The Bank of Africa Group, Ghana is for the second time sponsoring three Ghanaian athletes to participate in the 5th edition of the Bank of Africa International Marathon which is scheduled to take place in Bamako, Mali on the 13th of January 2013.
The sponsorship worth GHC 20,000.00 covers three athletes (two males and a female), one coach and a journalist. The theme for this year’s event is, “In Solidarity with Mali”.
Speaking at the media briefing yesterday at the Bank’s headquarters Mr. Kofi Fume (head of marketing cooperation) said the theme has been chosen to empathise with the people of Mali because of the activities of Northern Mali by some armed groups.
“So long as we are in this country we will continue to support the sport. As a Bank rooted in Mali we are doing this to boast the people of Mali”, Mr. Fume said.
“With time we’ll increase our budget for the event and we are very hopeful that the team we are sending will perform. Indeed we have been told that they are all good so we expect the best from them”, Kofi Fume added. The three athletes, Rajj Alakple, Akakia Atempuri and Gifty Ama Koomson could not hide their joy and promised to reciprocate by bringing home laurels to mother Ghana as a sign of appreciation to the Bank of Africa Ghana Group.
The men over the age of 18 years will run a distance over 42.125 km whereas women and those younger than 18 will run for 10 km.
The participating countries for this year’s event include; Ghana, Mali, Kenya, Senegal, Madagascar, Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Ivory Coast.
By: El-Amisty Nobo/ Freelance Journalist.
