Team Ghana break silence on disqualification of relay team from men’s relay final

Ghana's Chef de Mission for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Frederick Acheampong, has reacted to the male relay team's disqualification from the 4x100m finals.

Team Ghana qualified for the 4x100m finals after finishing 3rd in Heat 2 with a time of 39.05s.

However, the team was disqualified from competing in the finals after the Ghana Athletics Association failed to give at least an hour's notice to the organizers before swapping Joseph Paul Amoah with Abdul Rasheed Saminu, thus breaching Track Rule 24:11.

Frederick Acheampong, who also doubles as an Executive Council Member of the Ghana Football Association in a statement copied to GhanaWeb has said that they have written to the GAA for clarification about the incident which led to the team's disqualification.

"The Management of Team Ghana at Birmingham2022 is bitterly disappointed with events at the Commonwealth Games that robbed Ghana's 4X100 relay team on Saturday. 

"We were confident that the athletes who put in hours, months, and years of training for their chance at glory would get at least the opportunity to contest for a medal. We share in the disappointment of the athletes, fans, and country that they were denied that opportunity as it turned out. 

"The Chef de Mission of Team Ghana has requested for a thorough report from the Ghana Athletics Association leadership and coaches to understand the circumstances that led to the disqualification of the team and the denial of a lifetime opportunity for the relay team.

"We are determined to get to the bottom of the issue and ensure that necessary actions are taken and the required lessons are learnt from the episode," the statement read.