiencies in Ghana’s football performances”, the MP said.

The MP, who also doubles as the Chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, charged corporate bodies to channel a portion of their corporate social responsibility budget into the development of sports in order to hone football talents who can return the country to its glorious days.

“Let me take this opportunity to urge corporate bodies to consider, as a matter of priority, to help in developing football talents as part of their corporate social responsibility. I believe this will restore the glory of our dear country Ghana in football. Again, we expect the GFA President and his team to run the association more professionally, which will establish the basis for more support from corporate bodies”, he said.

Throwing his weight behind the construction of artificial turfs by Wembley Sports Complex owned by Mr Robert Coleman, Mr Annoh-Dompreh rallied the citizenry to support the vision of developing ‘sakora’ parks into world-class stadia.

“Honorable members and fellow Ghanaians at all levels should support the conscious effort to produce quality artificial football parks in strategic areas across the nation, which will, in turn, promote the quality of football, especially being played at the district up to the national level.”

Already, Mr Coleman has contracted Wembley Sports Complex to develop three Astroturf pitches in the Nsawam-Adoagyir constituency to help promote football and serve recreational purposes.