Second edition of BabyJet under-16 tournament kicks off

Black Stars striker Asamoah Gyan on Wednesday performed the official kick-off ceremony to make way for the commencement of the second edition of the BabyJet under-16 tournament.

A big trophy and professional contracts with European and Ghanaian clubs are up for grabs as 32 teams across the West African sub-region compete in the tournament that has been named after the legendary footballer.

Addressing a gathering of football fans, players and coaches at the Baby Jet Sports Complex in Accra, the former Sunderland forward bemoaned the neglect of colts football and appealed to the government to invest in that arm of Ghana football.

Gyan who is also the General captain of the Black Stars expressed optimism that the competition will help unearth talents for the country. He also appealed to corporate organizations and the media for support.

“It’s exciting to see these young players. We all started from the bottom and although we did not get opportunities to play in tournaments like this, this is a different generation and this is my way of giving back to the society. I think Ghana will be benefit. We are going get the likes of Sulley, Asamoah Gyan and Essien from these tournaments”.

“We want to revive colts football because that’s where we all came from so it is important that we go back to our roots. All the GFA Presidential aspirants are promising to revive colts football so it’s a project we are embarking on and we believe we will get results”.

The first game of the tournament which was between Accra-based Desideros FC and Bolga Socca Masters ended 1-0 in favor of the Accra side.

Present at the ceremony were Hearts of Oak legends, Dong Bortey and Dan Quaye, Reverend Osei Kofi, coach JE Sarpong and Gyan’s brother Baffour.