The Vice President and NPP’s Presidential candidate for the 2024 Presidential election, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s plate was full of ideas last night in Takoradi where the party’s manifesto was launched. His presentation stirred my mind. Dr. Bawumia’s intellectual capacity, needless to mention, is admirable.
The various policies presented in the NPP’s manifesto on paper are tantalising. Generally, if anything moves me the most, it is his digitalisation agenda to drive Ghana’s economic growth. It is in synch with where the world is gravitating, and Ghana must follow the same path. I will not elaborate.
My preoccupation here is sports and my assessment of what Dr. Bawumia offers. First, I share his campaign team’s position that, ‘To lead is to solve’. As a student of leadership and governance, my view is that leadership is of no use, I mean irrelevant if it is not to solve problems, liberate, provide direction, transformation and opportunities for all.
Six things the manifesto mentions on sports are: upgrade of football pitches to meet highest international standards, construction of astro turfs for constituencies to boost talent development including juvenile football and support to revival of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) and clubs to improve their commercial viability to create jobs.
The rest are the start of an "Operation Olympics Glory" programme which aims at dedicating resources towards the preparation and readiness of athletes to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, USA and beyond; build six 5,000-seater capacity, standard stadiums for our new regions, and promote school sports by establishing a Ghana School Sports Secretariat to create more opportunities for young people in sports.
The manifesto also proposes the establishment of a sports development fund, and incentivising corporate institutions, through tax rebates, to support/invest in sports. Sustainable funding is a critical component of Bawumia's vision for sports. Dr. Bawumia also made mention of an effective maintenance module for sports facilities. That good news considering how we manage sports infrastructure.
Of all the above, funding is critical and the promise to set up a Ghana School Sports Secretariat stands out. The rest are not so grand but important to sports development. Except the operation Olympics glory, I do not find anything presented as dealing with other sporting disciplines and indeed, touching on boxing or athletics for example.
That is a disappointment. Perhaps if the NPP retains power, the Ghana School Sports Secretariat will come out with a comprehensive sports development plan predictably tied to education, and which will shed more light on the plans for other sporting disciplines like boxing, athletics, and/or any other sports in Ghana.
If not, my verdict is that the manifesto is loudly silent on plans for other sporting disciplines. There is no denial that Ghana is passionate about football. Football Ghana’s number one sport. There is also no doubt that our football is facing growth challenges in infrastructure, talent development, coaching, funding, etc.
The GPL is unattractive for some of these reasons. The Black Stars have not given us desired joy in the last 40 years and more (AFCON-wise) despite the millions of dollars invested in their activities. Two of our four World Cup appearances lifted the country’s image. Sad to say that the other two sought to dent our reputation.
For years, we have overconcentrated on Black Stars to the detriment of not just the GPL but also other national teams like the Black Queens. Women’s football is rising steadily but there are more to be done in that respect. To this end, building domestic football is imperative. It is the pivot on which proper national teams can be built.
To the NPP, I say buses for GPL clubs are good, but it is akin to the promise the GFA President, Kurt Okraku made as he campaigned for re-election. It resembles political campaign platform talk that refuses to first see the fundamental issues undermining the development of GPL clubs – for instance how clubs are founded, who forms and funds them; personnel managing these clubs, their capacities; issues of integrity and accountability in the game.
Government, if it has real help for domestic football, aside building infrastructure, must implore the GFA to look at the governance issues of club football in Ghana. Most GPL clubs exist without proper managerial/Board structures to direct and augment what they do on the pitch. Handing them buses may solve immediate transport challenges but in the long term, it will not address the management problems undermining the overall growth of club football in Ghana.
The commercial viability of Asante Kotoko, for example, may not improve if the club does not shirk skeletal managerial structures with no broad vision for development as seen elsewhere on the continent. Without necessarily dictating to the GFA, Government must take key interest in the licensing issues of club football in Ghana lest any logistical support to the clubs would eventually go waste.
Upgrading of football pitches to meet the highest international standards is vital to football development, same as the construction of astro turfs nationwide, and the provision of six 5,000-seater stadiums for the six new regions. Yet at a time when Kaneshie Sports Complex and half of the ten National Youth Centres remain uncompleted, the promise of new stadiums must be taken with a barrel of salt.
Why not promise to complete those projects, like renovating stadiums across the country that either lie in ruin or do not meet international standard. It would have come as more realistic to promise to finish facilities like the Kaneshie Sports Complex and maintain the others that are deteriorating than to promise new ones.
Dr. Bawumia mentioned that he would introduce a maintenance module for sports infrastructure. That is positive because against overwhelming evidence of decay of sports facilities in the country, serious action is needed on that score. Bold solutions must be proffered to problems on the ground so this maintenance module is necessary.
Ghana sports development is too impulsive. We lack credible, concrete plans to deal with the challenges in the sector. If you doubt me, critically analyse how astro turfs have been littered countrywide, some at places where football is the mainstay of the youth, yet the facility provided there (like Madina, Accra) does not meet even standards of the GFA’s licensing committee talk less of CAF/FIFA.
It is positive to construct pitches, whether natural or artificial, in our communities to boost talent development in juvenile football as the manifesto mentioned but licensing regulations must be adhered to for better utilisation of the pitches. Of course, everything cannot be put out by the manifesto, but these are genuine issues people seeking to govern Ghana must tackle in sports. What is being offered could have been more convincing to be blunt.
The “Operation Olympics Glory" programme, which talks about dedicating resources to and preparing athletes for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and beyond is realistic. It is pleasant. I do not know the details but on the surface, it speaks to a specific, existing problem of Ghana failing to shine at the Olympics for decades.
We can only wait for its details to examine its viability if the candidate wins. The issues are endless, and this article cannot exhaustively discuss them. Dr. Bawumia has however stated his vision for Ghana sports. It is a good attempt, and quite an improvement on what the last NPP manifesto offered on sports in 2020. Ghana must be back in international sports circles in glorious fashion. There must be a plan for that.
Dr. Bawumia has given sports enthusiasts something to think about, something to reflect on. To all sports journalists and fans who would analyse or evaluate Dr. Bawumia’s sports agenda, let us do so with decorum and wisdom, resolving to always demand the best from all who want to serve or lead Ghana.