Tandoh urges companies to employ sportsmen

Cape Coast, Jan. 11, GNA - Mr Kweku Tandoh, Chairman of Cape Coast Venomous Vipers has attributed the falling standards of soccer in the Cape Coast municipality to the unwillingness of both government institutions and private companies to give special concessions to footballers to be employed.

He said although most footballers lack the basic educational requirement to gain employment, "there should be a way for these organizations to guarantee the players regular income to motivate them to deliver".

Mr Tandoh recalled the days where various institutions especially the security services hunt for talented athletes from the schools and colleges to compete for them in the Security Games.

He, however, expressed the hope that with the revival of the Security Games, heads of the various security services will create special "room" for uneducated but talented athletes to be recruited. The Chairman also urged other private companies to institute interdepartmental games as way of helping employ such sportsmen and sportswomen especially footballers.

Mr Tandoh told the GNA Sports in interview that the inability of Cape Coast, the birthplace of Ghana soccer, to have a representative in the national premier league proves that there is a correlation between soccer and employment.

The region's most powerful clubs Vipers and Ebusua Dwarfs have been in the dark for some time now ever since they were relegated to division one.

The Chairman urged companies and individuals in Cape Coast to use the celebration of the centenary anniversary of formation of soccer in Ghana to address the problem.

Mr Tandoh commended the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for instituting a package for retired players of Ghana Black Stars to honour them.

Under the package, the National Sports Council's share of the gate proceeds is to put into a special fund out of which the old players will be catered for.

Mr Tandoh said Ghana football has benefited from services and expertise of the sons of Cape Coast especially the late Lawton Ackah Yensu, Zac Bentum, Nana Brew Butler and presently Mr Ben Koufie, GFA chairmen, "yet, there is nothing for the ancient town to pride itself with as the birth place of football".

He appealed to the Ministry Education, Youth and Sports to build a modern stadium to merit the status of Cape Coast as the birthplace of soccer in the country. 11 Jan. 2004.