Ohene Djan Stadium Not Renamed

By: William Nii Okai Bruce

Painstaking investigation has revealed that Ghana’s Ohene Djan Sports Stadium

located in Accra has not been renamed as peddled around.

According to our findings, it is only the Ministry of Youth & Sports which has

the authority to name government properties under its care in consultation with

the President.

Meanwhile, a number of Ghanaians have lambasted Mr. Alfred Vanderpuije, the

chief executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) for interfering in

matters beyond his jurisdiction.

On an Accra-based FM station, Mr. Bernard Monarh of the People’s National

Convention (PNC), among others, admonished the AMA boss to abstain from

interfering in other people’s responsibilities if he had no work to do at the

Assembly.

The Stadium under the care of the National Sports Council was named by the

Sports Ministry in consultation with the President, in honour of Ohene Djan, the

first Director of Ghana’s sports administration.

Ohene Djan was appointed by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in view of his rich managerial

acumen.

In the course of Ohene Djan’s reign he tackled the transformation of Ghana

football from manpower perspective, and groomed some retired international

footballers drawn from all the regions of Ghana to understudy British Coach

George Ainsgley and Hungarian coach Joseph Ember.

The groomed coaches included Ben Koufie, Asebi Boakye, Tim Darba, Solomon Gray,

George Dramani, Kwame Appiah, Ben Sissu, A.K. Ekudi, Baba Yipa and K.N. Nketi.

Ohene Djan, Minister Plenipotentiary and Ambassador Extra-Ordinary, established

district offices to run sports in the country and further encouraged the

formation of sports clubs as well as Schools and Colleges sports competitions

which unearthed the likes of Alice Anum, B. Kankam, Frank Odoi, Sir Cecil Jones

Attuquayefio, Malik Jabir, George Daniels, and Ohene Karikari who is now the

deputy Chief Sports Development Officer of the National Sports Council.

He also instituted the Founder’s Day Games to commemorate Dr. Nkrumah’s birth

day (September 21), every year.

Under Ohene Djan’s administration, Ghana won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1963

and 1965.

He was elected as FIFA’s Africa representative, and was as well emerged

Secretary/Treasurer of the West Africa Soccer Federation and consequently

brought the headquarters to Ghana.

Ohene Djan was among the vanguards in the fight against apartheid in

international sports, particularly South Africa, thus championing the cause of

African Unity and African Personality in sports, among other things.