Ghana is now ready to host the 13th African Games, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.
He said this on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at Borteyman, Accra, where he commissioned the multi-purpose sports complex, which has been completed for the games next month.
The commissioning yesterday also marked the 25-day countdown to the commencement of the games, from March 8 to March 23,
2024.
President Akufo-Addo cut the sod for the start of the Borteyman project in August 2021 and 30 months later the facility is complete and ready for the hosting of the games.
In his brief address, President Akufo-Addo stated that Ghana has not hosted the games in the 15 years since its inception, but that “now is our time.”
He further noted that Ghana’s decision to host the 13th African Games was met with uncertainties, due to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected infrastructure development.
However, he said that through commitment and resilience, the government proved the doubting Thomases wrong by adopting the hybrid approach of hosting by Ghana.
He said the decision yielded good results, as facilities at both ends were ready for the commencement of the Africa Games.
He urged the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Local Organising Committee “to go all out and organise the best African Games in history. To this end, I pledge the full commitment of the government to ensure that all visitors to the country are secured, enjoy the best hospitality Ghana has to offer and experience the greatest of African games.”
FACILITY
The facilities at Borteyman include the Aquatic Centre, which has a 10-lane swimming pool and another swimming pool for warm-ups.
There are two indoor sports halls, each with a 1,000-seat capacity. It has an indoor tennis court with a 1,000-seat capacity, an outdoor court for warm-ups and warm-up tracks for athletics. Aside from the facilities, there has been major road construction, mostly dual carriage, to ensure that movement to and from the area would face no hindrance.
GAME
Ghana won the bid to host the games in 2018. Apart from the Borteyman facility, other disciplines will be hosted at the University of Ghana, Legon, due to the hybrid approach to hosting the games adopted by Ghana.
Ghana is expecting some 5,000 elite athletes, 3,000 officials, thousands of fans and a global audience of about 2.2 billion through traditional television and social media.
OTHER FACILITIES
On other facilities, President Akufo-Addo said his government had undertaken renovations on the various stadia across the country in the last seven years.
He mentioned that the government had renovated the Ohene Gyan Sports Stadium, the Cape Coast Sports Stadium and the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.
Additionally, he said, the government was building 10 sports stadia in the ten original regions of the country, six of which were ready for use, and he assured that the remaining four would be completed before the end of this year.
COMMUNITY
President Akufo-Addo said his government was investing heavily in sports facilities, especially Astro Turfs, for various communities.
He said that there were only three in 2016, but his government since 2017 had built 120 of such pitches and 100 more Astro Turfs would be added within the year.
These investments, he remarked, were all demonstrations of government commitment to the provision of sporting infrastructure to engender the right facilities for the development of sports in Ghana.
CHALLENGE
The Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, recalled the initial challenges, but added that with the support and direction of President Akufo-Addo, they were able to surmount them.
According to the minister, the games would serve as a catalyst for growth and development for the country, especially the construction of the facilities at Legon and Borteyman.
This, he added, would lead to a platform for athletes’ excellence and overall infrastructure development.
The Borteyman Sports Complex, after the games, would serve as a centre of excellence for nurturing talents and provide a platform for international competitions.
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