Upper East Region gets football Club

Bolgatanga, Feb. 28 GNA - Upper East United Football Club (UFC) has been launched in Bolgatanga by the Regional Minister Mr Mark Woyongo with a call for collaboration and support by citizens and corporate bodies to ensure that the clubs develops into a vintage side capable of progressing to the premiership.

Mr Woyongo noted that the game of football was a venture worth pursuing because it promotes unity and breaks barriers to ethnicity and entertains, as well as creating jobs for the teeming youth.

The Upper East Region since its inception in the 70's has never had a team that has progressed to the Premier League.

Great Uppers, one of the teams which was managed by soccer enthusiasts like Mr Francis Afoko, a farmer and former Member of the Council of State, Mr James Amoh, a Bolgatanga based businessman and Osofo Buah, also a businessman in the 80s strived to get a team to represent the Region but it never worked out.

Mr Woyongo said that it has therefore become necessary to get a worthy Club to represent the Region to tap the talents amongst the youth to help produce the long time anticipated Premier Club for the Region. The Regional Minister said a committee has been constituted to work out the modalities for the re-organization of the team by selecting various players from existing teams in the region as part of efforts to successfully get a club in place.

He said to this end a formidable select side has been engaged in competitive soccer at the Division One level where it is hoped that the team would be well organised to qualify to participate in the Premier League. Mr Woyongo announced that an Interim Management Committee has been constituted to oversee and manage the Club to partake in the competitions. The Regional Minister said that an amount of 100,000 dollars has been voted for the construction of a sports complex to help promote sports in the Region, and called on indegens of the Region and other developmental partners to support the Club by donating financially to support its development and growth.

The Vice Chairman of the Club who is also the Headmaster of the Bolgatanga Senior High School Mr Didacus Afegrah noted that the Region has produced many footballers for the national teams as well as other Clubs adding that it was therefore a challenge for all in and out of the Region to support in getting a formidable Club worth its status.

Mr Afegrah called on the people put aside their political, ethnic, geographical and social differences and team up to develop the Club for posterity sake and tasked the players to make sacrifices and be disciplined to be able to play well to win the interest of the people and to also avoid the use of drugs ands alcoholism. An amount of 12,566.00 was realised as part of the launch to support the Club. 28 Feb. 10