To guarantee that Ghana satisfies the needs for contemporary sports development, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President and Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has declared that there would be a major shift in sports funding.
Dr. Bawumia addressed the people of Ghana on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, to share his vision for the nation should he be elected President. He emphasized the underutilized potential of Ghanaian sports, pointing to insufficient and unstable funding as a primary barrier.
“Sports is a multi-million dollar industry and a catalyst for youth development,” stated Dr. Bawumia. “However, we have yet to realize our full sports potential, and we cannot achieve this with the same funding model we have relied on since independence.”
Dr. Bawumia presented his new sports development agenda as President, emphasizing legislation, tax breaks, and greater corporate and governmental investment, to overcome this problem and enable Ghanaian sports to thrive.
“My government will prioritize the creation of incentives for corporate sponsorship as a sustainable method of financing sports development and promotion for our national teams, including football, athletics, and boxing at all levels,” he said.
“This approach will alleviate financial pressure on the government and enable redirection of more support to other sports disciplines.”
In addition, Dr. Bawumia revealed intentions to create the School Sports Secretariat, a division of the Ministry of Sports, to foster school-based sports in association with the Ghana Education Service and sports federations.
Through increasing the activity of several federations, this strategy seeks to reallocate more resources to grassroots development.
“My government, as part of a broad sports development vision, will establish the Ghana School Sports Secretariat, which will be an agency under the ministry responsible for sports, in collaboration with other stakeholders such as the GES and sports federations,” he stated.
To give young people more opportunities, Dr. Bawumia stated that his government will look to collaborate with international sports organizations like the NBA and NFL at the school level to establish Ghana as a hub for emerging sports in Africa.
