We must invest in sports if we want to enjoy returns - Atta Akyea

The Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South constituency, Samuel Atta Akyea, has bemoaned the financial challenges facing the sporting fraternity during a sitting in the House on December 17, 2024.

According to him, the financial constraints in sports have led to the abysmal performances of some of the national teams and athletes who fail to thrive during competitions, as well as coaches being underpaid.

He indicated that the recent failure of the Black Stars to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco has pained most Ghanaians and left them disappointed.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Atta Akyea called on the House to ensure that more government revenues are allocated for investment in sports so the nation can benefit in return.

"There is another revenue stream, which is sports, and when you know it will benefit the nation in the long run, then investing in that place will make a lot of sense. So I am of the humble view that as sports people who want to make a fetish out of sports and we go and we lose, the Black Stars are giving us a lot of pain and the coaches are being underpaid.

"All kinds of challenges that we are facing, but if anything matters to us as a nation and we want to invest properly in it, let's see the return on the investment. Probably it will be a paradigm shift for this nation," he noted.

The Black Stars under head coach Otto Addo could not make it to the 2025 AFCON in Morocco.

Watch Atta Kyea's submission in Parliament below:

“If sports is just for entertainment…then we will not use our meager resources for sports”

MP for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea, has called for a thorough cost-benefit analysis of the sports sector to guide strategic investment and harness its economic potential.#JoySports pic.twitter.com/KwZlnYshIJ

— #JoySports (@JoySportsGH) December 18, 2024