UPAC Basketball Championship: We are committed to reducing cheating - Yaw Sakyi

The Chief Executive Officer of Rite Sports, Yaw Sakyi Afari has said that stringent measures have been put in place his outfit to avert reoccurrence of the cheating scandal that marred the 2020 edition of the Sprite Ball Championship.

At a press conference to launch the seventh edition of the Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges (UPAC) Championship, Yaw Sakyi mentioned that cues have been taken from the unfortunate episode and steps have been taken to avoid a repetition of same.

He reiterated the stance of the organizers and sponsors against cheating and assured that they are leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that only eligible players are allowed to compete in the competition.

He maintained that over the years, there have been moves to curtail cheating but the incident in July which in a way dented the image of the competition has compelled them to be more vigilant and diligent.

“This year, a team has been set up to look into eligibility issues which is chaired by the Vice President of the Ghana Basketball association in charge of technical affairs. This is a national canker and the Sprite Ball competition was unfortunate but over the years we have tried to strengthen the eligibility process”, he said.

32 teams to compete

Following the admission of GIJ into the competition, this year’s edition will have 32 schools competing and grouped in eight zones.



Ghana’s ‘premier communication’ school have been paired with Ghana Technology University College, Kings University College and the Islamic University College in Zone 7.

5-time winners the University of Ghana have been pitted against Central, Regent and Regional Maritime Universities in Zone 8.

2-time winners Accra Technical Universities will on April 4 battle with Methodist University College, Valley View University and Ho Technical Universities in Zone 6.

Yaw Sakyi promised a thrilling and captivating basketball action from all the centres.

“It has been an amazing journey so far and this year will be better. We have a lot of activities lined up to make it memorable”.

The head coach of the University of Ghana Basketball team, Kwabena Agyapong Ankamah vowed to win a sixth title.