John Evans Atta Mills� Sports Legacy

Ghanaians were on late Tuesday afternoon thrown into a state depression and mourning following the sudden demise of their President, H.E. John Evans Atta Mills after a short illness at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. Although he was confirmed dead by the Chief of Staff last Tuesday afternoon, his legacy over the past years in sports has been tagged as unprecedented by all especially the international community. Despite the hecklings and criticisms by his political opponents, his legacy is noted to be an enviable one which has received accolades from all walks of lives. In sports, the late Professor of law was known to be an ardent lover of the fraternity which he passionately enjoyed ranging from soccer, hockey, swimming, athletics etc. Being an active hockey player who once played for the national team, he was also noted for his dedication to the game. On the field of football, he was said to be a team and classmate at the University to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who both exhibited their talents judiciously whiles on the playing. He was also an active member and contributor of Accra Hearts of Oak Football Club where he was known to be a passionate fan of the club. During his three and half years in office as the President of the Republic of Ghana, his first achievement in sports manifested when the Black Satellites (U20) won the World Cup in Egypt. A year after, the Senior national team the Black Stars also excelled under his tenure when it won silver during the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) Orange Nations Cup held in Angola in 2010 and later qualified to the World Cup held in South Africa where Ghana nearly sailed through to the semi-finals after beating the likes of Czech Republic and USA. It was through his leadership that Joseph King Kong Agbeko won his WBA title. Before his demise, he was expected to visit Nigeria in August for a one-day working visit with President Goodluck Jonathan to discuss the recent foreign retail trade brouhaha. No plans have been announced as yet for his burial.