Abandoned Nyinahin project; monumental disappointment to youth in sports

Sports facilities must be accessible and available in Ghana in order to develop young, courageous potential for the sport. The neglect of a nearly finished multipurpose sports complex has angered sports enthusiasts and potential football players in Nyinahin, a hamlet in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti region.

Present circumstances

Spiders and cobwebs are living in the room compartments, and the ceiling fans and air conditioners are rusting.

The white paint-coated walls are being eaten by dampness and mould, giving them a distressing greenish-brown appearance.

Weeds choke the football field, which also has dangerous pits. During the wet season, some of it becomes muddy, which is bad for football.

Background

The government announced a proposal to build 10 youth and sports facilities in 10 regions in 2017 under the ministry of youth and sports.

Unfortunately, the Nyinahin sports complex is deserted and is located in the Ashanti area.

A former sports minister and current Member of Parliament for the region, Isaac Asiamah, resides in the Nyinahin Sports complex, which is ten minutes' drive from the town's main entrance.

These ten complexes were built at a cost of about $2.5 million to the government.

When all ten facilities are finished, they will include a multi-purpose sports hall, a restaurant, an ICT center, an 8-lane track, a FIFA-standard field, a career counseling center, basketball and handball courts, and more. Up to 5,000 people can sit in the mini-stadium.

The aspirations of Nyinahin's young football players to represent their homeland abroad are in danger, they worry.

They're furious and claim that the complex's current condition is costing the state money instead of encouraging sports as it should.

The teenagers are threatening to hold a protest.

These young men can showcase their football prowess in a football park. The facility has nonetheless been left to house agricultural animals. Only our backyards are available for football games. We are upset with what is happening as Atwima Mponua's youth, and to claim otherwise would be a lie, they declared.

Government assurance

The circumstance has the youth feeling resentful.

In his 2020 State of the Nation Address, President Akufo-Addo promised that the ten centres of excellence for youth and sports will be finished by that year. All ten would be completed this year (2020)”, he said.

Way ahead

The United Nations System-Wide Action Plan on Youth claims that sports are an essential component of young people's development and a vehicle for fostering a culture of peace and cooperation.

I happened to see several students weeding the pitch.

This occurs every term when Nyinahin Catholic Senior High School students and the sports team come here to prepare the area for their sporting events despite the risk of suffering severe bruising.

George Owusu, the sports master at Nyinahin Catholic SHS, told Clinton Yeboah of Luv FM that they are compelled to use the facility despite its deplorable condition.