The Chairman of the 2023 African Games’ Local Organizing Committee, Dr Kwaku Ofosu Asare, has expressed his support for Ghana’s decision to host the competition, despite concerns about the country’s economic hardships.
The games, which were initially scheduled for this year, had to be postponed due to economic pressures, delays in preparations, and disputes among key stakeholders. The games are now set to take place in 2024.
Dr Ofosu Asare believes that hosting the competition presents a unique opportunity for Ghana to upgrade its sporting facilities. He argues that the event will bring benefits beyond just sports, as it can also help stimulate the country’s economy and create job opportunities.
Despite concerns from some quarters, Ofosu Asare is optimistic that the games will be a success and provide long-term benefits for Ghana.
“People question us on why we have the Africa Games in this crunching period. We are asked on why the money is not used for other things, opportunity cost. But the problem is that if we don’t do it now, these facilities will never be created for us. They will never be built for us and we don’t have to over-concentrate on football,” he told Citi FM.
“We’ve done that for years since 1982, I mean, we all love football. But we need to also be looking at other disciplines. And the African Games is giving us the opportunity for us to shift the focus from football to the other lesser disciplines, [like] athletics, boxing, Judo, karate-do, handball, basketball, hockey, and all that.”
“So this competition is also creating an opportunity for us to stimulate our economy for jobs to be created,” he added.
Despite the concerns raised by some people, Ofosu Asare is optimistic that the competition will bring positive benefits to Ghana.
